SNEP Watershed Grants
2021 Grants
Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has selected 14 local organizations for $1.75 million in new federal funding under the 2021 round of Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Watershed Grants. Read the combined press release here.
2021 SNEP Watershed Grants will fund work by municipalities and other local organizations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to accomplish the goals of EPA’s SNEP program: a resilient ecosystem of safe and healthy waters, thriving watersheds and natural lands, and sustainable communities. Since 2012, SNEP has provided nearly $40 million in funding and technical assistance to help municipalities, non-profit organizations, state and tribal governments, universities and other organizations working to solve the region’s most pressing environmental problems. By supporting partnerships, promoting information-sharing, and funding new technologies, SNEP is building capacity for better management of the regional environment while providing on-the-ground benefits for communities and ecosystems.
The grants will be matched by a comparable amount of non-federal funds pledged by the grant recipients and their partners, resulting in nearly $3.6 million in new funding for local projects to improve the coastal environment of Southeast New England.
Watch the 2021 Massachusetts SNEP Watershed Grants Announcement
Groundwork Southcoast | New Bedford North End Resilience District | $100,000
Groundwork Southcoast will work with an environmental justice community in New Bedford to create a master plan for the North End Resilience District, in order to improve open space and environmental quality for the community and improve water quality in the Acushnet River and Buzzards Bay.
Mass Audubon | Broad Meadow Brook Wetland and Stream Restoration | $74,800
This grant will fund restoration design for Broad Meadow Brook at the headwaters of the Blackstone River, in order to provide ecological and social benefits to the region, including flood storage, floodplain connection, wetland habitat enhancement, and water quality improvement.
Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation |Black Brook Stream Crossing Assessment| $138,842
Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation will restore ecological functions to the headwaters of Mill Brook, a stream within a conservation area on Martha’s Vineyard, by replacing two undersized culverts with a larger box culvert.
Harwich Conservation Trust | Hinckleys Pond Eco-Restoration Project | $146,700
The grant will fund data collection, design, and permitting to restore a 174-acre watershed, including 30 acres of retired cranberry bogs, 500 feet of pond shoreline, public trails and student learning opportunities.
Association to Preserve Cape Cod| Stormwater Management at Public Boat Ramps | $148,871
A regional assessment of public boat ramps in the SNEP region of Cape Cod to identify and prioritize sites for green infrastructure stormwater management.
Bristol County Water Authority | Kickemuit River Estuary Restoration | $80,000
Design and permitting to remove two dams on the Kickemuit River in Warren, R.I. The dam removals will restore a tidal estuary, create habitat for estuarine species, facilitate marsh migration, improve the river’s water quality by increasing tidal flushing, and increase community resiliency by restoring the flood plain and reducing road flooding.
City of Woonsocket | Truman Drive Greenway Project| $187,500
Transform an underutilized public road into a linear park providing co-benefits to the City’s residents and businesses. The project removes 1.5 travel lanes and converts them into landscape elements that treat stormwater.
Town of Middletown | Maidford River & Floodplain Restoration | $121,800
Using both nature-based and infrastructure-based solutions to realign and restore the Maidford River in Middletown, RI, this project will reduce flooding, restore ecosystems, manage nutrients, and improve drinking water quality.
Groundwork Rhode Island | Green Infrastructure Maintenance | $238,274
Groundwork Rhode Island will work with the Narragansett Bay Commission and other non-profit partners to install improve stormwater management on private property through outreach, assessment, training and on-the-ground support.
Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation | Ghost Gear Removal Program for Rhode Island | $17,385
This project develops a sustainable plan for removing abandoned fishing gear from Rhode Island waters. A planning document will detail how to finance, locate, remove, and dispose of ghost gear. An expert and stakeholder workshop will review the plan. Community meetings will share the plan.
City of Cranston | Urban Green Infrastructure at Spectacle Pond | $150,000
Spectacle Pond is an urban pond with a phosphorous impairment that is the cause of algal blooms. Restoring water quality will improve its ecological value to the adjacent urban neighborhoods.
Clean Ocean Access | Land to Sea Speaker Series | $15,000
Multi-month series of community building peer-to-peer learning events meant to build partnerships within the communities of Newport County and foster a multigenerational conversation and sense of collaboration regarding watershed stewardship. Speakers will present on past, present, and future work funded by SNEP and include panel discussion with stakeholders and practitioners.
Town of Tiverton | Tiverton Fogland Beach Resiliency Project | $34,700
Complete design and permitting to manage and treat stormwater runoff and improve coastal resiliency at Tiverton’s Fogland Beach and Conservation Area. This area is extremely vulnerable to storm surge and environmental quality degradation.
City of Pawtucket | Tidewater Landing – Green Space and Redevelopment | $300,000
The Tidewater Landing project is an exciting public-private partnership that will transform Pawtucket’s waterfront through construction of a soccer stadium, public park and walkway, and mixed-use development. This funding will support largescale stormwater improvements, complementing the $284 million in private funding and $46 million in public funding for the larger project.
The 2021 SNEP Watershed Grants Request for Proposals (RFP) can be downloaded here.
