October 23, 1998
Contact: Anne Donovan
(617) 727-9530 x411

Governor Paul Cellucci announced a $73,360 for Somerville to clean up stormwater pollution entering Alewife Brook and the Mystic River. In all, Cellucci released $423,698 in grant awards today under the Coastal Pollutant Remediation (CPR) Program. Along with Somerville, the grant recipients are Falmouth, Mashpee, Oak Bluffs, Rockport, Rowley, Salem, Salisbury, and Wareham. These grants will be used to identify and clean up sources of road runoff and other stormwater pollution to important coastal areas, such as swimming beaches and shellfish beds.

"Stormwater pollution causes some of the most serious water quality problems in the state," said Cellucci. "With the CPR Program, we get money to cities and towns so they can prevent contaminated stormwater from polluting our rivers and bays and harming the fish and wildlife that live there."

"The enthusiastic response to the CPR program shows that towns recognize how fundamental clean water is to local industries like traditional shellfishing, to green business like aquaculture and tourism, and to overall quality of life," said Environmental Affairs Secretary Trudy Coxe. "The CPR grant funds, administered by Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (MCZM), allows the state to help communities address their water quality problems."

"Towns recognize how important these natural resources are to the residents, tourists, and the local economy," said MCZM Director Peg Brady. "Each grant recipient and all of the town officials involved deserve tremendous credit for identifying these problems and working to solve them."

The primary focus of the CPR Program is to reduce transportation-related nonpoint pollution sources, particularly stormwater runoff from roadways. Through the previous three grant rounds, more than $1.3 million has been awarded. Communities located within the Massachusetts Coastal Watershed, which includes all areas whose rivers flow into and consequently impact Massachusetts coastal waters, are eligible for funding.

In Somerville, the grant money will be used to build structures that treat outfalls that discharge into Alewife Brook and the Mystic River. This project will reduce the pollution levels in the stormwater, helping to clean up these important urban waterways.