US Representative Bill Keating and EPA Announce $11.5 Million for Cape Cod & Southeast New England Environmental Restoration

Environmental Funding Announcement Event for Public & Press Friday, October 4, 11:30 a.m., Yarmouth, MA

YARMOUTH, Mass., Oct. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, October 4, U.S. Representative Bill Keating will be joined by federal, state and local partners to announce $11.5 million in grants and technical assistance for local organizations working on high-priority environmental projects, provided through the Southeast New England Program (SNEP). SNEP, funded by Congress and managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), works to restore clean water, healthy ecosystems, and sustainable communities in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

EPA will announce $8.75 million in new funding for technical assistance to help communities working on clean water and healthy ecosystems. The assistance will be provided over the next five years through the SNEP Network, managed by the New England Environmental Finance Center based at the Catherine Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine, a member of the University of Maine System.

Funding to be announced also includes $1.3 million in grants to five Massachusetts organizations through SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants (SWIG), managed by Restore America's Estuaries (RAE). Four of these grants, totaling $1.2 million, are for high-profile projects on Cape Cod, including coastal ecological restoration at Mill Creek Park in Yarmouth (more on the individual grants below).

The grant announcement event will begin at 11:30 a.m. and will be hosted by Yarmouth Town Administrator Robert Whritenour. In addition to Representative Keating and Administrator Whritenour, the speaking program will include:

• Caleb White, SE Regional Director, Office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren
• Thelma Murphy, Deputy Director, Water Division, EPA New England
• Drew Osei, Chief, MassDEP Southeast Regional Office Wastewater Section
• Bill Giuliano, Manager, Cranberry Bog Restoration Program, MA Division of Ecological Restoration
• Dorcas McGurrin, Vice Chair, Yarmouth Select Board
• Martha Sheils, Director, New England Environmental Finance Center / SNEP Network
• Dale Oakley, Assistant Director of Natural Resources, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
• Tom Ardito, Director, SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants, Restore America's Estuaries
• Cormac Collier, Nantucket Conservation Foundation (Grantee)
• Dan Goulart, Buzzards Bay Coalition (Grantee)
• Zee Crocker, Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (Grantee)
• Nate Whetten, Town of Yarmouth (Grantee)
• Maryann Dugan, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Comm. (Grantee)

At 1 p.m., following the event, the Town of Yarmouth will lead a walking tour of a new coastal municipal park under development on the site of a former motel. One of the grants announced today will provide $434,230 to the Town and partners to undertake native plantings and other ecological restoration activities on the site. The Town's work will help clean up coastal waters, restore fish and wildlife habitat, and improve shoreline resilience to storms and sea level rise.

The work in Yarmouth is just one example of SNEP's support for clean water, healthy ecosystems, and thriving communities throughout Southeast New England. Since 2012, SNEP has provided $67 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 significant portion of SNEP resources is dedicated toward environmental justice communities throughout the region.

"These federal investments support on-the-ground organizations like SNEP doing the hard work to protect our clean water, restore our ecosystems, and make the entire region more resilient," said U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. "Thanks to our strong federal, state, and local partnership, we're bringing $11.5 million home to invest in Cape Cod, Southeastern Massachusetts, and the entire region."

"EPA is very pleased to announce this year's grant awards with our partners the Environmental Finance Center of the University of Southern Maine and Restore America's Estuaries. As part of EPA's Southeast New England Program, their technical assistance and funding reach scores of local communities, helping to improve water quality and restore coastal habitats throughout southeast Massachusetts and Rhode Island, especially in communities that need it the most," said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. "We deeply appreciate the continued support of Senator Reed and his Congressional colleagues. Their advocacy enables us to build and sustain the much-needed local capacity for good, quality work."

"Clean and thriving waterways are a priority in Massachusetts — promoting biodiversity, improving climate resilience and benefitting our communities," said MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. "We're grateful for the partnerships and support for projects that will make significant strides toward restoring and remediating water resources and ecosystems that are not currently operating at their full potential."

"We are grateful to the SNEP Program for supporting restoration projects in Massachusetts that strengthen resilience and improve important habitat. The demand for this work is high, but communities lack the capacity to move restoration efforts forward. By providing much-needed funding and technical expertise, SNEP helps to fill these gaps and bring people together to work toward our shared goals of a healthy and resilient state," said Division of Ecological Restoration Director Beth Lambert.

The event is free and open to the public and press, and will include photo, video and interview opportunities. Grantees will be available to discuss their projects following the speaking portion of the event.

Event Details: Friday, Oct. 4, 11:30 a.m. – rain or shine

• 11:30 AM – 12:45 p.m. – Speaking Program
• 12:45 – 1 p.m. – Photos; conversation with grantees & tech assistance recipients
• 1 – 1:30 p.m. – Walking tour of Mill Creek Park restoration site

WHERE: Mill Creek Park, #281 MA-28, Yarmouth, MA

PARKING: Yarmouth House Restaurant, #335 MA-28, Yarmouth, MA

2024 SNEP Grant Recipients

The recipients of the 2024 SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants were selected through a competitive process from among $9 million in requests. The 12 projects to be funded are:

Massachusetts Grants

Nantucket Conservation Foundation | Windswept Bog Wetland Restoration| $200,000

Buzzards Bay Coalition | Remediating Stormwater Pollution at Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford) | $362,838

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Marston's Mills Cranberry Bog Restoration | $200,000

Town of Yarmouth | Chase Brook Park Coastal Restoration (formerly Mill Creek Park) | $434,230

Interstate Grant

New England Water Pollution Control Comm. | Community-Based Habitat Restoration: Water Chestnut Management in Blackstone & Ten Mile Watersheds, Phase 2 | $100,000

Rhode Island Grants

Trout Unlimited / RI Dept. of Environmental Management | Breakheart Pond Dam Removal Engineering (Arcadia Management Area, Richmond, RI) | $190,000

Groundwork Rhode Island / Blackstone Park Conservancy / City of Providence | Stormwater Management in York Pond Watershed | $282,288

Town of Coventry | Upper Dam Pond Restoration | $87,568

Town of South Kingstown | Green Hill Pond Water Quality Improvements | $250,000

Pawtuxet River Authority | Fish Passage Engineering at Pontiac Dam (Cranston) | $150,000

Town of Smithfield | Esmond Village Natural Infrastructure Park | $346,522

City of Cranston | Natural Solutions for Flood Mitigation, Fenner Pond Watershed | $192,500

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

SOURCE Restore America's Estuaries