Projects & Programs - Municipal Stormwater Management

New Jersey Technical Assistance Program for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Communities

The purpose of the New Jersey Technical Assistance Program for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Communities is to provide guidance, technical assistance, and resources to effectively implement and expand green infrastructure practices across New Jersey. The program seeks to empower municipal action teams and bring stakeholders together to address combined sewers, infrastructure needs, environmental justice, flooding, and water quality concerns.  A number of obstacles continue to hinder CSO communities from pursuing green infrastructure including:

  • Lack of awareness of green infrastructure funding opportunities and ability to secure funding for local green infrastructure projects
  • Lack of experience with green infrastructure (planning, design, and implementation)
  • Limited funding to complete up-front planning and design work needed for implementation projects

Since April 2014, this program has had a tremendous impact with tackling these barriers. Through our efforts, we have established strong relationships with communities and local partners throughout the state to pursue green infrastructure initiatives.  Since 2014, the program has sought to address the following objectives:

Objective 1: Facilitate municipal action teams in CSO communities integrating them with the CSO long-term control plan

Objective 2: Green infrastructure planning and design support

Objective 3: Green infrastructure technical assistance

  • Assisted five CSO permittees with designing 19 green infrastructure projects that have been submitted to the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust, with requests of over $5 million dollars for funding in 2015 and 2016

Objective 4: Regional information sharing

  • Serving on the National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) Steering Committee and Communications Committee
  • Municipal Action Teams are Moving Green Infrastructure into Action Across the State eNewsletter, April 2017
  • Municipal Action Teams are Moving Green Infrastructure into Action Across the State eNewsletter, March 2017
  • Municipal Action Teams are Moving Green Infrastructure into Action Across the State eNewsletter, February 2017
  • Urban Innovation: Building Collaborative Partnerships across University, Community, and Civic Leaders eNewsletter, December 2016
  • Update on the NJ Technical Assistance Program for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Communities and Jersey City's Arlington Park gets a Rain Garden! eNewsletter, August 2016
  • New Jersey Technical Assistance Program for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Communities eNewsletter, June 2016
  • The Paterson SMART Initiative eNewsletter, April 2016
  • Fixing Flooding: One Community at a Time, Innovative Solutions using Green Infrastructure Conference, February 2016
  • Spanning Three Focus Areas with Green Infrastructure eNewsletter, September 2015
  • Introducing Perth Amboy SWIM eNewsletter, June 2015
  • Financing Opportunity for CSO Communities eNewsletter, January 2015
  • Cleaning New Jersey’s Waterways eNewsletter, November 2014
  • Camden’s Green Infrastructure Projects eNewsletter, September 2014
  • New Jersey CSO Technical Assistance Program eNewsletter, July 2014

Project Funding Source: Surdna Foundation

For more information contact: 

 



Water Resources Program  at Rutgers NJAES