Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grants

Find information on this grant opportunity from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM).

The Coastal Habitat and Water Quality (CHWQ) Grants provide financial resources for projects that assess and treat stormwater pollution and advance habitat restoration and comprehensive restoration planning. Municipalities within the Massachusetts coastal watershed are eligible to apply, along with federally recognized Tribes, certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, regional planning agencies, and stormwater collaboratives in partnership with eligible municipalities. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 ECO One Stop Request for Responses (RFR), which will include CHWQ Grants, is anticipated to be released in early 2026.

Updates

NEW: ECO One Stop grant application updates

The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has launched the new Environment & Climate One Stop (ECO One Stop) to simplify the grant application process for climate resilience and environmental projects in Massachusetts. By consolidating multiple applications into one streamlined process, ECO One Stop allows applicants to apply to multiple grants through a single application. For FY 2027, CZM’s Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grant Program will be part of ECO One Stop.

In January, EEA will be hosting a series of informational webinars on the new ECO One Stop application, participating programs, and how to apply through EEA’s new Grants Management System (GMS). Please visit the ECO One Stop web page to learn more and register for the upcoming webinars.

If you have any questions about ECO One Stop for CHWQ Grants, please email [e-mail].

Eligibility and Project Types

The Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grants are open to municipalities within the Massachusetts coastal watershed, along with federally recognized Tribes, certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, regional governments or regional planning agencies, and stormwater collaboratives when in partnership with eligible municipalities.

Projects eligible for CHWQ funding should advance one or more of the following project categories. (Note: For these CHWQ project categories, the ECO One Stop Project Types that must be selected in the ECO One Stop application are given in italics.) 

• Assessment, identification, and characterization of stormwater nonpoint source pollution (NPS) impacts to eligible waterbodies within the Massachusetts coastal watershed, specifically surface stormwater discharges, and prioritization of sites for remediation. ECO One Stop Project Type: “Stormwater Management (e.g. green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, structural Best Management Practices)”
• Design, permitting, implementation, and/or retrofits of structural stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to remediate surface stormwater runoff from paved or unpaved roads, bridges, and municipal parking lots that address contaminants of concern impairing water quality in receiving waters. ECO One Stop Project Type: “Stormwater Management (e.g. green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, structural Best Management Practices)”
• Capacity-building activities to support implementation of green stormwater infrastructure (methods that replicate natural processes to trap and filter stormwater prior to reaching local waterbodies), including trainings for municipal staff, bylaw review and development, and case studies. ECO One Stop Project Type: “Stormwater Management (e.g. green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, structural Best Management Practices)” or “Regulatory Updates”
• Comprehensive habitat restoration planning, including evaluation and assessment of stressors to habitats, identification of effective and feasible alternatives to support restoration, and development of comprehensive habitat restoration plans to detail findings and recommendations of concrete, short- and long-term actions for the restoration of coastal habitat within the selected project area. Projects with previously completed planning efforts and/or pre-identified priority restoration actions will not be competitive for this project category. ECO One Stop Project Type: “Land Use Planning” or “Wetland Restoration and Enhancement”
• Advancement of priority land acquisition planning activities, including conducting planning for and evaluation of potential lands for future acquisition for the purposes of restoration, buffer protection, and/or future marsh migration, as identified in an approved comprehensive habitat restoration plan completed under a previous CHWQ Grants project. ECO One Stop Project Type: “Land Acquisition” or “Wetland Restoration and Enhancement”
• Data collection and engineering to support future implementation of crossing infrastructure improvements or retrofits for habitat restoration, including advancing data collection, assessments, and engineering designs related to a future improvement and/or retrofit of municipally owned crossing infrastructure for priority restoration actions. ECO One Stop Project Type: “Culvert or Small Bridge Upgrade or Removal” or “Wetland Restoration and Enhancement”

To be competitive, applications should also describe past or planned public outreach, supporting meaningful participation and engagement in the development or implementation of project activities to increase participatory decision making in the categories above.

Application Timeline and Process

Once the ECO One Stop RFR is released (expected in January 2026), applicants seeking Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grant funding will need to complete an ECO One Stop application through EEA’s Grants Management System. To access the GMS for the first time, grant applicants must create a username and password and have their profile validated, which could take several days to complete. See EEA’s Grants Management System web page for details.

In January, EEA will be hosting a series of informational webinars on the new ECO One Stop application, participating programs, and how to apply through the GMS. Please visit the ECO One Stop web page to learn more and register for the upcoming webinars. CZM staff are available to answer questions about the CHWQ Grants until the RFR is released. 

Guidance Documents

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review these resources to inform a proposal to the Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grants as applicable.

• Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Grant Viewer - The Grant Viewer provides examples of projects funded by CZM from 2014 to present. Projects listed include those from the Coastal Pollutant Remediation Grant (CPR) Program (formerly available), Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grant (CHWQ), and Coastal Resilience Grant Program.
• EEA Climate Grant Viewer - This viewer shows Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Planning and Action grants, as well as other grant programs offered through EEA that work to build local resilience. To find climate vulnerability assessments, select the MVP Grant Program section of the viewer, choose the Planning Grants tab, and then click on a community to open a pop-up box with a link to “More info.”
• Massachusetts Ocean Resource Information System (MORIS) - CZM's official data portal allows users to create customized maps with a variety of data layers related to the Massachusetts coastal zone and nearshore ocean. Data layers include the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Integrated List of Waters, diadromous fish, Massachusetts Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model, and many more.
• Climate Change Impacts to Coastal Stormwater BMPs - Stormwater BMPs in coastal areas are subject to flooding, storm damage, and salt and wind exposure—impacts that are exacerbated by sea level rise, higher groundwater levels, and increased frequency and intensity of storm and precipitation events due to climate change. In 2015, CZM and MassDEP contracted Horsley Witten Group, Inc., (with support from the Woods Hole Group) to assess potential impacts to coastal BMPs due to climate change, evaluate existing coastal BMPs, and develop a set of recommendations for coastal communities. Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Stormwater BMPs and Recommended BMP Design Considerations in Coastal Communities provides results of this project and is intended to help municipalities address the unique challenges of siting, designing, and constructing BMPs on the coast.
• Operation, Maintenance, and Performance Evaluation - In 2005, CZM contracted with the Horsley Witten Group, Inc., to conduct field inspections of stormwater BMPs. They evaluated the maintenance history and condition of each installed BMP and made an overall assessment of its functionality. Coastal Pollutant Remediation Program Stormwater BMP Operation, Maintenance, and Performance Evaluation (PDF, 390 KB) is a summary report that details the findings of these inspections and includes a set of recommendations for improving maintenance, construction, and design of stormwater BMPs. Applicants for CHWQ Grants for stormwater remediation projects must review and incorporate these recommendations as applicable.

What projects have been funded?

• FY 2026 Project Summaries (PDF, 126 KB)
• FY 2025 Project Summaries (PDF, 136 KB)
• FY 2024 Project Summaries (PDF, 156 KB)
• FY 2023 Project Summaries (PDF, 150 KB)

Who can help me apply for a CHWQ Grant?

CZM can help potential applicants develop project ideas up until the RFR for the grant year is released. 

Please contact the following CZM staff and Regional Coordinators with any questions:

Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management

Adrienne Pappal
Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Manager
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Kathleen Mason
Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Specialist
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Lexie Neffinger
Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Specialist
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Kathryn Glenn
North Shore Regional Coordinator
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Joanna Yelen
Boston Harbor Regional Coordinator
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Jason Burtner
South Shore Regional Coordinator
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Stephen McKenna
Cape Cod & Islands Regional Coordinator
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Sam Haines
South Coastal Regional Coordinator
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

In addition to providing assistance with developing project ideas, the Massachusetts Bays and Buzzards Bay National Estuary Programs can also help applicants with grant applications.

Massachusetts Bays and Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program Contacts

Upper North Shore
Hanna Mogensen
Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone] x16
Fax: [phone]

Lower North Shore
TBD

Metro Boston
Diana Chin
Northeastern University Marine Science Center
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

South Shore
Alex Mansfield
North and South Rivers Watershed Association
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone] x103

Cape Cod
April Wobst
Association to Preserve Cape Cod
[e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Buzzards Bay
Sarah Williams
Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program
[e-mail]
Office: [phone]
Mobile: [phone]

Contact Information

For more information about the CHWQ Grant Program, contact:

• Adrienne Pappal at [e-mail] or [phone]
• Kathleen Mason at [e-mail] or (617)-890-9493
• Lexie Neffinger at [e-mail] or [phone]