It's New Hampshire, Maine and Ohio for 2008
States Chosen for Unique Source Water Protection Project
The Trust for Public Land and the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, in partnership with the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators and the River Network are pleased to announce that Maine, New Hampshire and Ohio have been selected for the first round of demonstrations under a unique project to align State water quality protection and land use programs and policies to better protect drinking water sources. These three States demonstrated a high level of commitment to source water protection, as well as timely policy initiatives and support for finding linkages among State programs. Some notable elements of each state’s planned approach are as follows:
New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s application, endorsed by Governor John Lynch, focuses on aligning many projects underway related to growth management, watershed protection and source water planning. The State, the fastest growing in the Northeast, is seeking to identify and act on opportunities to promote sustainable growth while protecting important natural resources, particularly water quality and riparian buffers.
Maine
When undertaking source water assessments in recent years, Maine identified unplanned development as the primary threat to drinking water quality. Through this project, Maine will implement a new law that requires integration of source water protection into an array of State programs. The proposal was endorsed by 18 organizations including key state program managers, water utilities, and universities.
Ohio
Ohio is one of the nation’s leaders in protecting source water and waterways through watershed planning. Building on lessons learned in a regional initiative, Ohio seeks to develop incentives to promote planning for balanced growth by local jurisdictions across the state. The Ohio Water Resources Council, a consortium of nine state agencies and commissions and a representative of the Governors office, supports this project as a way to develop and promote such incentives.
The US Environmental Protection Agency funded project, Enabling Source Water Protection: Aligning State Land Use and Water Protection Programs, will provide the selected States with the following:
- Recommendations based on state-specific program reviews;
- Consultation with experts on best practices from around the country;
- Exposure to other state examples and strategies;
- Strategies for improving funding for water protection;
- A support network (both within and outside government) for implementation.
Nineteen states formally expressed interest in being demonstration states. The final three States were chosen from a highly competitive first round of eight full applicants, all of which had impressive applications. A second “Call for Entries” is planned for summer 2008, and the team expects to select three additional States following that process.
For more information on this announcement, please contact Caryn Ernst, Associate Director for Conservation Vision, The Trust for Public Land at (202) 543.7552 x 27 or Benjamin dela Pena, Associate Director, Smart Growth Leadership Institute at (202) 207-3355 x 26.
