The agreement provides funding to the university of new hampshire

The University of New Hampshire received a $1,499,063 Project Grant award, effective April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2027, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water under the Centers of Excellence for Stormwater Control Infrastructure Technologies Grant Program (CFDA 66.490). The award designates UNH as a Cold Climate Center of Excellence for Stormwater Control Infrastructure Technology (CCCESIT), tasked with conducting applied research on stormwater management challenges specific to cold climate regions while providing comprehensive technical assistance to state, tribal, and local governments.

UNH will deliver a suite of products and services including research on innovative bioretention media and road salt source control technologies, rapid response projects addressing urgent stormwater needs, and extensive technical assistance through hybrid seminars, workshops, professional training and certification programs, minimum control measure guidelines and templates, state stormwater manuals and technical guidance documents, and online learning modules. Additional deliverables include scholarships for stormwater professionals, case studies documenting best practices, and a comprehensive inventory and catalog of community stormwater infrastructure needs. The center will facilitate regional collaboration through a technical advisory committee, tribal college partnerships, symposia, and engagement with an established network of researchers, while providing communities with information on stormwater technologies and available financing opportunities to support infrastructure projects and increase local stakeholder involvement.

Specifically, the recipient will serve as a cold climate center of excellence for stormwater control infrastructure technology (cccesit). The recipient will conduct research to support and develop new and innovative stormwater control infrastructure technologies; provide technical assistance with the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of stormwater control infrastructure projects for state, tribal, and local governments and communities; and share findings, recommendations, and best practices with all relevant stakeholders through close collaboration. The recipient will address cold climate challenges, train stormwater professionals in cold climate regions of the united states, enhance regional collaboration, provide information to communities on stormwater technology and financing opportunities for infrastructure projects, and facilitate more and stronger involvement by local community groups to increase support for projects relevant to the local communities. Activities:the activities include serving as a cold climate center of excellence for stormwater control infrastructure technology to conduct research on new media for bioretention practices and source control of road salts; to complete rapid response projects; provide technical assistance to state, tribal, and local governments via several different engagement endeavors including hybrid seminars, workshops, training, and certification, minimum control measure guidelines and templates, state stormwater manuals and technical guidance, online learning modules, scholarships, case studies, and inventory and catalog of stormwater needs of communities; to collaborate with regional institutions of higher education and private and public organizations via a technical advisory committee, tribal college program, workshops, training, certification, symposia, and an established group of researchers through the urban long term ecological research program.subrecipient:the university of minnesota will conduct research by serving as a CO-lead for research activities including research related to source control of road salts. The university of minnesota will also serve as a CO-lead for technical assistance efforts by leveraging the technical advisory committee to expand access of their current portfolio of workshops, training, and certification programs to communities throughout the cold climate region of the US and will develop new programs to provide technical assistance and workforce development to communities within the region. Also, the national municipal stormwater alliance (nmsa) will ensure research supports MS4 community needs, provide research and information on economics, alternative funding, financing, and project delivery. They will also aid in the design and development of technical assistance efforts, leverage existing networks, and collaborate with research institutions and public-private partnerships.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include research projects focused on new media for bioretention practices, source control of road salts, and rapid response projects as identified by a technical advisory committee. There will also be eight technical assistance activities and five collaboration activities. The expected outcomes include a metric and methodology by which road salting programs can measure their progress and effectiveness in reducing salt application, thereby decreasing acute and chronic chloride toxicity in surface and groundwater, improving aquatic habitat, minimizing damage to transportation infrastructure, and protecting human health and safety of residents; an increased number of stormwater professionals that have been trained to implement innovative stormwater control infrastructure technologies; an increased number of technical assistance providers receiving knowledge and tools developed by cccesit; increased awareness among cold climate stormwater commu