SNEP Watershed Grants

2018 Grants

To help restore clean water and healthy ecosystems to Southeast New England, RAE, with financial support from the EPA, announced $4.5 million in new funding for local partnerships working to solve high-priority problems such as water pollution and habitat degradation through the SNEP Watershed Grants.

RAE selected 14 grant recipients out of 60 applicants who submitted a total of $20 million in project proposals. The awardees include municipalities, non-profit organizations, state agencies, universities and regional planning organizations, each of which is leading an innovative, high-impact project of regional importance. The $4.5 million in federal funds will be matched by an additional $1.8 million in state and local dollars – providing altogether more than $6.3 million in new funding to protect and restore Southeast New England’s environment. Read the combined press release here.

Town of Bristol | Restoring Silver Creek at the Bristol Golf Course | $300,000
Restore Silver Creek on Bristol Harbor through wetland restoration adjacent to a municipal golf course.
–Town of Bristol Community Development Projects

City of Pawtucket | Pine Street “Green Streets” Grant | $376,000
Build a “green and complete street” – integrating clean water, transportation improvements, and urban redevelopment – adjacent to a new rail station in the city of Pawtucket, RI.
–Green Infrastructure Maintenance Training Videos

RI Dept. of Environmental Management | Water Quality Monitoring Buoys in Narragansett Bay | $300,000
(RIDEM) to upgrade environmental monitoring equipment in Narragansett Bay.

Save The Bay | Plan to Restore Water Quality in 100-Acre Cove | $132,000
Restore clean water in Hundred Acre Cove in Upper Narragansett Bay.

University of Rhode Island | Modelling Groundwater in Coastal Environments | $475,000
A scientific study of groundwater pollution to Narragansett Bay and the South Shore salt ponds.

RIDEM | Modeling Nutrient Loadings to the Pawcatuck River | $450,000
Work with the State of Connecticut on restoring the Pawcatuck River Estuary and Little Narragansett Bay.

Association to Preserve Cape Cod | 3 Bays Stormwater Remediation | $350,000
-Read the Executive Summary
Design and installation of green infrastructure stormwater management practices to restore clean water to three bays in Barnstable through an innovative watershed management program. Partners: Town of Barnstable, Cotuit Public Library, Horsley Witten Group, and others. Click here to watch a short presentation on this project from APCC.

Buzzards Bay Coalition | Collaboration to Reduce Nitrogen to Buzzards Bay | $419,000
Reduce nitrogen pollution to Upper Buzzards Bay and foster economic development by leading a project to expand the capacity of the Wareham wastewater treatment facility. Read the Upper Bay Regional Wastewater Feasibility Assessment Report here.

Cape Cod Commission | Regional Water Resources Data for Cape Cod | $400,000
Develop a Cape-wide water quality data management system and data portal, aggregate data from multiple monitoring programs and provide analysis tools to support clean water restoration efforts by federal, state and local organizations.

Falmouth Rod & Gun Club | Childs River Dam Removal & River Restoration | $450,000
–Read the Executive Summary
Restore native wetland habitat in a former cranberry bog and stream habitat for brook trout and other aquatic species in Falmouth and Mashpee. Click here for much more on this recently completed project!

Martha’s Vineyard Commission | Permeable Reactive Barrier For Lagoon Pond | $250,000
Install and test an innovative new technology for reducing groundwater pollution to Lagoon Pond on Martha’s Vineyard.

Pleasant Bay Alliance | Estuarine Water Quality Restoration on Pleasant Bay |$250,000
Restore water quality in Cape Cod’s largest estuary by leading a coordinated program among the Towns of Brewster, Chatham, Harwich and Orleans.

New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission | Low-Gradient Coastal Index of Biotic Integrity | $250,000
Develop a new method of assessing coastal water quality, providing an important new tool for state and local clean water restoration efforts.

Southeast Regional Planning & Economic Development District | Municipal Collaboration in the Taunton River Watershed | $100,000
Continue leading the Resilient Taunton Watershed Network, a collaboration among communities working to preserve and restore the Taunton River watershed through stormwater management and other actions.

The grants were announced in September at events at Pawtucket City Hall in Pawtucket, RI, and Mass. Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, MA. The Rhode Island event featured Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse; Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline; EPA Regional Administrator Alexandra Dunn; and RIDEM Director Janet Coit. The Massachusetts event featured Congressman Bill Keating; Regional Administrator Dunn; Deputy Commissioner Gary Moran of the Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection; and Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, President of Mass. Maritime Academy. Click here to view slides from the 2018 Summit SNEP presentation.