Nebraska's NMMI Program Offers Help with Assessments

There is help for small communities struggling over how to comply with and pay for legal mandates.

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, through a program called the Nebraska Mandates Management Initiative (NMMI), has grants available for community assessments that will better help them understand the quality of their drinking water.

NMMI provides individualized assistance for small communities by helping them cope with and understand public health and environmental laws and regulations.
For example, NMMI provides small grants, usually $2,500, to perform a snapshot analysis of the community's current environmental health infrastructure to assess health risks. Communities hire a consultant of their choice to complete the assessment and prepare a report identifying the community's current environmental health status, as well as real or potential problem areas.

Community members, the consultant and the NMMI team then meet to discuss the report and answer questions. At this point, NMMI may offer additional assistance for activities such as abandoning wells, establishing wellhead protection areas, identifying funding sources for capital projects or educating the community about problem areas.
If your community is interested in a community assessment grant, contact NMMI Coordinator MJ Rose at (402)471-3193 or e-mail deq221@mail.deq.state.ne.us.