In February 2022, the Stormwater Collaborative, through the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and in partnership with the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (NEP), received a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection MS4 grant of $71,000 to conduct Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) investigations in eight towns using the Stormwater Collaborative’s IDDE trailer funded in an earlier grant. Since 2021, an additional 200 catchments have been evaluated, and over 150 stormwater outfalls have been inventoried and over 100 stormwater samples have been collected.  We have posted an interactive map of the Buzzards Bay Stormwater Collaborative mapping and monitoring efforts, with links including photos and water quality reports for selected discharges. The DEP grant also funded a series of hands-on IDDE workshops in April and May that were conducted by MMA and Buzzards Bay NEP staff. The five all-day workshops attracted 52 participants from 20 municipalities.

The Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) will update its Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) in 2023.  The purpose of the CCMP is to define goals and approaches to protect and restore water quality and living resources in Buzzards Bay and its surrounding watershed. Approaches and recommendations contained in the CCMP not only define the work of the NEP and establish eligibility for our grant and technical assistance programs, but priorities in the CCMP are considered by several other state and federal grant programs as well.

As part of the CCMP update, the NEP must undertake a climate change vulnerability assessment to determine how climate drivers might affect our collective ability to meet the goals and objectives in the CCMP. The results of the climate vulnerability assessment will be reflected in the 2023 CCMP update. To read the assessment, participate in workshops, or provide input into the process, go to our 2022 Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment page.