| Oak Bluffs, MA —On Thursday, October 15, Congressman Bill Keating will be joined by federal, state and local partners to announce $2.3 million in grants and technical assistance for local organizations working on high-priority environmental projects, provided through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Southeast New England Program (SNEP). SNEP, funded by Congress and managed by the EPA, works to restore clean water, healthy ecosystems, and sustainable communities in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.
The event will highlight several Martha’s Vineyard organizations receiving a total of $500,000 in 2026 SNEP grants, including:
- $250,000 to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in partnership with Roger Williams University, to install an innovative Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) to help restore clean water in Lagoon Pond;
- $242,000 to the Trustees of Reservations to continue salt marsh and barrier beach restoration at Chappaquiddick
- $6000 to the Great Pond Foundation to continue clean water stewardship in Great Pond.
In addition, we’ll highlight ongoing work by the Center for Coastal Studies of Provincetown to remove “ghost gear” — lost fishing gear that kills marine wildlife — from Martha’s Vineyard, Noman’s Land and other nearby islands.
The SNEP Network, managed by the New England Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maine, will announce a new technical assistance partnership with the Town of Tisbury to reduce water pollution and conserve coastal ecosystems. The partnership is one
of 18 that the Network is awarding throughout the region this year.
Event Speakers (confirmed):
- Peter Wharton, Chair, Martha’s Vineyard Commission
- Congressman Bill Keating
- Alex Gulachenski, Senior Program Manager, SNEP Network, New England Environmental
- Finance Center
- Tom Ardito, Director, SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants, Restore America’s Estuaries
- Alejandra Narvaez, Trustees of Reservations
- Jessica Thomas, Roger Williams University
- Laura Ludwig, Center for Coastal Studies
Following the announcements, the Trustees of Reservations will lead a public tour of salt marsh and barrier beach restoration sites on Chappaquiddick. Chappaquiddick is one of the largest and most ecologically important barrier beach systems in Southeast New England, under threat from coastal storms, sea level rise and other climate-related impacts. In addition to the $242,000 received from SNEP this year, the project builds upon a $100,000 grant last year from SNEP for restoration planning on Chappaquiddick and on barrier beaches in Nantucket. The tour will be held weather permitting; space is limited.
Beyond Martha’s Vineyard, SNEP supports clean water, healthy ecosystems, and thriving communities throughout Southeast New England. Since 2012, SNEP has provided $70 million in funding and technical assistance to help municipalities, non-profit organizations, state and tribal governments, and other organizations accomplish these goals. By funding partnerships, promoting information-sharing, and helping to develop new technologies, SNEP is building capacity for better management of the regional environment while providing on-the-ground benefits for communities and ecosystems.
A similar event to announce SNEP awards on Cape Cod and elsewhere in Massachusetts will be held at Cape Cod Hospital, 27 Park St., Hyannis, at 10:30 a.m. on October 28, in the hospital’s Mugar Conference Room.
SNEP events are free and open to the public; all are welcome.
“The projects funded through this year’s SNEP grants continue to build on the $72 million the program has invested in improving the health and vitality of our coastal waterways over the last decade,” said Congressman Bill Keating. “On places like Martha’s Vineyard, pristine waterways are not just an environmental treasure—they are a vital driver for our local economy, supporting tourism, recreation, and commercial fisheries. The restoration and protection projects funded this year will reach far beyond their immediate communities, providing lasting benefits for our region’s oceans and economy for years to come. I am proud to have created this program, and I will continue to support funding for these critical projects in the future.”
“Massachusetts communities rely on clean water every day for work, life, and play,” said US Senator Ed Markey. “This funding will be transformative for our coastal ecosystems. I’m grateful for the partners who will bring these projects to life and enable these beaches, marshes, and bodies of water to be healthy and enjoyed for decades to come.”
“We thank the Southeastern New England Program for its continued investment in ecological
restoration and for its partnership with the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration and other organizations that are dedicated to restoring and protecting habitats in Massachusetts,” said Beth Lambert, Director of Mass. Division of Ecological Restoration. “Through these collaborative efforts and SNEP’s sustained support for habitat restoration and other resilience-building work, we continue to see the benefits of these partnerships through restored natural landscapes that support biodiversity and resilient communities.”
“Thanks to continued support from EPA’s Southeast New England Program, the SNEP Network will support 18 new projects this coming year. Since 2019, local partners have provided free assistance to communities and tribes on over 60 projects that resulted in enhanced local capacity to move projects toward funding and implementation, a uniform regional level of practice, and better water quality in the region” said Martha Sheils, Director of the New England Environmental Finance Center and the SNEP Network. “A particular area of focus this year is our new Watershed Protection Standard tool that guides community development in a way that maintains pre-development levels of water recharge and prevents increases in stormwater runoff and pollution.”
For a full list of 2026 SWIG grants (10 grants, $2.1 M), 2026 SNEP Restoration Capital Mini-Grants (26 grants, $212,000), and 2026 SNEP Network Partnerships (18 partnerships), please visit the Restore America’s Estuaries SNEP Page.
For more on EPA’s Southeast New England Program, see www.epa.gov/snep
For more about SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants, see www.snepgrants.org
For more on the SNEP Network, see www.snepnetwork.org
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