(Above) NEMO’s MS4 Map Viewer showing the amount of impervious cover by basin (left) and waterbodies impaired for stormwater (right). (Left) The new Statewide Impervious Cover data distinguishes buildings, roads, and other impervious surfaces. it, “When we originally issued the MS4 permit in 2004 it took over 2 years to get all the towns registered. We also issued over two dozen Notices of Violation in 2006 and three Consent Orders in 2008 for towns that either hadn’t completed the registration process or hadn’t submitted any annual reports or both. Needless to say, this time around has shown much bet- ter success. Frankly, our success in getting such good compliance this time around has to do with you folks (NEMO).” This program has also saved DEEP staff time answering individual questions from towns and enabled the development and dissemination of guidance on some of the more complicated permit requirements, two roles (and associated costs) that NEMO has taken off DEEP’s plate. The approach has also resulted in much needed savings for towns. The templates NEMO developed for various parts of the program saved them the time and expense of developing those on their own and/or hiring consultants. NEMO also developed a new MS4 map viewer (Tools & Training box) that will help the towns prioritize where to focus their efforts to most effec- tively impact water quality. In addition, the towns now have an alternate source to consult for advice on complying with the permit, a source who is independent from the regulators responsible for judging their compliance. The effort is also providing ancillary benefits to the State. One of the data layers in the MS4 map viewer is a new statewide high resolution impervious cover data layer acquired by NEMO to help communi- ties identify priority areas for action. A geospatial expert at Esri, the primary GIS software company, found the new layer and combined it with parcel and address data to create a new statewide building address layer. The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) reports that the new layer saved the state an estimated $500,000 that it would have cost to acquire on their own. While only a year and half into this project, NEMO estimates that the com- bined savings to the State and the towns involved have already more than paid for the 5-year cost of the outreach effort. More importantly, this approach makes it easier for communities to meet the stormwater requirements, results in a higher level of compliance, and leads to less pollution in our waters. MS4 Map Viewer One of the many resources created to assist towns in complying with the new permit is NEMO’s MS4 map viewer (http://s.uconn.edu/ctms4map). The viewer has a new stormwater-impaired waterbodies layer that helps towns identify polluted waters and target their activities to addressing those impair- ments. It also includes a new high resolution impervious cover layer that will help the towns identify areas that generate the most stormwater runoff and focus on alleviating those impacts. “I would like to thank CLEAR [NEMO] for the assistance it has provided to [our town] and other communities in the State with the MS4 program. The information and assistance provided by CLEAR has enabled our Town to save precious resources while complying with the requirements of the MS4 Permit.” – Warren Disbrow, Assistant Town Engineer, East Hartford, CT TOOLS & TRAINING 2017 HIGHLIGHTS OF EXTENSION 9