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SWIFT ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES $249,773 IN STORMWATER GRANTS FOR CAPE COD AND THE ISLANDS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bob Durand, Secretary of Environmental Affairs, today announced the Swift Administration's award of $249,773 in grants to Cape Cod and Island communities under the Coastal Pollution Remediation (CPR) program. The five (5) grant recipients are Barnstable, Nantucket, Sandwich, Tisbury, and Wellfleet. Funding will be used to identify and clean up sources of stormwater road runoff and other nonpoint source pollution to important coastal areas, such as swimming beaches and shellfish beds. Secretary Durand made the announcement as part of Governor Jane Swifts's Cabinet Day. The Governor's Cabinet Day, the second of a number of similar planned events, is an effort to make the public aware of the various projects going on within the secretariats in the governor's cabinet, and to give the public a chance for one on one discussion with cabinet level state officials. "Stormwater pollution causes some of the most serious water quality problems in the state," said Secretary Durand. "The CPR program allows us to get money to cities and towns so they can prevent contaminated stormwater from polluting our rivers, bays, and estuaries and harming the fish, shellfish, and wildlife that live there." The primary focus of the CPR program, which is administered by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), is to reduce transportation-related nonpoint pollution sources, particularly stormwater runoff from municipal roadways. Over the past six (6) years, more than $2.7 million has been awarded to fund 60 projects. All communities located within the Massachusetts Coastal Watershed, which includes all areas whose rivers flow into and consequently impact Massachusetts' coastal water, are eligible for funding. The CPR program's goal of mitigating pollution sources that are directly impacting natural resources and human uses is clearly met by these grant awards. For example, Wellfleet's $36,000 grant will reduce the amount of coliform bacteria entering Duck Creek, which will help to improve water quality in the creek and perhaps allow year-round harvesting of shellfish. This implementation project follows a CPR assessment grant Wellfleet received in 1999 to study the causes of Duck Creek's water quality problems. The $94,947 grant award to Sandwich will enable the town to complete the final phase of stormwater improvements in the Town Neck area. Town Neck empties into the Mill Creek Estuary, a productive shellfish area currently closed to harvesting. In addition, the Town of Barnstable will receive $23,700 to study stormwater discharges into Hyannis Inner Harbor, a busy harbor where shellfishing is currently prohibited because of bacterial pollution. "Community feedback from past grant rounds has shown us that towns often do not have the resources to identify the source of stormwater pollution and develop solutions," said CZM Director Tom Skinner. "The CPR Program has responded to this need by providing increased technical assistance to communities through our Boston and Regional Offices. We have also partnered with agencies, such as the Massachusetts Bays Program and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which can provide guidance to municipalities in developing comprehensive projects and competitive applications." CZM will be soliciting applications for next year's grant round in May, 2002. Cape and Island communities that have identified a stormwater pollution problem and are interested in developing a proposal for the next grant round are encouraged to contact CZM's Steve McKenna, CPR Program Coordinator, at (508) 362-1760. Communities outside the Cape and Islands region may contact the appropriate CZM regional office:
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Boston, MA 02114