February 2024 Update: Residual Designation Authority (RDA) Activities Underway for the Charles, Neponset, and Mystic River Watersheds
Release of Technical Documents
As EPA announced in its January Update, the technical parcel-level analyses are now available for each watershed: Charles River (pdf) , Mystic River (pdf) and Neponset River (pdf) .
Stakeholder Outreach
EPA continues to make presentations to stakeholders to provide background information on the regulatory and technical basis for the RDA permit and opportunities for future stakeholder involvement, including ways to provide feedback on solutions to permit implementation challenges. To conduct this stakeholder outreach, 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.
Recent and upcoming presentations include:
- MA Rivers Alliance RDA Presentation (pdf) : Feb 28th 2024, 10-11:30 am
- Charles River Watershed Association RDA Presentation: March 7th 2024, 1-2 pm
- Mystic River Watershed Association RDA Presentation: March 14th 2024, 9-10:30 am
- NAIOP/495 Partnership RDA Presentation: March 22nd 2024, 9-10:30 am
- Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Massachusetts and Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association RDA Presentation: April 1st 2024, 10-12 am
- Metropolitan Area Planning Council RDA Presentation: TBD
Technical Assistance and Tools
EPA has compiled Municipal-Specific Technical Informational Fact Sheets for each community in all three watersheds that provide more information about the upcoming RDA permits. These fact sheets include information about the land use types expected to receive RDA permits and the estimated amount of phosphorus pollution coming from each municipality by those land use types (which include certain commercial, industrial, and institutional entities). Examine a complete list of the Municipal-Specific Technical Informational Fact Sheets.
EPA continues to work with the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Stormwater Center to offer technical assistance to three municipalities 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 February 12, 2024, EPA met with municipal officials from Milford, Stoughton, and Somerville for the second of five meetings. At this meeting municipalities honed their needs for specific technical assistance needs, which all focus on streamlining operations and maintenance programs. The municipalities will meet with the UNH Stormwater Center next to start to develop tools to support each program's specific needs and reconvene for a third group meeting in March. The work in these communities will also serve as a model for other communities with similar stormwater challenges in Massachusetts.
Questions on RDA Permitting
Contact: [email protected]