January 2024 Update: Residual Designation Authority (RDA) Activities Underway for the Charles, Neponset, and Mystic River Watersheds
Release of Technical Documents
The technical parcel-level analysis for the Mystic and Neponset River Watersheds have been posted on EPA's website. You can find the watershed-specific documents at:
- Parcel-level Analysis for the Mystic River Watershed (pdf)
- Parcel-level Analysis for the Neponset River Watershed (pdf)
- Parcel-level Analysis for the Charles River Watershed (pdf)
EPA has already released the background technical parcel-level report for the Charles River Watershed when it made its Preliminary Designation; that information can be found at the link above, or in Attachment 6 of the Preliminary Designation (pdf) . In all of these reports, EPA summarizes the types and numbers of parcels with one or more acres of impervious surface that contribute stormwater pollution within these watersheds.
EPA plans to conduct further outreach in the future to allow users to better understand the amount of stormwater run-off coming from various land use types within municipal boundaries in the three watersheds.
Stakeholder Outreach
On January 17th, 2024, EPA kicked off the stakeholder outreach process for the MA RDA permit with a presentation at a virtual meeting hosted by the Neponset River Watershed Association. The Neponset Presentation (pdf) included background information on the regulatory and technical basis for the RDA permit and identified opportunities for future stakeholder involvement, including ways to provide feedback on solutions to permit implementation challenges. The RDA team is again working with the Consensus Building Institute, which was involved in the initial stages of RDA stakeholder outreach which began in 2020.
EPA will be attending the Mystic River Watershed Association and the Charles River Watershed Association to discuss the RDA permitting effort in upcoming weeks (February – March).
Technical Assistance
EPA is working with the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Stormwater Center to offer technical assistance focused on improving operation and maintenance of stormwater control measures as well as innovative tracking and accounting solutions in municipal stormwater management. This work is happening with three communities in the watersheds who responded to a solicitation and who have environmental justice concerns. On January 8th, 2024, EPA held the kickoff meeting in Milford, MA with municipal officials from Milford, Stoughton, and Somerville along with representatives of the Charles, Mystic, and Neponset River Watershed Associations. The project will run through May 2024 and help develop solutions to each community's' unique stormwater challenges, with technical support from the UNH stormwater center. The work in these communities will also serve as a model for other communities with similar stormwater challenges in Massachusetts.