SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants

2022 Grants

Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is pleased to announce the 2022 funding round of Southeast New England Program Watershed Implementation Grants (SWIG).

Alongside our partners in the region and Senator Jack Reed, the selections for the 2022 round were announced in Brockton, MA and Providence, RI on October 27th and November 4th, respectively.  This year, SWIG awarded $1.9 million in competitive grant funding to 11 projects, programs, and partnerships that restore coastal and watershed ecosystems throughout Southeast New England.

Read the full press release here

2022 SNEP Grant Recipients

The recipients of the 2022 SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants were selected through a competitive process from among $6 million in requests. The 11 projects to be funded are:

Massachusetts Grants

Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) | Weir Creek Tidal Restoration | $138,616

APCC is working with the Town of Dennis to complete feasibility studies for restoration of over 70 acres of wetlands along Weir Creek. This wetland system is tidally restricted by two undersized culverts, resulting in impaired habitat and negative impacts on the nearby community. The site is a priority for the Town and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under the Cape Cod Water Resource Restoration Project and has been identified for future NRCS funding for construction.

Center for Coastal Studies | Removal of Ghost Fishing Gear from Cuttyhunk Shorelines | $55,206

This multi-sector partnership will undertake concerted over-land and vessel-based fishing gear debris extraction working with commercial lobstermen and volunteers to remove debris from the base of cliffs and on boulder-strewn shores. Volunteers (island residents, students, artists, shellfishermen) and donated equipment will be organized to collect and strategically stage debris piles along the shoreline, to then be removed by floating or hauling gear to a vessel, or by transporting with a truck/tractor over- land to a centralized location, processed, and then barged to the mainland for disposal. A public event including art created from project debris will showcase the results.

In April 2023, the project removed nearly 8 tons of debris from the shores of Cuttyhunk Island. The project was featured on PBS News Hour highlighting the work to clean up ghost gear in the Bay of Maine and on Cuttyhunk. Check out the presentation that CCS gave to Island residents here and check out the blogs by Cornell students participating in the project here.

City of Brockton | Nature-Based Flood Resilience for Urban Economic Redevelopment in the Trout Brook Riparian Corridor| $150,000

Trout Brook is an urban stream through Environmental Justice neighborhoods. The grant will fund planning for nature-based solutions combined with engineered improvements to reduce flooding, improve stormwater management, and restore water quality/ecosystem health. The project integrates with ongoing planning by the City to redevelop the abandoned CSX railyard. A broad, restored riparian corridor and stormwater management area along Trout Brook will be flanked by commercial and residential development areas to attract new investment, while simultaneously incorporating green infrastructure and nature-based solutions for improved resiliency, stormwater management, and green space.

Town of Nantucket | Sesachacha Pond Ecological Enhancement and Resilience Strategies | $158,456

This project will improve water quality while addressing coastal climate impacts by stabilizing a coastal bank along a salt pond. The grant will fund installation of a “living shoreline” of constructed reefs and oyster shell. This combination will help improve water quality through natural filtration and will enhance the habitat for the declining wild oyster population in the pond, while protecting a critical coastal road by dissipating wave energy and erosion associated with storm surge.

Groundwork Southcoast | Developing Fall River Resilience: Cook Pond Project| $215,569

This grant will fund important improvements to an urban pond in Fall River while building local capacity for future work in this environmental justice community. In the near term, Groundwork Southcoast (GWSC) will work on restoring walking trails, restoring native plants, increasing the tree canopy, and improving stormwater management around Cook Pond. The grant also focuses on future community needs by forming a steering committee of regional partners that will develop a resilience plan and a vision for Cook Pond.

Rhode Island Grants

Town of Glocester, RI | Chepachet Village Wastewater Improvements | $250,000

The Town will develop a plan to establish reliable wastewater management systems in the historic village of Chepachet. The grant will fund vigorous outreach to communicate with landowners, and will establish a financial incentive for participation, monitoring parameters, covenants and a third-party monitoring entity to ensure long term success. The plan will serve as a model for other historic rural mill villages throughout Southeast New England.

Audubon Society of Rhode Island | Providence Stormwater Innovation Center | $183,948

This project will develop a web- based application and train participatory scientists to perform visual inspections of stormwater installations, and share results via an online dashboard. Stipends will be offered to community monitors. Improvements will be made to three existing stormwater installations in Roger Williams Park, and lessons learned will be shared through a training hosted by the PSIC.

Southern Rhode Island Conservation District | Westerly’s Resilient Riverfront Renewal | $200,000

The Southern Rhode Island Conservation District will use SWIG funding to continue its work on Westerly’s Resilient Riverfront Renewal project. Along the tidally-influenced Pawcatuck River, in the business districts of Main and Canal Streets and the residential North End neighborhood, the project seeks to address environmental concerns, promote public access and interaction, and revitalize economic growth by:

• Developing innovative stormwater management using green infrastructure;
• Alleviating flooding and improving river water quality; and
• Tackling vulnerabilities to sea level rise and climate change for long-term sustainability.

Rhode Island Chapter of Trout Unlimited | Capwell Mill Pond Dam Removal Study and Design | $124,000

The Rhode Island Chapter of Trout Unlimited (RITU) will complete a feasibility study, including 35% designs, for the removal of the Capwell Mill Pond Dam in West Greenwich, Rhode Island. The eventual removal of this structure will restore over 11 miles of stream habitat, create over 20 acres of wetlands, and restore wild brook trout in the state’s Big River Management Area.

Community MusicWorks | Community MusicWorks Center Water Retention Parklet| $150,000

Community MusicWorks (CMW) is building The Community MusicWorks Education Center, an educational and performance facility in the West End of Providence. This grant will support the creation of an exterior natural landscape with a self-contained rainwater recycling and irrigation system. The outdoor spaces are intended to expand the footprint of the building and invite pedestrians and the CMW community to enjoy much needed green space, a parklet, and woodland garden. The outdoor spaces act as green infrastructure recapturing roof rainwater for irrigation and bio-retention areas to capture stormwater.

Interstate Grants

New England Water Pollution Control Comm. | Community-Based Habitat Restoration: Water Chestnut Management in Blackstone & Ten Mile Watersheds | $262,077

This project will empower local communities, including environmental justice areas, to tackle the massive invasion of water chestnut in urban ponds by:

• Demonstrating water chestnut management activities in order to restore habitats in lakes, ponds, and rivers of the Blackstone and Ten Mile River Watersheds;
• Providing technical assistance and training to municipalities;
• Funding large-scale treatment to lessen the burden of future management;
• Supporting volunteer events to train watershed associations to engage communities and eradicate pioneer infestations; and
• Creating materials to train other municipalities to collaboratively manage water chestnut.