Environmental Affairs Announces Stormwater Grants

October 21, 1997
Contact: Steve Barrett
(617) 727-9530 x413

The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs announced grant awards today totaling $627,308 under the Coastal Pollutant Remediation (CPR) Program. The ten grant recipients are the City of Quincy and the Towns of Bourne, Dartmouth, Harwich, Hingham, Ipswich, Mattapoisett, Provincetown, Salisbury, and Wareham. The announcements were made by Trudy Coxe, Secretary of Environmental Affairs (EOEA). These grants complement the recently announced State Stormwater Management Policy by demonstrating stormwater technologies at key priority discharge areas where important natural resources and human uses are present.

"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 the Office of Coastal Zone Management (MCZM), will appropriate up to $4 million over a five year period for projects that reduce transportation-related nonpoint pollution sources, particularly stormwater runoff from roadways. Over the first two grant rounds, $700,000 has been awarded. 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. The 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).

"Transportation agencies need to work with towns and the environmental community to reduce the devastating consequences of pollution in our coastal waters," emphasized Representative Cahir. "I am pleased to be associated with this effort."

The program goals of remediating pollution sources that are directly impacting natural resources and human uses are evident in the announced grants. The City of Quincy will be installing two sand filters to clean runoff currently discharging to Wollaston Beach, a popular swimming beach and an area closed to shellfishing due to pollution. Harwich will be controlling excess sedimentation and associated nutrients which has created obstructions for herring on their annual migration to spawning areas in the Herring River. Ipswich will be cleaning more discharges to the lower Ipswich estuary near the Sylvania Dam where a fishway was constructed last summer by the Division of Marine Fisheries to aid migrating herring.

"Towns recognize how important these natural resources are to the local economy and to the historical and cultural character of the community," said Peg Brady. "These grant funds reward a significant amount of local effort by these towns to solve water quality problems."

Funding was also provided for two projects to further investigate the sources of stormwater runoff and the identify solutions available for remediation. Projects in Mattapoisett and Dartmouth will pinpoint the most significant cause of stormwater degradation with seed money.

MCZM will be soliciting applications for the fourth round of grants in April 1998 and hopes to be able to augment grant availability. Municipalities who have identified a stormwater pollution problem and are interested in developing a proposal for round four are encouraged to Contact MCZM's Steve Barrett at (617) 727-9530, x413 or the appropriate MCZM regional office.