| Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality | Spring 2000 |
Nebraska Environmental Partnerships
A new name, new directions
The Department of Environmental Quality’s Nebraska Mandates Management Initiative, launched in 1994, was originally designed to help small Nebraska communities cope with an increasing number of unfunded federal mandates related to environmental regulations. The program’s focus remains on environmental issues, but increased attention is now being placed on developing and strengthening partnerships to better assist small communities as they respond to an ever-increasing number of environmental health-related regulations and infrastructure needs. As the program expands in new directions, it will now bear a new name: Nebraska Environmental Partnerships.
The program’s accomplishments are often achieved through community assessments. Grants are given to small communities to hire a consultant to perform a snapshot analysis of the community’s current environmental infrastructure for public drinking water and wastewater. The analysis assesses health risks and possible areas of regulatory non-compliance. The consultant identifies all relevant data concerning the community’s environmental health status, and identifies any current or potential problems. If problems are identified, the consultant provides a cost estimate to eliminate them, and prioritizes activities if several needs are identified.
The next step in the process is a meeting involving the consultant, a DEQ program team, and the village/city board to discuss the assessment, answer questions, and finalize priorities. Partnerships form between the community, state government, engineers, and other agencies such as natural resources districts, resource conservation & development areas, the Nebraska Rural Water Association, the Midwest Assistance Program, and the University of Nebraska.
“The program has been beneficial to numerous Nebraska communities, and we hope to build on those successes as we take it to a new level,” said program administrator M.J. Rose. “The public health and environmental challenges facing many small and rural communities can seem overwhelming, so we want to let these communities know that there is help available, and strength in resolving these problems as partners.”
Nebraska Environmental Partnerships has provided assistance to over 200 communities.
New efforts of the Nebraska Environmental Partnerships program include:
- developing a training course for state employees to increase understanding of the unique social, economic, legal, and environmental challenges facing small communities;
- hiring a contractor to complete a study assessing the environmental regulatory effects on businesses in small communities;
- planning an Alternative Technologies for Small Communities Conference to highlight alternative technologies for drinking water and wastewater that are successful in other states;
- partnering with natural resources districts to cover the cost of the closure of abandoned wells within communities and their wellhead protection areas; and
- assisting communities with a wellhead protection program to protect the quality of their drinking water and their investment in their well field.
For additional information on the Nebraska Environmental Partnership program, contact Joe Francis or M.J. Rose in NDEQ’s Environmental Assistance Division at (402) 471-6974.
Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality
1200 "N" Street, Suite 400
P.O. Box 98922
Lincoln, Nebraska 68509
(402) 471-2186
