Local in focus, the initiative emphasizes grass-roots efforts to prevent or remediate pollution at its sources. A methodology to support these efforts includes outreach and technical assistance, assessment, planning, and plan implementation including permitting and enforcement. Some funding for improved watershed management is anticipated from the state. State resource agency activities have been reoriented to implement the watershed approach. Teams of agency staff are assigned to each basin and are responsible for supporting watershed management within each watershed on a rotating schedule from outreach to assessment, through planning to permitting.
Regulations covering stormwater discharges predate the watershed approach.
Under the state Clean Waters Act, MGL c. Due to limited administrative resources, Massachusetts has rarely issued permits for stormwater discharges. While the Watershed Initiative is relatively new, Massachusetts also boasts the oldest and perhaps the most successful wetlands protection program in the nation. Since the 1960s, the comprehensive statute has both directly and indirectly provided protection of water resources. Administration is shared by local and state government.