State Impacts
The all-important changes at the town level are not the only impact that the NEMO Program has had in Connecticut.
At the University of Connecticut, NEMO has been working with the new Office of Environmental Policy to help promote environmentally sound development and building practices as the University continues its unprecedented expansion. For instance, in March of 2003 the Environmental Policy Office and NEMO co-hosted an educational workshop on innovative stormwater management for current and aspiring UConn contractors and again in 2005 for state university grounds maintainers. In addition, NEMO was the model and foundation for the UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR), approved as a University Center by the Board of Trustees in April 2002.
At the state level, NEMO programs
and references have been incorporated into many important state plans
and policy documents, including the Plan
of Conservation and Development, Nonpoint
Source Plan, Coastal Nonpoint
Source Plan and the state Stormwater
Quality Manual. In 2005, working with CT DEP, NEMO held over
20 statewide workshops on the Stormwater Quality Manual reaching
over 1000 land use professionals and town commissioners. As a continuation
of its longstanding partnership with CT DEP, NEMO will continue assisting
with statewide training on the Stormwater Manual.