The Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program is offering free laboratory testing to assist Buzzards Bay watershed municipal public works departments, boards of health, and natural resource departments monitor stormwater discharges suspected of contributing to water quality degradation of beaches, shellfish beds, and other resources in the Buzzards Bay watershed.  To learn more, read this notice.

Crew removing a manhole cover to collect stormwater samples for testing.

Generally each spring, the Buzzards Bay NEP announces a request for proposals to our municipal minigrant program. The amount of funds released this year will depend on federal funding, which remains uncertain at this time. The last request for proposals we issued was in May 2016, and grants were announced in August 2016, when the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program awarded more than $210,000 to fund seven projects to help towns in the Buzzards Bay watershed meet the goals and objectives of BBNEP’s Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan. These grants were awarded to Acushnet, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, and Wareham. Funded projects included efforts to remove an obstruction to a fish passage, permanently protect several tracks of land that serve as important habitat for rare and protected species, and help protect drinking water sources. The Buzzards Bay NEP is administered by CZM and provides funding and technical assistance to municipalities and environmental groups in their ongoing efforts to protect and restore water quality and living resources. For more information on the last grant round, see this EEA Press Release.