PHASE II HOME

Measure 2 home

Public Involvement Cycle

The Seven Principles

Public Notice Requirements

Factsheets

2a: Administer program

2b: Volunteer involvement

2c: Citizens' group

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Water Education for Communities & Local Officials

NCSU-CES

 Measure 2c: Establish a Citizens' Group

"Develop a citizens' group for input on stormwater issues and the stormwater program. The Citizens’ Group that you convene will be responsible for going over the Phase II permit and Stormwater Management Plan on a regular basis (at least several times a year)."

Members of the Citizens' Group

Ideally, your Citizens’ Group will have balanced representation from a variety of stakeholders in your jurisdiction. You could have representatives from the following groups:

  • Interested citizens,
  • Minority and low-income communities,
  • Educational institutions,
  • Neighborhood and community groups,
  • Local newspapers, radio stations, and television news departments,
  • Environmental and outdoor recreation groups,
  • Developers, and
  • Business and industry 

The Role of the Citizens' Group

Depending on their level of commitment and interest, you Citizens' Group will make recommendations to you about some or all of the following topics:

  • Bringing up stormwater issues of concern,
  • Conducting an annual review of the Stormwater Plan,
  • Selecting education topics and approaches that will resonate with your citizens (Measure 1),
  • Selecting volunteer community involvement programs to pursue (Measure 2),
  • Developing an ordinance to support the illicit discharge detection program (Measure 3),
  • Deciding whether or not to pursue local delegation of erosion control (Measure 4),
  • Developing an ordinance to regulate stormwater controls on new development  (Measure 5),
  • Shaping your pollution prevention and good housekeeping program (Measure 6), and
  • Choosing funding sources for your stormwater program.

Leading the Citizens' Group

It takes time and skill to create an effective Citizens' Group. The NC Cooperative Extension Service has compiled a fact sheet on Tips for Effective Meetings and Committees. A more in-depth publication by NCCES is Local Watershed Planning: Getting Citizens Involved. The Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) of Purdue University has put together excellent web pages on Building Local Partnerships and Leading and Communicating.

The Citizens' Group Process

We recommend that your committee select just a few stormwater strategies to implement at a time (for example, a strategy might be to educate citizens about reducing fertilizer usage). For each strategy it selects, the committee can follow a process like the one laid out below.

Address issues that are important to the community and will make a difference to the quality of your local water resources. The committee will to share information about which issues are important and why. measure2c.jpg flowchart

The program strategy should be based on the issues, concerns and goals identified. Initial strategies will likely require citizen education, and may be geared toward those concerns where public distrust may be present.

Depending on the strategy, the group members may be able to work with their own organizations or community groups to help meet community stormwater goals. Working with the local media is a great way to increase the impact of these activities on the community.

With the help of the group, try to determine the success of the strategy. How do citizens perceive the strategy? Is the strategy protecting and restoring local water resources? Collecting and analyzing data doesn’t have to be expensive. For example, you can include surveys to citizens inserted into utility bills, phone calls to citizens and focus groups. Consider involving school classes in collecting and analyzing information.

Depending upon your results, you may have to reassess your goals, strategies or implementation. The committee will continuously be facing new issues and trying new strategies.