The economic and social impacts of water quality on a community are far-reaching. Educating community leaders and decision-makers on the impacts of good environmental stewardship is the first step toward community change.

Programs designed to encourage leadership among adults in the community include a component that focuses on land use and the environment. This incorporates the water quality issues and addresses best management practices as well as the environment and economic impacts.

The SC NEMO program is designed to inform and educate local officials on how local land use decisions and polluted runoff are inextricably linked, in an effort to have nonpoint source pollution considered more when land use policy decisions are made. Since 1998, the SC NEMO program has been funded by a US Environmental Protection Agency Section 319 grant, which is administered by the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). To date, over $400,000 in grant moneys have been obtained to build program capability.