Notice: The NEP is on a hybrid work environment. Besides calling, please also email staff to reach out.

The Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program is an advisory and planning unit of the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. We receive funding from, and are part of, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program. Created in 1985, the Buzzards Bay NEP completed a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Bay in 1991. This plan is a blueprint for the protection and restoration of water quality and living resources in Buzzards Bay and its watershed and was updated in 2013 (go to our CCMP page for more information). Today, the Buzzards Bay NEP provides funding and technical assistance to municipalities and citizens to implement the recommended actions contained in the Management Plan.

How to Contact Us and Program Structure

The views or information contained here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the US EPA.

Address

Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program
81-B County Rd, Suite E
Mattapoisett, MA 02739

Get detailed directions and maps

Staff & Communications

Program main numbers are 508-291-3625 or 774-377-6009.

Dr. Joe Costa is the Buzzards Bay NEP Executive Director. joe.costa@mass.gov 774-377-6000.
Sarah Williams is the Buzzards Bay NEP Regional Planner. sarah.williams@mass.gov 774-377-6002.
Kevin Bartsch is the Buzzards Bay NEP Stormwater Specialist. kevin.bartsch@mass.gov 774-377-6003.
Bernadette Taber is the Buzzards Bay NEP Stormwater Specialist. bernadette.taber@mass.gov 774-377-6004.
Dave Janik is the Buzzards Bay NEP Grant Development Specialist. david.janik@mass.gov 774-377-6005.

CZM South Coast Regional Office

The Buzzards Bay NEP office also houses Massachusetts CZM’s South Coast Regional Office. Sam Haines is the CZM South Coast Regional Coordinator, and he can be reached at 774-377-6001.

A brief report, “The Big Picture.” A PDF file

Buzzards Bay NEP Steering Committee

The Buzzards Bay NEP’s activities and work plan are overseen and approved by a 6-member Steering Committee composed of the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (CZM), the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) and two nonprofits: the Buzzards Bay Action Committee, which is composed of municipal officials, and the Buzzards Bay Coalition, a citizen-based group. Both the Action Committee and the Coalition were offshoots of the Project’s Citizen Advisory Committee, which split in 1987 and led to the formation of these two independent nonprofit organizations. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries also participates on an advisory basis.