The Buzzards Bay NEP, through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, awarded $873,637 to four Buzzards Bay watershed municipalities.  The grants will help the municipalities treat stormwater discharges, evaluate wastewater treatment plant discharge capacity, and protect critical habitat in the Buzzards Bay watershed. The five grants, awarded through the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, are funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The grants also leverage over $6 million in local, state, and federal funds and in-kind services and help meet Massachusetts’ climate resilience and environmental equity goals.

The following municipalities were awarded grants:

•             The Town of Bourne will receive $375,000 to construct a stormwater treatment system to address contaminated runoff from a parking lot at Queen Sewell Pond beach and to design additional stormwater treatment systems for another outfall near the beach at Bayberry Road. Queen Sewell Pond has been prone to bacteria and nutrient contamination, resulting in harmful algae blooms and beach closures. The proposed project will capture and treat the stormwater runoff before it enters the pond.

•             The Town of Carver and the Town of Wareham will each receive $75,000 to work with the Buzzards Bay Coalition to permanently protect 522 acres in Carver and 215 acres in Wareham. Acquisition of these lands will protect forested uplands, cranberry bogs, and wetlands and will contribute to a growing greenway corridor along the Weweantic River. The Buzzards Bay Coalition will acquire and own the land, and both municipal conservation commissions will hold conservation restrictions in their respective towns. The lands will be used for conservation, restoration, public education, and recreation.

•             The City of New Bedford will receive $250,000 to design and permit green infrastructure stormwater treatment solutions at three sites within the Buttonwood Park Zoo. Stormwater runoff from animal enclosures now discharge high levels of bacteria, sediment, and nutrients to Buttonwood Brook. The new stormwater treatment systems will replicate natural processes to trap and filter stormwater prior to reaching local waterbodies to reduce pollutant loads and improve water quality and habitat in the brook and downstream in Apponagansett Bay.

•             The Town of Wareham will receive $98,637 to evaluate planned increased wastewater flows from the town’s Water Pollution Control Facility. The purpose of the study is to determine if the existing outfall location can accept increased flows from the planned sewer expansion with additional levels of treatment without degrading water quality. The study will also evaluate the benefits of moving the outfall location to other sites.

The NEP is fortunate to be able to provide these federal funds for such diverse and innovative projects to protect habitat and water quality in Buzzards Bay. We will continue to seek and secure funds so that the communities in this region can successfully complete many more projects like these.

On March 14, The Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) through the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, announced $182,897 in federally funded grant awards for projects that will preserve critical habitat, support fish migration, and improve tidal flow to salt marshes in the Buzzards Bay watershed. The funding was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Southeast New England Program. The four grants, which are being matched by nearly $90,000 in state, local, and private funds, are being awarded by the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) through the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southeast New England Program.

The following municipalities were awarded grants:

• The Town of Fairhaven will receive $15,000 to purchase a conservation restriction on a 5.75-acre parcel of land to prevent future development, preserve natural resources, and provide passive recreational opportunities to the public. The property, consisting of coastal forest, wetlands, and a perennial stream, immediately connects to over 250 acres of existing conservation land as well as the regional multi-use Phoenix Bike Trail.
• The Town of Marion will receive $47,897 to work with its partner, the Buzzards Bay Coalition, to complete feasibility/conceptual designs to replace two undersized culverts on Delano Road in Marion. The culverts restrict water flow between the expansive wooded wetlands of the Great Swamp and adjacent coastal habitats of Buzzards Bay. The project will provide climate resilience benefits, such as preventing the upstream impoundment of water and resultant road flooding and allowing for salt marsh migration with rising sea levels.
• The Town of Wareham will receive $70,000 to work with its partner, the Buzzards Bay Coalition, to complete feasibility/conceptual designs to support the replacement of a tidally restrictive culvert on Indian Neck Road at the Crooked River. The project will also investigate the partial removal of a dike that restricts tidal exchange within the adjacent Jack’s Marsh. The replacement of these structures will support climate resilience goals by improving tidal exchange to 11 acres of marsh and facilitating future pathways for marsh migration to adjacent low-lying areas in the face of rising sea levels.
• The Town of Westport will receive $50,000 to work with its partner, the Buzzards Bay Coalition, to complete data collection and survey work to advance the replacement of three undersized and deteriorating culverts located on cold water streams. The culverts reduce aquatic connectivity, serve as barriers to native fish migration, and pose risks to public safety. Replacement of these culverts will provide access to critical habitat for migratory fish, including sea-run brook trout, as well as river herring and American eel.

We were pleased to see several culvert replacement projects funded in this grant round. Culvert replacements not only address flooding and coastal resilience issues, but they can enhance fish and wildlife migration and improve connections between wetland habitats.

For more information about the grant announcement, read this CZM Press release.