As in much of the country, coastal communities in the South are under increasing pressure to develop previously undisturbed areas, with houses and roads consuming land at an unprecedented rate.

This development pattern, tied to an influx of new residents, makes urbanization and sprawl primary factors in water quality impairments in South Carolina.

In May 1998, the South Carolina Sea Grant Program hosted a team from the Connecticut NEMO Program to hold a scoping session for representatives of allied agencies and organizations interested in bringing the NEMO Program to South Carolina. From this session the South Carolina Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (SC NEMO) Program formed, coordinated by the SC Sea Grant Extension Program. The program brings together a broad and unique consortium of partners, united in their efforts to protect the state's natural resources through responsible land use planning and development.

The SC NEMO Program has focused on watershed level work throughout the state. The program’s first pilot project was in the Waccamaw River Basin, which

encompasses eight sub-watersheds, totalling 626 square miles. Three formal workshops were given in the study area for local town councils, town planning commissions, county councils, county planning commissions, public works officials and the local press. Additionally, 29 different NEMO presentations were given throughout the study area and the rest of the state on behalf of the pilot program. Requested talks were given to civic groups, non-governmental organizations, environmental advocacy groups and local chambers of commerce in order to generate interest and knowledge about the NEMO program.

In 2000, SC NEMO went statewide, focusing on several designated watersheds. To date, 14 different NEMO presentations have been given, reaching over 175 elected and appointed officials, advocacy groups and others in these watersheds. Several more presentations will be conducted in the Saluda and Catawba watersheds by the end of 2002.

A new effort funded by both EPA Section 319 funds and the NOAA Sea Grant Coastal Community Development Program is focusing on the South Carolina Coast. Headed by a coalition of SC NEMO and the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, the team has conducted 21 NEMO presentations to date. Four formal presentations and 17 briefings have been given to municipal and county planning commissions in the watershed.

Over the four years of its existence, the SC NEMO Program has reached over 600 elected and appointed officials. Surveys of this audience show that 94 percent felt that the NEMO workshops provided them with new information that will help them in their decision-making processes. One hundred percent of those surveyed indicated that they would recommend the NEMO Program to others; a result that particularly pleases the hardworking SC NEMO Team.

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