| "The results were that the model, in some senses, dispelled myths that several areas were so wetlands-restricted that they were all but incapable of sustaining residential or commercial growth." | |
| Bryon Griffith, Gulf of Mexico Program Office |
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Every local planner in the coastal area of Mississippi recently received a new computer loaded with a specially developed geographic information system (GIS) model that may assist in directing the state's explosive growth. The computers, software, and training on how to use the equipment are the tangible results of a multilevel comprehensive planning effort to encourage development while protecting the state's natural resources.
"Casino development boomed so quickly in our state," says Tina Shumate, director of the Comprehensive Resource Management Bureau of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. "It had gotten to the point where economic development was growing, but we were forgetting about saving our natural resources. We like the economic boom, but at the same time, we don't want to lose our resources."
In 1997, the Department of Marine Resources brought together representatives of state, local, and federal government, businesses and industry, and the general public to address pressing issues, such as traffic congestion and the resulting runoff, and watershed and wetlands protection.
"One of the major problems," Shumate says, "was water quality. We're still a large septic tank area. If you have building that occurs right on top of wetlands, septics could be leaking into the water supply.
"We were trying to find out what questions really needed to be answered," she says. "There wasn't one agency who was handling the issues. We knew we needed to do something. The place to start, we felt, was with the local government entities. What we were trying to do was get with all the planning departments, giving them education, assistance, and tools."
Bringing It Together
After receiving grant monies from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mississippi Coastal Management Program, and state Tidelands funds, the Comprehensive Resource Management Planning Committee broke into teams. While one team worked on developing the best technology to address the local planners' needs, another worked to get all the municipalities in the six coastal watershed counties on board. Each group had its own challenges, Shumate says.
To get the local planners' attention, she explains, "we went door to door. We physically got in the car. We did not make appointments because we learned if we made appointments they ran out when we got there. We tried by telephone, but that didn't work. Once we could see them, we got their interest. We could convince them we had a [water quality] problem and that together we could address it. But we had to get in the door." Each of the 17 municipalities eventually agreed to participate, and have since been "very involved," Shumate says.
Meanwhile, the technology team was gathering GIS data layers from a number of different entities, ranging from city governments to the U.S. Census Bureau. Formatting the data was a bit of a headache, Shumate says. "The state does GIS mapping one way, and cities and counties use another format, and federal agencies use yet another. They had to work to get a consensus on what was going to be the best method and format."
As a result, the initial Coastal Mississippi Land Suitability Model is for the three coastal counties, and work is under way to expand the model to include the other three coastal watershed counties.
The ArcView®-run program includes Geographical Analysis Program data and Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quads, as well as data layers displaying land modeling, developable lands, land use and land cover, soil analysis, and flood zones. ArcView training was given to 111 people in January, and follow-up training will be held in offices that request extra assistance, Shumate says.
Putting It into Practice
The model has already been successfully used in a land use sustainability analysis of Hancock County to determine the best areas for growth over the next 20 years while avoiding wetlands. It is hoped the effort will help guide local infrastructure construction to support future development, says Bryon Griffith, deputy director of the Gulf of Mexico Program Office, which conducted the study as part of the development of a strategic plan for the county.
"The results were that the model, in some senses, dispelled myths that several areas were so wetlands-restricted that they were all but incapable of sustaining residential or commercial growth," Griffith explains. "It demonstrated that the county has more than sufficient lands for guiding future growth and avoiding future impacts in sensitive or culturally significant areas of the county. The key here is smart growth."
Part of that smart growth includes the development of a countywide wastewater collection and treatment facility, Griffith says. The second goal of the study was to help the county remove sewage discharges from receiving waters and move them upland to more appropriate areas. The model is helping to "lay the groundwork" for a wastewater district by displaying information such as soil composition, industry location, and population densities. It also helped demonstrate that treating the entire county's wastewater would cost roughly half of what it would cost each municipality or township to provide the same service on its own.
"It's basically empowering communities to succeed ... by giving them tools that they can actually use," Griffith says of the model. "I couldn't feel better about the project or more sure that it's going to be useful."
The group's work supporting local planning also is showcased in an annual conference held for landowners, developers, mortgage lenders, planners, landscape designers, real estate professionals, homebuyers, and home sellers, Shumate says. The purpose of the conference is to "bring them all together and show them the different methods of development and introduce them to smart growth measures." About 250 people attended the 2001 conference held in April.
"More and more we're planning community growth together," Shumate says. "We want to support local communities and counties as they work as a team, not as separate counties. If one county goes down, they all go down. We're seeing that what's best for all of us is what's best for the watershed and coastal unity."
For more information about the Mississippi Comprehensive Resource Management Plan or Coastal Mississippi Land Suitability Model contact Tina Shumate at (228) 374-5000, ext. 5103, or tina.shumate@dmr.state.ms.us, or Bryon Griffith (228) 688-7161 or griffith.bryon@epa.gov.
