October 23, 1996
Contact: Anne Donovan
(617) 727-9530 x411

The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs announced grant awards today totaling $369,575 under the Coastal Pollutant Remediation (CPR) Program. These grants will be used to solve roadway runoff and other pollution problems. Chatham, Ipswich, Marblehead, Nantucket, Revere, Seekonk, and Wareham each received grants ranging from $15,000 to $111,000. The announcements were made by Trudy Coxe, Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA).

"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 Secretary Coxe. "I applaud each grant recipient and all town officials involved for their foresight."

The CPR Program, administered by the state through Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (MCZM), will appropriate up to $4 million over a five year period for projects that reduce stormwater runoff from roadways and other transportation-related nonpoint pollution problems.

"The main goal of the program is to control sources of pollution that are directly impacting important environmental resources such as shellfish beds," explained MCZM Director Peg Brady. "The projects funded this year clearly meet this goal and will make a big difference for our coastal environment."

The Ipswich project, for example, will clean runoff and reduce sedimentation from a storm drain discharge that is burying habitat identified by the Division of Marine Fisheries as critical for spawning of rainbow smelt. Wareham will be treating runoff that is preventing the opening of closed shellfish beds in one portion of Buttermilk Bay. In addition, Chatham will treat runoff that is threatening shellfish bed closures in Oyster Pond. Seekonk is installing leaching catch basins to treat runoff from a densely populated residential area that is affecting the Runnins River.

CPR funding was also provided for three projects to further investigate the sources of stormwater runoff and the identify available solutions. Projects in Marblehead, Nantucket, and Revere will pinpoint the most significant cause of stormwater degradation with $15,000 to $20,000 in seed money.

As Dave Fronzuto, Nantucket Marine Superintendent explains, "We know water quality continues to be threatened, but we don't always have the resources to document the particular source of the problem. This grant will help us gather the evidence and propose a solution."

MCZM will be soliciting applications for the third round of grants in April 1997. Municipalities who have identified a stormwater pollution problem and are interested in developing a proposal for Round 3 are encouraged to Contact MCZM's Steve Barrett at (617) 727-9530, ext. 413.

The CPR program was created under the State Transportation Bond Bill passed by the legislature in December 1994 under the leadership of Rep. Thomas Cahir (D-3rd Barnstable District and Chairman of the Transportation Committee). Towns located within the Massachusetts Coastal Watershed, which includes all areas whose rivers flow into and consequently impact Massachusetts coastal waters, are eligible for funding.