[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                    'Rockingham                                                      Attachment 95.6.2 - Pt. #1
                                     Planning                                                                   
                                                                                                   121 Water Street, Exeter, N.H. 03833
                                     Commission                                                   603-778-0885                  Fax 603-778-9183


                                           NH COASTAL PROGRAM


                 ROCKINGHAM PLANNING COMMISSION
                                                           FINAL REPORT


                            COASTAL NONPOINT POLLUTION
                                                                  PROGRAM
                      EXETER/SQUAMSCOTT WATERSHED
                                     DEMONSTRATION PROJECT


                                                        GRANT NO. NA370ZO277-01

                                                       OCTOBER 31, 1995










                                                                                                               
                                                                                                        NH Coastal Program

              This report was funded in part by a grant from the Office of State Planning, New Hampshire Coastal
              Program, as authorized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Grant Award
              Number NA370ZO277-0 1.
                                                     







      Atkinson- Brentwood- Danville- East Kingston- Epping- Exeter. Fremont  Greenland  Hampstead- Hampton. Hampton Falls- Kensington- Kingston.New Castle
           Newfields - Newington . Newton  North Hampton  Plaistow - Portsmouth - Rye . Salem  Sandown  Seabrook  South Hampton  Stratham . Windham
 










                                                  NH COASTAL PROGRAM


                                        ROCKINGHAM PLANNING COMMISSION
                                                        FINAL REPORT


                                     COASTAL NONPOINT POLLUTION PROGRAM
                       EXETER/SQUAMSCOTT WATERSHED DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
                                                 GRANT NO. NA370ZO277-01


                                                      OCTOBER 31,1995


              During this year-long project, the staff of the Rockingham Planning Conunission assisted the project
              manager from the NH Coastal Program in completing the work tasks included in this project.
              Assistance involved participation in meetings, consultation with the project manager on various
              aspects of the project, participation in meetings with local officials, review and input on the final
              report, and hosting meetings at the RPC offices. A detailed description of the work performed is
              provided below:

              Work Task A: Educational Workshops

              A meeting was held in December at the RPC offices with the Coastal Program staff to discuss the
              educational workshops. Topics discussed included the content of the workshops, the scheduling of
              the workshops, and the desire to hold two or three regional workshops. Subsequent to this meeting,
              the Coastal Program staff decided that direct meetings with local planning boards would be a more
              effective method of providing technical assistance regarding nonpoint pollution management.

              RPC staff made arrangements for the NH Coastal Program staff to attend Planning Board meetings
              in Stratharn, Greenland, and Hampton. The purpose of the meetings was to provide information on
              the extent of the non-point pollution problem that exists in the area and to discuss steps that
              municipalities could take to regulate non-point pollution on the local level. Water quality information
              was also presented and discussed.

              Work Task B: Demonstration Projec

              RPC staff assisted the Coastal Program staff in selecting local officials that might be willing to serve
              on the steering committee. Mailing lists were provided and in a few instances, RPC staff contacted
              the towns to follow up on having an appointment made. Publicity for the study was prepared by the
              RPC in the form of an article published on the front page of the April edition of the Rockingham
              Planning News, which is the newsletter of the RPC (Attachment 1).

              The RPC agreed to serve as the host to the meetings of the steering committee due the central
              location of the office. Meetings of the steering committee were held in March, April, May, June,
              August, and October. At least one RPC staff person attended and parti i ated in each of these
              meetings.                            US Department of commerce
                                                                            Cc-
                                             NOAA Coastal Services             ater Libr=l
                                                     2-









                Final Report - Rockingham Planning Commission
                October 31, 1995
                Page 2


                RPC staff assisted the Coastal Program staff in locating and reviewing the local regulations and
                regulations to determine how they address nonpoint pollution. After the Coastal Program staff
                prepared an assessment of each town's regulations and ordinances, the RPC planners for each town
                reviewed the information for accuracy and completeness and informed the Coastal Program staff of
                suggested changes.

                A GIS map of the Exeter River Watershed was prepared for use at one of the Steering Committee
                meetings. RPC staff also provided maps, copies and reports regarding previous studies on nonpoint
                pollution sources done by the RPC to the staff of UNH's Jackson Lab. A second version of the base
                map, which was more readable, was produced for inclusion in the final report at the request of the
                project manager (Attachment H).

                As it has done in the past, the RPC provided information on the available model ordinances and
                regulations to the communities within the coastal watersheds. As requested, the RPC worked with
                the local planning boards to amend their local regulations to incorporate these provisions.

                RPC staff participated in discussions regarding the format and content of the final report. A
                description of the various model ordinances available to address non-point pollution issues was
                prepared and sent to the project manager for inclusion in the final report (Attachment IH). A draft
                of the final report was sent to all members of the@ steering comn-dttee for their review. The RPC
               -reviewed the draft in detail and sent a marked up copy to the project manager for her to use in
                completing the final report. The RPC will assist in the distribution of the final report once copies are
                available.











                                      U'S Department       of Commerce      rarrI
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I           "ROCKINGHAM PLANNING NEWS" ARTICLE
         PROMOTING THE EXETER AND SQUAMSCOTT RIVER
I                    WATERSHED STUDY
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                                           Rockingham Planning News

                                                                       The Newsletter of the Rockingham Planning Commission


        Vol. 13 No. 1                                                                                                                      April 15, 1995


        INSIDE                                   Sandown Rejoins Commission                               The original nomination, sponsored by the
        Exeter River Update    ..........   I                                                             Rockingham Land Trust and the Exeter River
        Exeter/Squamscott River                   We are happy to report that Sandown is once             Watershed Association and prepared by the
            Watershed Study Underway             again a member of the RPC. At the                        Rockingham Planning Commission, included
                                           I     recommendation of the Planning Board and the             those portions of the Exeter River from the
        AreView I-For Free!...........     2     Board of Selectmen, the voters approved a                headwaters to Great Darn, the meeting of the
        GIS Update    .................    3     warrant article to restore membership at the             Exeter River with the tidal Squmscott River.
        Spring Land Use Conference      ...3     March Town Meeting. The Town had been non-               The revision was in response to the concerns of
        Natural Resource Lecture Series &        members for two years. This brings community             the Town of Exeter over the draft in-stream flow
            Planning Board Training              membership in the RPC to an all time high of 24          rules and their ability to draw drinking water from
            Workshops   ...............    3     of the 27 municipalities in the RPC's planning           the river. This revision includes a provision that
        Seminars to Improve Rural Fire           district. Welcome back Sandown!                          the portion of river from the confluence with Great
            Protection  ...............    3                                                              Brook to the Great Dam can be designated
        Septic Rule Affects Planners    ....3
        Five Communities Selected for             At  the top of the agenda for local        technical     contingent on the approval of the Exeter Board of
            RPC Planning Grant     ......  4     assistance to Sandown this year will be helping          Selectmen. For further information please contact
        Coastal Program Projects                the Planning Board update its Master Plan and            Betsy Ware, Senior Planner at the RPC.
            Approved   ................    4     CIP and to draft a growth management ordinance
        Transportation Plan and TIP              to be acted on next March. At the recently
            Updates Underway      .......  4     concluded Town Meeting the Town enacted
        Statewide Transportation Planning        Interim Growth Management (RSA 674:23)
            Study  ...................     5     which will expire next year. Since 1980, the
        Staff News....................     5     Town's growth rate has averaged over 7%
        Upcoming Meetings/Events......     5
                                                 annually -- the second highest in the region.
                                                 Despite a slow down elsewhere, residential
                                                 growth continues at a rapid rate in Sandown and
              ROCKINGHAM PLANNING                has made it difficult for the Town to keep up with       Exeter/Squamscott River
                 COMMISSION                      the demand for expansion of schools and other
                 121 Water Street                municipal services. It is hoped that these updatES        Watershed Study Underway
               Exeter, N.H. 03833                will provide the tools needed to pace development
            778-0885 - Fax 778-9183              while expanding services at a rate the Town can          The Exeter and Squamscott Rivers are valuable
                                                 afford.                                                  resources for the region as they provide drinking
              Ececutive Committee                                                                         water for Exeter, significant recreational
                      Officers                      Exeter River Update                                   opportunities for area residents, valuable habitat
              Dan Quinlan, Chairman                                                                       for fish and wildlife, and a significant portion of
              David Holden, Vice Chairman          On January 31, 1995 the Senate held a legislative      freshwater inflow to the Great Bay Estuary. In                                               
              Walter Shivik, Treasurer             hearing on the nomination of the Exeter River to       January, the RPC joined together to begin the
              Nancy Haberstroh, Secretary          the N.H. Rivers  Management and Protection         Exeter/Squamscott River Watershed Nonpoint
              Mary Allen, Past Chairman            Program. With the help of Senators Russman and           Pollution Control Project. Ile objective is to
 75              Members-At-Large                 Keogh, an amended version of the nomination              analyze the watershed, study land uses in the
              Glenn Cpppelman, Forest             sailed through its first round of hearings, with the     areareview land use regulations for each
              Griffin Susan Hastings &               Senate voting in March to recommend the Exeter           municipality, and work with a steering committee
               Lawrence Smith                    River's nomination 'into this program.           The     to develop a strategy to effectively manage sources
                    Alternates                   revised Senate Bill I I I designates that portion of     of nonpoint pollution.
               Thomas Cas, Stephen             the Exeter River from its headwaters to its
              Cushing, Ralph Foster &            confluence with Great Brook into this program,          The first meeting of the Steering Committee qwas
                   Deiche Morse                  and authorizes local river management advisory           held on March 27th. Committee members include
                                                 committees to accept and expand funds for river          town representatives appointed by their Selectmen
                                                 protection.                                              and representatives from the RPC, Rockingham
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           Page 2 - April 15, 1995                                                                                          Rockingham Planning News

           Land Trust, Exeter River Watershed
           Association, NH Coastal Program, and the         
           Rockingham County Conservation District.
           The Committee discussed the project's
           goals, reviewed the work plan, and located
           possible water quality testing sites.

           The next meeting of the Steering
           Committee is scheduled for April 17th at
           4:00 p.m. at the RPC offices. For more
           information contact Jennifer Fox, NH
           Coastal Program, 431-9366 or Steven Bird,
           RPC, 778-088S.


           ArcView I - For Free!

           Communities interested in getting started in
           using GIS (Geographical Information
           Systems) on a shoestring now have a
           solution. ESRI, the company that publishes
           the industry standard ARC/INFO GIS
           software (the standard used by N.H.'s
           GRANIT system), has announced that its           
           Arcview I software package can be                This screen image shows how we use ArcView (in this case ArcView 2) to overlay and view
           obtained at no cost via the Internet.
           ArcView I has been superseded by the next        various GIS coverages. In this instance, several sites near Exit 3 on 1-95 are being
           version, ArcView 2, however, the earlier         evaluated for suitability as a park and ride lot.
           version remains a useful, easy-to-use tool for
           querying and displaying existing databases
           and you can't beat the price!                    

           "But we have no existing GIS database" you
           say? Not true! From the GRANIT system
           and from the RPC's in-house development
           every community in our region can get
           access to a substantial set of ready to use
           GIS "coverages" (i.e., maps) including:

               base map with roads/streets
               surface water
               USGS aquifers
               soils (including hydric soils and slope
               classes, farmland soils, etc.)
               existing land use (RPC          1986
               currently being updated
               Zoning (RPC - 1993)
               tax parcels (for communities who have
               had them digitized and rectified)
               public lands (available in June)
               census tracts and blocks and TIGER
               files


           Here's what we recommend you have for            This ArcView 2 screen shows land parcels in Newfields by land use code. Although you
           computer hardware and software to get            cannot digitize or edit GIS coverages through ArcView, effective use can be made of
           ArcView I up and running: a 486 DX 33            existing Arc/Info data. The GIS coverages we have developed, and all those available
           Here's what we reccomend you have for          through GRANIT, can be viewed and queried through ArcView.
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I       EXETER AND SQUAMSCOTT RIVER WATERSHEDS MAP
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                                      EXETER AND SQUAMSCOTT RIVER WATERSHEDS





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                                                                                                                                                                E. e or
                                                                                 Fremon
                                          -- ------ - -----    -- -----
                                                                          -- ------ -- ------- ------ ---- ----- --------- ------------------
                                                                                 Dan   le
                                                       Sandown                                                     K i    n


                                                                                                                                       Eas    ngsl6n.            K'       n





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                   Sources:  "Base data (town boundaries hydrogr%@y, rqad      am USGS
                               Diliatal Lile Graphs, 1:24,060, as arc ived in t'LliGRANIT
                               da  bose, Compjex Systems   esearch Center. University of
                               New Hampshire.                                                       Scale 1:30000
                               These dici(ol layers orE registered to NAD 83 cnd N.H.
                               State PIdne Zoordinales.


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I                      ATTACHMENT III
I             DESCRIPTION OF MODEL ORDINANCES
                AVAILABLE TO MUNICIPALITIES IN
I       THE EXETER AND SQUAMSCOTT RIVER WATERSHEDS
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                                          EXETER/SQUAMSCOTT WATERSHED
                                     NONPOINT POLLUITON CONTROL PROJECT



              MODEL ORDINANCES:


                      1.      Shoreland Protection: The N.H. Office of State Planning (OSP) has developed a
                              model Shoreland Protection Ordinance to assist local municipalities in implementing
                              the provisions of RSA 483-B, the Shoreland Protection Act. The Act establishes a
                              program for managing the shoreland ad acent to New Hampshire's great ponds,
                              rivers, artificial impoundments, and coastal waters. The model generally tracks the
                              recommendations of the Shoreland Protection Act, but also goes beyond the n-dnimum
                              requirements of the Act in several areas. Each section of the model contains
                              explanatory notes to assist in understanding the model language. A municipality may
                              decide to adopt all or any portion of the model. The benefits of protecting shoreland
                              include: maintenance of safe and healthy conditions; prevention and control of water
                              pollution; protection of important fish, bird, and wildlife habitat; reduction of flooding
                              and accelerated erosion; protection of wetlands; maintenance of water quantity and
                              related stream flows during low flow periods; protection of shoreland cover as a
                              means of maintaining water quality; and the conservation and protection of natural
                              beauty and scenic qualities.

                      2.      Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations: Subdivision regulations apply to
                              the subdivision of land, while site plan review regulations apply to nonresidential and
                              multi-family development. Both types of regulations are important in the effort to
                              provide for the proper treatment of stormwater runoff and the control of nonpoint
                              pollution sources. Various versions of model subdivision and site plan review
                              regulations have been prepared by a variety of groups. Locally, the Rockingham
                              Planning Commission has recently prepared model regulations for subdivision and site
                              plan review. These models cover everything from application procedures to surety
                              agreements. The provisions that specifically address non-point pollution include
                              erosion and sediment control, stormwater management, and control of hazardous
                              materials.


                              There are numerous other sources for model subdivision and site plan review
                              regulations, including versions prepared by other regional planning agencies, the N.H.
                              Office of State Planning, and many books published on the topic.

                      3.      Stormwater Management and Erosion and Sediment Control: As land is
                              developed, the natural vegetation is removed, slopes are changed, areas are paved,
                              and water courses are altered. This causes stormwater runoff to increase and reduces
                              the land's ability to provide natural treatment to runoff. Stormwater runoff from
                              lawns, sidewalks@ parking lots, and streets may contain high concentrations of various
                              pollutants. Soil fi7om the disturbed land also can runoff into surface water due to
                              erosion. Controlling these problems is the subject of a publication from the









                                Rockingham County Conservation District entitled, "Stormwater Management and
                                Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook for Urban and Developing Areas of New
                                Hampshire". The handbook is an excellent source for information on this topic and
                                contains a model erosion and sediment control regulation.

                        4.      Excavation Regulations: RSA 155-E is the state law that regulates excavations in
                                New Hampshire. The law covers permitting procedures, buffer provisions, limits of
                                excavation, operational standards and reclamation standards. The law applies in all
                                communities, regardless of whether they have adopted it's provisions. However many
                                communities have adopted versions of the law and have increased some of the
                                standards due to local situations. Model excavation regulations are available from the
                                Rockingham Planning Commission and other regional planning agencies. Proper
                                operation and reclamation of excavation sites will reduce the potential for erosion and
                                other nonpoint pollution sources.

                        5.      Soil Type Lot Size Regulations: In the 1970's the Rockingham County Conservation
                                District developed a system for determining building- lot sizes based on the land's
                                capacity to handle the effluent from the septic system. This model has been adopted
                                by many communities in Rockingham County and throughout the state. In the early
                                1990's, a group called the Ad Hoc Committee for Soil-Based Lot Size Regulations,
                                conducted an extensive review of the soil type lot size regulations and made revisions
                                to make the regulations even more scientifically defensible. The result was the
                                "Model Subdivision Regulations for Soil-Based Lot Size", published in June, 1991
                                All communities with soil type lot size regulations should bring their local regulations
                                into conformance with the standards set forth in the model. Adoption of this model
                                will reduce the likelihood of nonpoint pollution from septic systems placed on
                                inadequate soil types or insufficient lots.









                                                                                                                          NOAA COASTAL SERVICES CTR LIBRARY



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