Community Buy-in for Stormwater Funding: An EPA Roundtable Series

Stormwater is one of our largest remaining threats to water quality, but managing stormwater and meeting permit requirements can be expensive. One of the greatest challenges for New England municipalities with a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) is reaching consensus on stormwater program funding to support implementation of permit requirements and provide co- benefits to their citizens. Exploring funding mechanisms like “Stormwater Utilities” and “Stormwater Enterprise Funds” can be controversial, and public support is critical to success.

This webinar will share successful strategies and best practices for community engagement and consensus-building from a pilot roundtable series launched in 2017 by the US EPA and the Consensus Building Institute. Over the course of several months, these roundtables helped municipal staff build skills and strategies to understand community concerns, develop effective partnerships, and achieve community support for stormwater funding. The webinar will feature the program developers, the roundtable facilitator, and a participating municipality that has implemented a stormwater enterprise fund. Presenters will cover key approaches, successful techniques, available resources, and lessons learned from the roundtables, as well as strategies for urban, suburban and rural municipalities exploring financing solutions to local stormwater management.

Presenters:

• Dr. Marilyn ten Brink, US EPA Office of Research and Development
• Carri Hulet, Consensus Building Institute
• Maeghan Dos Anjos, Town of Ashland, MA

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