BRATTLEBORO — The Windham Regional Commission and the Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District have teamed up to provide expanded outreach and services to landowners, municipalities, and the public in support of the Vermont Clean Water Act and improved tactical basin planning efforts for Basin 12, the Deerfield River Basin.
According to a news release, the work is partially funded through two grants from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Activities began in late 2018 and will extend through the fall of 2019.
The WRC and the WCNRCD will work with municipalities and landowners on programs such as improving zoning bylaws and stormwater master plans to improve water quality, and incorporating municipal priorities into the Deerfield Basin Tactical Basin Plan.
Specifically, the WRC will provide technical support to the region's towns related to Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation water quality policies and permit programs, and development of municipal water quality improvement projects.
“The intent of the Vermont Clean Water Act was to promote an 'all-in' approach to water quality in the state, meaning that we create a culture of mutual ownership over our water resources,” said Emily Davis, WRC natural resources and water quality planner.
Davis said the goal is to “create strong partnerships and collaborative processes between local organizations and stakeholders. These connections provide the necessary link between state priorities, applicable funding mechanisms, and local priorities.”
She added that the WRC and the WCNRCD are in partnership to identify, through the Tactical Basin Planning process, municipal clean water projects and, in turn, facilitate their development and implementation.
As part of this body of work, Conservation Districts and Regional Planning Commissions across Vermont will be closely coordinating activities to provide complementary support for the state's Tactical Basin Planning process.
Tactical Basin Plans help identify and focus efforts needed to protect or restore specific watersheds through the state.
For the next year, the partners will be focused primarily on the Deerfield Tactical Basin Plan, which includes the entire watersheds of the Deerfield, North, Green, and Fall rivers, and Broad Brook in southwestern Windham County.
The partners will be working in those affected towns (Vernon, Guilford, Brattleboro, Halifax, Marlboro, Wilmington, Dover, Searsburg, Somerset, and Readsboro) to identify priorities, document progress, and conduct outreach necessary to develop priority projects and garner greater local support and awareness of the Basin Plan's goals.
Locally-identified water quality priorities in Tactical Basin Plans are well-positioned for project development and funding via the State's Clean Water Initiative.
Basin Plans help provide the umbrella for other various planning initiatives, including Stormwater Master Plans and River Corridor Plans and, ultimately, provide a vehicle to strategically address regional water quality priorities within the Connecticut River watershed.