Elected Officials

Public Education and Outreach
Phase II MS4 – Stormwater - Stormwater
Minimum Control Measure 1

*Customizable

Outreach Strategies
General Outreach Materials
Outreach: Best Management Practices
Stormwater Management Assistance

Outreach Strategies

Basics of Developing Stormwater Awareness:
Government agencies that conduct effective campaigns often adopt strategies and practices used by marketers and advertisers. This website contains tips for effective marketing plans that answer the five basic questions: who, what, where, when and why.
Source: NC Dept. of Environmental and Natural Resources

City-County Communications Marketing Association (3CMA)
3CMA's mission is " Connecting local government innovators to achieve the highest ideals of public service through the power of communications and marketing." The organization continues to build its network of individuals committed to improving government/citizen relationships and the delivery of services through the application of marketing strategies and techniques.

Communicator’s Guide for Federal, State, Regional, and Local Communicators
The Federal Communicator’s Network developed this guide to offer some general guidance to improve the trust between government and the public by helping officials communicate clearly to the public and by making government's message relevant.

Getting in Step: A Guide For Conducting Watershed Outreach Campaigns
This guide is designed to walk watershed groups, municipalities, etc., through the process of developing and implementing a watershed outreach campaign. The guide takes people through a comprehensive six-step outreach process, from
establishing goals to project evaluation.

Getting Your Feet Wet with Social Marketing: Steps for Promoting Behavior Change in Water Programs
The first eight chapters of this book walk the reader through the social marketing process using water examples from throughout the country. The final four chapters offer short case studies of successful water-related social marketing efforts. The appendices are filled with worksheets, checklists, lists of additional resources and samples of audience research documents

Outreach Tips for Local Decision Makers as a Target Audience
This database is a tool for identifying research-based findings about specific audiences of interest to water scientists and managers. Findings are derived from research papers describing studies that could claim to identify best education practices (BEPs) for specific audiences.

General Outreach Materials

County Officials Training Program - Department for Local Government
Kentucky 's training incentive program for elected county officials began with the enactment of House Bill 810 (KRS 64.5275), effective in January 1999. The program offers county judge-executives, fiscal court members, clerks, sheriffs and jailers an annual financial incentive to participate in continuing training relevant to their official duties.

Training is offered by a variety of agencies, professional associations, and private vendors. DLG enrolls officials in the program, pre-approves training events, records individual attendance for credit, and authorizes incentive payments. Participating officials may earn one incentive for each calendar year in office by providing documentation of 40 hours of approved training. Training Approval Request Form

Doorhanger *Customizable
May be customized. Provides a friendly reminder to keep trash, chemicals, and other pollutants out of storm drains. For use by stormwater inspectors and other local officials, in conjunction with illicit discharge elimination systems.

EPA’s Stormwater Homepage

EPA's Nonpoint Source Program Homepage

KY Commonwealth Water Education Program
KY Division of Water
Four Powerpoint presentations (40-minute and 20-minute) for local elected officials, city engineers, planners, city manager, and others.

Municipal Stormwater Pollution Prevention DVD
To borrow the DVD, call the library at 1-800-432-0719. The library has many more resources that can be borrowed. A catalog of resources is available.
Source: University of Kentucky, Kentucky Transportation Center

Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) Program
Download publications here – Facts sheets, educational videos, technical papers, geospatial technology, watershed wisdom, planning, and research.

Stormwater Outreach Materials and Reference Documents
The electronic files on this page contain space for officials to add their own contact information and inexpensively reproduce these materials. There are materials for the general public, homeowners, construction site operators, and children.

Urban BMP Performance Tool
This tool has been developed to provide stormwater professionals with easy access to approximately 220 studies assessing the performance of over 275 BMPs. It provides access to studies covering a variety of traditional and low impact BMP types, including retention and detention ponds, biofilters, grassed filter strips, porous pavement, wetlands, and others.

Wastewater Education Materials *Customizable
These wastewater education materials will help municipal officials educate citizens on important wastewater issues.

Outreach: Best Management Approaches to Stormwater Management

Green Infrastructure

Overview: What is Green Infrastructure?

Green Infrastructure Key Resources

Green Infrastructure Funding Opportunities

Green Infrasture Municipal Funding Options Handbook

Reduce Runoff: Slow It Down, Spread It Out, Soak It In
A 9 minute video, with a factsheet about the video and weblinks to additional information.

Liquid Assets: Managing our Water Infrastructure
Liquid Assets , a ninety-minute documentary, tells the story of essential infrastructure systems: water, wastewater, and stormwater. The Community Toolkit and Outreach Guide can be downloaded.

Low Impact Development

The Low Impact Development Center, Inc.

Municipal Guide to Low Impact Development
This brochure is used to give municipal officials basic information and guidance on how to initiate acceptance of LID and integrate it into local building programs.

LID Brochures

EPA LID Page with links to several resources

Promoting Low Impact Development

Reducing Stormwater Costs Through LID Strategies and Practices

Questions and Answers: Reducing Stormwater Costs Through LID Strategies and Practices

Low-Impact Development article in Stormwater Magazine (PDF file)

Archived Webcast, EPA: Low Impact Development Strategies, Tools, and Techniques for Sustainable Watersheds
Low Impact Development (LID) is a decentralized or source control approach to stormwater management that focuses on maintaining or restoring the hydrologic cycle functions in a watershed. This approach is causing many communities and organizations to reevaluate their stormwater programs to see how LID can be used as part of a comprehensive watershed protection and restoration strategy. This Webcast focuses on how communities and institutions are using LID techniques to meet a wide range of water resource protection and community development objectives.

Smart Growth

Best Development Practices: A Primer for Smart Growth (PDF) (36 pp, 1.7 MB)
Describes land use practices that create attractive communities, offer more transportation choices, and protect the environment. Send your name and address to smartgrowth@epa.gov for a hard copy.

For a quick list of EPA's most popular publications, see:
Free Smart Growth Publications from EPA and Smart Growth Network Partners (PDF). (4 pp, 330 K)

Growth and Water Resources (PDF) Fact Sheet. Explains how land use affects water resources and offers resources and tools for communities. Hard copies available by emailing nscep@bps-lmit.com or calling (800) 490-9198 and requesting EPA 842-F-02-008.

Potential Roles for Clean Water State Revolving Fund Programs in Smart Growth Initiatives (PDF) (15 pp, 1 MB) Describes options for states to use their Clean Water State Revolving Funds to support more environmentally sound growth and development.

Protecting Water Resources with Higher-Density Development
EPA Webpage

Protecting Water Resources with Smart Growth
Intended for audiences already familiar with smart growth concepts who seek specific ideas on how techniques for smarter growth can be used to protect water resources. Suggests 75 policies that communities can use to grow in the way that they want while protecting their water quality. Includes a section on education and creating stormwater fees. Hard copies available by emailing nscep@bps-lmit.com or calling (800) 490-9198 and requesting EPA 231-R-04-002.

Smart Growth – EPA
About smart growth, publications, grants and funding, and tools to make smart growth happen.

Smart Growth Network
This web site is a subset of http://www.sustainable.org, developed
and maintained by the Sustainable Communities Network (SCN),
and supported with funding from the US EPA.

Smart Growth for Clean Water (PDF) (66 pp, 6 MB) Offers ideas for using smart growth to advance clean water goals based on the experiences of communities across the nation. National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals, Trust for Public Land, ERG.

Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Management Practices

Water Environment Research Foundation
Using Rainwater to Grow Livable Communities
This website is to encourage and facilitate the integration of stormwater BMPs into development projects in your area by providing tools and resources for effective communication and implementation as well as in-depth case studies that examine BMP implementation in several cities across the United States.

Stormwater Management Assistance

Bluegrass Partnership for a Green Community
Projects & teams are organized around the following initiatives: green buildings, reduce-reuse-recycle, green purchasing, environmental education, transportation, outreach & communication, water & stormwater, foods and sustainability, and green space & sustainability. Includes the Bluegrass Rain Garden Alliance.

Local Government Stormwater Resources
Source: NC Dept. of Environmental and Natural Resources

Technical Assistance for Local Government

Stormwater FAQ's
Causes, Management, Nonpoint Source Pollution, Polluted Runoff, Stormwater, more...

Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO)
NEMO is a national program that educates local land use decision makers on the links between land use and water resource protection. Tools and resources for stormwater, LID practices, BMPs, and more.

Operation, Maintenance, and Management of Stormwater Management Systems
A publication produced by the Watershed Management Institute, Inc. in cooperation with Office of Water U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Role of Local Governments in Implementing the NPDES Stormwater Program for Construction Sites *Customizable
This new brochure provides local governments with a brief overview of the NPDES Stormwater Program on construction sites. Local governments can then provide this information to people in the construction industry who might need NPDES permit coverage. Stormwater permits require many operators of construction sites to implement steps to prevent sediment and other pollutants from washing off into nearby streams, rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Files are available to print using a professional printer. Versions of both the Federal and State brochures are available.
Local Federal Guide
Local State Guide

Stormwater Authority Website
A resource of comprehensive and relevant information, news, events, and education on stormwater. The mission of StormwaterAuthority.org is to assist professionals on making educated and environmentally sound decisions about stormwater management and treatment.

Stormwater Management Library
Articles on a wide variety of topics, including stormwater utilities, community involvement, success stories, and more.

Stormwater Managers Resource Center
The Stormwater Manager's Resource Center is designed specifically for stormwater practitioners, local government officials and others that need technical assistance on stormwater management issues.

Stormwater Research and Publications, and Software
Provides educational materials and research to advance an understanding and practice of stormwater management and to influence policy and procedures.
Source: Stormwater Management Academy, University of Central Florida

Stormwater Utility: Five Phases in Developing and Implementing a Stormwater Utility
Source: Water Resource Associates, Inc.

Water Quality Resources for Local Governments
An association of city and county governments in the Kansas City Area. The website contains educational publications and events, and stormwater BMP information.
Source: Mid-America Regional Council

Training Webcasts

EPA- Archived Webcast - Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping
Killing Two Birds with One Stone: Building a Local Program to Maintain Your Stormwater Practices and Prevent Pollution from Municipal Operations

EPA- Archived Webcast - Phase II Stormwater
This Webcast will opens with an overview of the Phase II requirements, noting particular areas where watershed groups can participate and the post-construction minimum measure. The second part of the Webcast focuses on this measure and provides an overview of what municipalities need to do to put these programs in place. Ideas about how low impact development and smart growth can be integrated into these programs are discussed.

Training Videos

Municipal Stormwater Pollution Prevention
This is a commercial website. Excal Visual provides training videos for municipal officials to train employees on stormwater pollution prevention and BMPs. This 20-minute video training kit helps regulated municipalities (Phase I and Phase II) train their employees as required under their Permit. The video focuses on BMPs that are important to many municipal operations such as good housekeeping, spill response, materials storage and handling, landscape maintenance and street maintenance. Employees working in fleet maintenance, garages, parks, recreation facilities, street maintenance and other departments can all benefit from this training video. The video also shows employees how to spot potential "illicit discharges" occurring around town.

Storm Water Pollution Prevention
This is a commercial website for Excal Visual. This training kit is designed to help train employees working at industrial or government facilities that are covered under a General or Multi-Sector General Permit for storm water discharges. It will help train facility employees and contractors in accordance with the training requirements of most such Permits. It describes Best Management Practices (BMPs) and shows how they prevent storm water pollution.

Using NEMO - Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials - to Advance Watershed Management
The Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) Program is a national program that educates local land use decision makers on the links between land use and water resource protection. This Webcast will provide a thorough overview of the methods, impacts and educational offerings of the NEMO Program. The instructors will also describe the National NEMO Network, an affiliated group of projects in 30 states, which may be available to help your watershed or local community.

Contact:
John Drake