MassDEP Awards Four Projects a Total of $108,041 in Grants To Conduct Non-point Source Pollution Assessments

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) announced today that four projects have been awarded federal Section 604b Clean Water Act grants totaling $108,041 to conduct watershed non-point source pollution assessment and planning projects as part of this year's Water Quality Management Planning Competitive Grant Program.

These projects will help to protect Massachusetts' water resources by supporting the Massachusetts Estuaries Project and activities identified in Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) Watershed Action Plans.

Receiving the grant funding are projects in Carver, Martha's Vineyard, Provincetown/Truro, and Westfield.

"The testing of threatened water bodies is a key first step in our overall water resource protection efforts across the Commonwealth," said MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt. "We're pleased to be able to offer this support for communities that want to collect information to help them assess and manage these vital local resources."

Qualified proposals were selected on a competitive basis and grant recipients include regional planning commissions and municipalities. Funding for the projects will be available this spring.

The Massachusetts Estuaries Project is a six-year, $12.5 million effort to develop nitrogen-loading limits for estuaries and modeling tools to help communities develop plans to restore habitat and water quality commensurate with the state's surface water quality standards.

The EOEEA Watershed Action Plans are developed in partnership between state, federal and local levels to identify environmental issues, prevent pollution, and protect or restore environmental quality, while targeting limited resources to where the most environmental benefit can be achieved with available funding.

The following projects were funded under the Water Quality Management Planning Grants Program:
Project Name: Cranberry Bog Management in the Weweantic Watershed
Project Applicant: Town of Carver
EOEEA Watershed: Buzzards Bay
Grant Funding: $16,500 to reduce nutrient loading associated with cranberry production in the Weweantic watershed by updating the cranberry industry's Best Management Practices guide.

Project Name: Martha's Vineyard Coastal Pond Water Quality Monitoring
Project Applicant: Martha's Vineyard Commission
EOEEA Watershed: Islands
Grant Funding: $16,137 to collect data from Tisbury Great and Oyster ponds before, during and after opening inlets to the ocean during a six-to-eight-week period. This information on system responses to inlet openings is needed by the Massachusetts Estuaries Project to accurately model these systems. Land Use figures for the Farm Pond watershed will also be prepared.

Project Name: Provincetown/Truro Estuarine Water Quality Sampling
Project Applicant: Town of Provincetown
EOEEA Watershed: Cape Cod
Grant Funding: $46,400 to continue collection of baseline nutrient and bacteria water quality data within Provincetown Harbor, East Harbor Lagoon, Hatches Harbor and Pamet Harbor in Truro in preparation for entry into the Massachusetts Estuaries Project.

Project Name: Westfield River Basin Water Quality Monitoring Program
Project Applicant: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
EOEEA Watershed: Westfield
Grant Funding: $29,004 to implement a water quality monitoring program in the Westfield River watershed to identify sources of known impairments. This project will conduct 18 months of baseline chemical and bacterial sampling.

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