Environmental Planning

Project Examples:

Lower Merrimack River Corridor Management Plan - The Lower Merrimack River Corridor Management Plan provides guidance for the Lower Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee and the four NRPC communities within the corridor: Merrimack, Litchfield, Nashua, and Hudson. It was updated in 2022 thanks to a Local Sourcewater Protection Grant from NHDES.

Souhegan River Corridor Management Plan - The Souhegan River Corridor Management Plan provides guidance for the Souhegan River Local Advisory Committee and the four NRPC communities within the corridor: Amherst, Merrimack, Milford, and Wilton.  It was updated in 2025 thanks to a 604(b) water quality planning grant from NHDES.

Project Example:

The Water Quality Protection Plan for Robinson Pond, Hudson, NH - NRPC secured a 604(b) grant from NHDES to create a Water Quality Protection Plan for Robinson Pond in the town of Hudson. The plan, completed in 2024 with the help of environmental consultant VHB, recommends specific projects designed to improve the pond’s water quality and address current MS4 permit requirements.

Project Example:

Litchfield Conservation Plan - A conservation plan embodies a vision for the protection of the ecological health of the community.  Also an action plan, it sets priorities, suggests strategies, and provides a mechanism to measure progress.  NRPC completed this plan, which also included an natural resource inventory (NRI), under contract with Litchfield the Conservation Commission.

Project Example:

Under contract with the Nashua Conservation Commission, NRPC completed update to the Nashua Natural Resources Inventory (NRI), which provides timely information to help local decision-makers assess the status of the town’s natural resources.

Project Example:

NRPC serves as the fiscal agent of the NH Lower Merrimack Valley Stormwater Coalition's municipal pooled funds and also provides virtual host services and other administrative support for monthly meetings.

Project Example:

The Merrimack River Watershed is at risk of catastrophic flooding. The climate trend of increased overall precipitation puts culverts at risk of failure with subsequent flooding at crossings causing habitat degradation.

The goal of this project is to empower NH transportation, wildlife, and environmental stakeholders to continually create a robust, efficient and multi-benefit list of potential crossing improvement projects.  As Stream Crossing Navigators, RPC staff provided on-the-ground resilient crossing project development support and facilitate on-the-job training with the Crossing Prioritization Planning Tools developed as part of the broader project to professionals fully engrained and supported by their community. The RPCs are a direct line of communication to State staff so that community needs are better understood at multiple scales.

Project Example:

Hazardous Substances Protection Overlay District  This project was funded by a grant from NHDES and inspired by lessons learned from the Elk River incident in Charleston, WV where 10,000 gallons of 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol were released into the public water supply that left 400,000 people without drinking water for nine days. Locally, the Merrimack River is a source of drinking water for our region and careful measures should be taken to protect it from hazardous substance spills. The project resulted in a Model Zoning Ordinance and Model Site Plan Regulations.

Project Examples:

Greater Boston Climate Action Plan - NRPC, with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) as the lead organization, received an EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) award to partner with other RPCs to create a climate action plan for the Greater Boston metro region- including 167 communities in eastern MA and southern NH. In 2025, NRPC supported MAPC in outreach and engagement efforts and provided input on the draft Comprehensive Climate Action Plan.

Climate Health Adaptation Plan - In partnership with the Greater Nashua Public Health Network, NRPC conducted an assessment of the region’s geography and demographics, weather hazards and climate risks, and populations vulnerable to those risks. Through an analysis of various local, regional, and state data sources, the four main areas of the plan are extreme heat, air quality, extreme precipitation events, and  vector habitat. Mapping aided the identification of vulnerable populations. Once the weather hazards and their associated health impacts were thoroughly studied, they were ranked through a prioritization process that included the input of partner organizations. Heat-related illness was identified as the primary health impact affecting the region, because of the anticipated increase of number of days with a heat index above 90˚F, particularly in the more urban areas of the region.

Nashua Region Water Resiliency Plan - The goal of the Nashua Region Water Resiliency Action Plan is to help municipalities become more resilient to the impacts that climate change has on their water infrastructure and vulnerable populations. The plan was completed in 2016 with funding by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Healthy Communities Grant Program.