Last Updated 6/1/2015
Mystic River Watershed Initiative
Mission Statement & 2015/2016 Joint Priorities
Mission Statement: The mission of the Mystic River Watershed Initiative's Steering
Committee ("Steering Committee") is to serve as a coordinating and information-
sharing body to help establish strategic direction and priorities as well as to
recommend and promote key projects and actions needed to improve
environmental conditions in the Mystic River Watershed.
The members of the Steering Committee work collaboratively to improve environmental
conditions throughout the watershed. The efforts of the Steering Committee contribute to
the protection, development, and use of water resources in a sustainable manner. The
Committee's goals include the restoration and protection of water quality, wildlife and its
habitats, and the protection and creation of open public spaces for safe public access to
the waterfront. In addition, the Steering Committee promotes sustainable recreational
uses on the river and its tributaries.
All organizations participating in this collaborative effort will maintain base program
work, to the best of their abilities, with additional targeted involvement that supports the
Mystic River Watershed Initiative with a particular focus on the actions and strategies
listed below. The Steering Committee members work together to identify resources
including funding for needed activities and projects in the watershed.1
2015-2016 Joint Priorities
The following is a list of priority actions and strategies that support the protection,
increase and development of open space and access, as well as improved water quality.
Members of the Steering Committee will work together to implement these actions and to
increase public awareness, participation, understanding, and access to information about
the Mystic River Watershed.
• Help to make the waters of the Mystic River Watershed fishable, boatable, and
swimmable through activities and strategies that reduce and eliminate the
occurrence of SSOs, assist municipalities address pollution from stormwater,
remediate legacy pollution, decrease phosphorus loading, and increase public
awareness of fish consumption health advisories.
Priority #1: Reduce and eliminate overflows related to SSOs
Strategies: Create long-term SSO control plan that includes:
i. Identify funding sources to alleviate overflows
ii. Create an electronic submission form with required fields and conduct
outreach to DPWs to ensure provision of data on volumes, duration and
locations for SSO events
iii. Improve transparency of SSO releases by posting release notifications
online.
iv. Collect additional data on current locations and causes of SSOs
v. Increase opportunities to reduce SSOs
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vi. Create a network or forum for communities to share best practices for SSO
prevention and increase the need for addressing inflow
Priority #2: Create Municipal Technical Assistance Program related to MS4 permit
compliance (potential topics listed below; municipal subcommittee will need to weigh
in on prioritization of these topics)
i. Workshop or roundtable for discussion of funding mechanisms for MS4
implementation
ii. Workshop or roundtable for discussion of communication/community
outreach approaches
iii. Workshop or roundtable for discussion of successes and failures with local
IDDE program
iv. Workshop or roundtable for discussion of successes and failures with
inflow/infiltration programs
v. Provide training on compliance and development of "measureable goals"
to satisfy the new MS4 permit and Minimum Control Measures
vi. Promote or identify funding for more pilot/example projects to illustrate
Best Management Practices relative to infiltration, onsite retention, etc.
vii. Provide information on low-cost outfall water quality testing programs
(dry and wet weather)
viii. Develop fact sheets or assemble information on the connection between
water quality and water quantity
ix. Engage town leaders on how town plan impacts storm water
x. Provide access to modeling to identify opportunities for ground infiltration
xi. Provide forum to share best practice
xii. Provide forum to explore sharing of resources, contracts, etc.
Priority #3: Reduce phosphorus loading in the watershed
i. Promote the use of low or no-phosphorus fertilizers on public properties
through support in the development of Integrated Management Programs
ii. Educate businesses, institutions, and public on the benefits of low and no-
phosphorus fertilizer
iii. Promote funding for more pilot/example projects incorporating infiltration
and onsite retention
iv. Investigate value and cost of phosphorus treatments and strategies beyond
infiltration (aluminum treatments/biomass harvesting)
v. Identify water bodies with water quality impairments (e.g. depressed
dissolved oxygen, elevated chlorophyll a, Cyanobacteria, bio indicators)
resulting from high phosphorous availability
vi. Measure and model the current phosphorous budget and estimate levels of
reduction required to resolve water quality impairments.
vii. Reduce the density and areal extent of aquatic invasive species (eurasion
water milfoil, other invasive milfoil species, water chestnut, etc), as well
as native species (coontail) at a nuisance level. Track such changes over
time by mapping extent and estimating density.
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viii. Leverage partnerships with USGS, FEMA, MassDOT or other state and
federal agencies to complete strategies i through vii.
Priority #4: Increase knowledge of legacy contamination, identify impacts on
designated uses, educate the public and identify priorities and opportunities for
restoration.
i. Compile information on sediment contamination and identify data gaps
ii. Identify health risks associated with exposure to sediment contamination
that could occur during recreation (literature reviews and risk assessments)
iii. Educate the public on environmental conditions and what activities
(fishing, swimming, and boating) are supported and not supported in each
water body
iv. Identify priorities for remediation of sediment contamination based on
threat to human and ecosystem health, cost effectiveness, and emerging
opportunities. Prioritization should include consideration of locations
where recreation is occurring with high frequency (e.g. Maiden River)
v. Leverage resources at municipal, state, and federal levels and academic
institutions to accomplish I through IV (e.g. Mystic Valley Development
Commission, MAPC, MA-DPH, MA-DEP, US-EPA, USGS, USACE,
UMass-Boston, Tufts, and MIT).
• Increase establishment of safe public open space and access to the river and its
tributaries (for example, the redevelopment and remediation of brownfields,
development of walkways, bikeways and trails) by
1. Supporting the development and/or improvement of Open Space and Access
at targeted sites in the watershed already identified; and
2. Continuing to investigate and search for possible Open Space and Access
targets in other parts of the watershed system.
Priority #1: Focus on selected sites in the lower watershed that have been
investigated by the open space subgroup and which will be supported by the Steering
Committee. The recommended priority sites for 2011-2012 are as follows:
i. Development and/or improvement of public Open Space and Access at the
Chemical Lane (the former Monsanto property on the Mystic River main
stem river front), the Maiden River GE site, the Maiden River MBTA
parcel, Draw 7 Park in Somerville and at one selected site in the Chelsea
Creek sub-watershed.
Priority #2: Continue a systemic investigation of other segments of the river system
to identify other properties or projects which may provide for the development of
public Open Space and Access.
The Open Space group will take a five step approach:
i. Select an area of the watershed to study;
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ii. Identify potential open space and access sites through field investigation
and a review of all available open space studies and inventories for that
area;
iii. Evaluate prospects for Open Space where the committee determines there
is appropriate potential by a review of the physical, financial and
regulatory conditions that surround the selected property;
iv. Establish collaborative efforts for Open Space planning and funding where
possible; and
v. Develop support for Open Space development at the selected sites through
the public process.
As this work proceeds, it is anticipated that each targeted site will be different and
will require different actions by the Steering Committee. In the case of Chemical
Lane site, the Committee will be starting from scratch, whereas with Maiden River
GE site clear plans and timelines for development of open space and access have
been established. In the case of Draw 7 Park, the effort will be to help redesign
current uses and park layout and to support development of Open Space and Access
and trail connectivity on nearby private parcels. In every case, effort will be made to
approach all property owners with respect and to engage neighborhood stakeholders
wherever possible.
Caveats
1
Any transaction involving reimbursement or contribution of funds between the parties to this initiative will be handled in accordance
with applicable laws, regulations, and procedures under separate written agreements. Nothing in this document, in and of itself,
obligates EPA to expend appropriations or to enter into any contract, assistance agreement, interagency agreement, or incur other
financial obligations that would be inconsistent with the Agency's statutory authority, its budget priorities, or the availability of
appropriated funds. Furthermore, EPA's membership in the Steering Committee, may not be construed as an effort on the part of EPA
or any federal executive agency to direct the particular use of any funds which the Steering Committee may obtain in support of its
projects or activities. Any discussion concerning the use of funds will be made in accordance with the Watershed Committee's
written operating procedures.
Membership in the Mystic River Watershed Steering Committee and/or participation in its collaborative efforts shall not be the basis
for any exemptions from compliance with any and all regulatory requirements established by local, state, and/or federal governmental
entities.
This document does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by law or equity against any member of the
Mystic River Watershed Initiative or EPA, their officers or employees, or any other person.
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