1. A STORM WATER OUTREACH PROJECT TO SMALL COMMUNITIES IN TENNESSEE

2. HOW WE GOT STARTED Tennessee’s Small Business Environmental Assistance Program (SBEAP) participated in a MS4 work group meeting. Purpose: Provide information on available training for small businesses impacting water quality in their community Results: Attendees from communities in the area indicated they needed the training Shortly after that ……………………….

3. ECOS through funding from EPA TO THE RESCUE !!!! The Environmental Council of the States’ Compliance Committee Issued Call for Proposals – April 13, 2005 for Small Communities Compliance Assistance Pilot Project Grants

4. Tennessee Volunteers !!! Tennessee’s proposal: conduct small communities Train the Trainer Storm Water management project Funding amount: $14,000 Target: 75 small communities with a population between 3,300 and 10,000

5. WHY DID WE APPLY? The grant provided the opportunity to: 1.affirmatively respond to a prior request-meet a demand 2.leverage resources 3.apply existing knowledge and information 4.expand use of previously developed materials

6. PROJECT GOALS 1.Decrease storm water violations 2.Train a trainer for targeted small local governments 3.Help cities understand their environmental obligations 4.Encourage adoption of environmental policies and ordinances and use of Small Communities Audit Policy if needed 5.Help small cities assess the staff technical skills 6.Inform small local governments about the importance of Storm Water rules and the impacts of poor water quality from storm water run off

7. PROPOSED ACTIVITIES  Conduct a survey to determine current knowledge of environmental rules, regulations and to determine environmental resources  Provide EMS training and materials  Encourage participation in the State’s Pollution Prevention Partnership that provides environmental training discounts  Provide outreach assistance, technical advice, and follow-up to small cities  Conduct 3 train the trainer workshops

8. SAMPLE SURVEY QUESTIONS 1.Does your Town have an Environmental Management System? 2.Are you or other staff familiar with Storm water - Best Management practices? 3. Would you like to attend a free workshop training to train your very own staff person in Storm Water compliance matters? 4. In what areas of your Town’s operations would you feel environmental assistance is needed? 5.Is staff available to handle/address environmental issues for your Town? 6.Does your town need help understanding environmental rules or requirements?

9. ADDITIONAL SURVEY QUESTIONS Have you observed any of the following at a Town facility? Dust Odors Stressed Vegetation Discolored soil or water Stressed, Dead, or dying fish or wildlife Smoke Open Burning

10. SURVEY RESULTS 109 small communities were sent the survey.  27 small towns, (24.8% response rate) responded  89% (24 of 27) said they would attend a workshop  85% (23 of 27) without an EMS  44% (12 of 27) wanted more information on Best Management Practices (BMPs)  67% (18 of 27) have 5 or fewer staff to handle environmental issues

11. WORKSHOPS The Agenda for four workshops included:  Overview of workshop sponsors and a preview of why the workshops are needed  Storm water regulatory and pollution prevention overview  Review of sample storm water ordinances  EMS Overview  Small Communities Compliance Assistance Policy Review  Video on solutions to problems  Resources

12. Overview of workshop sponsors and a preview of why the workshops are needed This Project represented a partnership of: EPA ECOS State of Tennessee

13. WHY? Newspaper articles on community non compliance and resulting penalties were provided Pictures of what can happen when stormwater controls aren’t in place were shown

15. Silt fence not maintained or poorly directed flow

16. Storm water regulatory and pollution prevention overview Stormwater rules Stormwater runoff Watershed(s) How to identify sources of stormwater pollution Adoption of Environmental Policy(ies) and ordinance(s)

17. EMS Overview Environmental Management System (EMS): Our Objective was to introduce EMS requirements and Benefits A systematic way of managing an organization's environmental aspects Focused on continual improvements of system A way to address immediate and long term impact of an organization's products, services, and activities on the environment; A tool to improve environmental performance.

18. Benefits: Why have an EMS? Improved environmental performance Reduced liability Improved compliance Reduced cost Fewer accidents Enhanced trust

19. WORKSHOP HANDOUTS Each workshop participant received a hard copy manual and a compact disk (CD) of all workshop materials that included: sample storm water ordinances, slide presentation, news articles on cities facing problems, EPA Compliance Assistance Policy, and a landscaping brochure

20. What Did They Have to Lose/Gain?

22. PROJECT RESULTS 38 participants from small communities attended the training Pre and Post tests indicated a knowledge base of 75% prior to the training and 92% knowledge post training Workshop materials are included in curriculums for local government training All materials are included on Department’s web page

23. LESSONS LEARNED  Develop realistic goals  Define a narrow focus and target group  Utilize existing materials/resources  Understand the variables—community characteristics  Know the audience  Have incentives  Fully understand gov’t contract process

24. Healthy and Compliant Communities Identified Need Willing Partners Available Resources Interested and Informed Leaders

25. QUESTIONS ????