The Trust for Public Land, the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, the Association of Drinking Water Administrators and River Network have announced that Maine, New Hampshire and Ohio have been selected for the first round of demonstrations under a unique project to align state water quality protection and land use programs and policies to better protect drinking water sources. These three states demonstrated a high level of commitment to source water protection, as well as timely policy initiatives and support for finding linkages among state programs.
A second call for entries is planned for summer 2008, and the team expects to select three additional states following that process. The EPA-funded project “Enabling Source Water Protection: Aligning State Land Use and Water Protection Programs” will provide the selected states with recommendations based on state-specific program reviews, consultation with experts on best practices from around the country, exposure to other state examples and strategies, strategies for improving funding for water protection and a support network (both within and outside government) for implementation.
For more information on the project details, the project team and the next round of applications, visit http://www.landuseandwater.org.
Source: EPA
