August 2022 SNEP Newsletter

August is National Water Quality Month. Out of all water on Earth, only 2.5% is fresh water; and of that 2.5%, 69% is trapped in glaciers, 30% is buried deep underground, and the remaining 1% is what we regularly see in lakes, rivers, and permafrost (USGS). Water is a precious resource. The National Water Quality month was founded in 2005 by the Environmental Protection Agency to promote conservation and the use of strategies to conserve natural water sources in households and communities to ensure that we all have access to safe, clean drinking water for generations to come. For more information, please visit www.nationalwaterqualitymonth.org

SNEP Interactive Grant Project Map now available. EPA-SNEP has developed and publicly released a new project mapping tool to display all completed and ongoing grant projects funded since our founding in 2014. The mapper allows users to view project summaries, funding levels, status and other information for projects supported directly by EPA-SNEP, its technical assistance and implementation programs (SNEP Network and SWIG), and National Estuary Program partners (Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, and the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program). Our team is thrilled to be able to release this new tool, which is now posted to the SNEP website.

EPA Staff Attend Two-Day OneCape Summit. From August 1-2, EPA-SNEP staff attended the OneCape Summit to learn from regional partners about the myriad challenges facing the Cape community and help EPA identify areas where SNEP might be able to offer further programmatic support. Special thanks to the Cape Cod Commission for organizing and hosting this informative annual event.

Featured SWIG Grantee: Buzzards Bay Coalition

As Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) and its SWIG partners work toward awarding the 2022 grant round, projects funded in prior grant rounds are having an impact throughout the SNEP Region. One organization that SWIG has funded through several grants is the Buzzards Bay Coalition (BBC). BBC is a dynamic non-profit organization with a variety of programs and projects throughout Buzzards Bay and its watershed. Recent SWIG grants have supported:

Collaboration to Reduce Nitrogen in Buzzards Bay: BBC convened the towns of Wareham, Bourne, Marion and Plymouth, Massachusetts, along with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA), to study potential upgrades to the Wareham wastewater treatment plant. The initial study demonstrated the feasibility of the project; BBC and partners are now studying financing and other aspects of implementation. While technically and programmatically complex, the work has the potential to dramatically reduce nutrient pollution to Buzzards Bay.
Salt Marsh Resilience: Throughout the SNEP region, salt marshes are being lost due to coastal development, sea level rise, water pollution and other factors. BBC completed a study to evaluate responses to these impacts. The study showed that innovative marsh management techniques can promote surface drainage and wetland health, providing wetland managers with new tools for fostering adaptation to climate change.
Preventing Nutrient Pollution from Composting: BBC is bringing commercial food waste composting stakeholders together with local communities and state agencies to explore opportunities for improving the composting process. Communities around Buzzards Bay have been struggling to deal with the unintended consequences of increased agricultural composting operations. While composting can be an environmental victory, poorly sited and mismanaged operations can lead to significant water pollution. This project is building stakeholder consensus around model composting regulations that encourage composting and reuse of organic material while preventing new nitrogen pollution to Buzzards Bay and, potentially, other estuaries in the SNEP region.

BBC is also heading up a partnership with the City of New Bedford and other organizations which received a SNEP Pilot Watershed Grant in 2022 for the Buttonwood Brook-Apponagansett Bay Restoration Action Plan. The Pilot Watershed Program was supported directly by EPA-SNEP, and not from SWIG, but illustrates how SNEP funds, both within and without the SWIG program, can address a variety of related problems within a geographic area, leading to watershed-scale solutions for clean water, healthy ecosystems and sustainable communities.

The New England Stormwater Retrofit Manual is now available! The Stormwater Retrofit Guidance Manual is a key tool for improving New England’s water resources. The guidance demonstrates options to provide stormwater treatment using nature-based and other structural controls to reduce flooding and improve water quality. It provides a process that towns and tribes may use to address stormwater runoff on sites that do not fit within a current regulatory framework. The manual was developed with financial support from the SNEP Network by the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center and VHB, with technical support from New England state agencies, EPA Region 1 and other SNEP Network partners. Read more and access the Stormwater Retrofit Manual on the SNEP Network Website.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Town of Mashpee receive second MVP Action Grant. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Town of Mashpee participated in the SNEP Network's stormwater planning series where they worked with SNEP Network partners to develop conceptual designs for stormwater retrofits. They recently received a second Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant Award in the amount of $469,037 to start the construction of the Stormwater Retrofits this fall along the road at the Town Landing. In addition, the Town of Mashpee’s consultant, Fuss and O’Neill, will work with the project team to seek funding to carry out stormwater Retrofit Design Work at the Town Landing.

The Canoe River Aquifer Pilot Project: View the List of Prioritized Projects! The Canoe River Aquifer project team worked with towns and sought public input to narrow down a list of over 200 localized projects to a smaller list of 16, that will be prioritized for implementation funding. The projects will address roadway and property flooding, habitat restoration, water quality, and other climate impacts. Each project was selected based on the opportunity to incorporate nature-based solutions with the potential to achieve multiple benefits after implementation. View the interactive project map and the 16 summaries for each project cluster on the SNEP Network Website.

Portsmouth Concludes Innovative Resilience Planning Project Prioritizing Needed Infrastructure Improvements. Last month, the Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, officially wrapped up a yearlong technical assistance project with the SNEP Network. After a series of multiple assessments and planning exercises with the town, the team developed a climate resilience planning and financing strategy report. Read the full article to learn more about the project and hear the perspective of town leaders in Portsmouth.

Network Narratives: Save the Bay’s Volunteer Program Implements Storm Drain Markings across Rhode Island. To address the ongoing challenges that storm drain pollution can have on the environment, SNEP Network Partner, Save The Bay, runs a volunteer program that focuses on marking storm drains to raise awareness of their functionality and importance to clean and healthy watersheds. Storm drain marking has raised awareness and taught valuable lessons about stormwater to the public. Last month, the SNEP Network highlighted this work in a featured network narrative that can be accessed on the SNEP Network Website.

The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (Stew-Map) has results, products, and public data available to download on the SNEP Network Website. The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project - a research methodology, community organizing approach, and partnership mapping tool developed by scientists at the USDA Forest Service Northern Research station - has uploaded network visualizations, public data, and presentations on the SNEP Network Website for the STEW-MAP initiative focusing on the SNEP region. The project dashboard will be available on the USFS Northern Research Station website- check back soon! The Southeast New England STEW-MAP is a project conducted by RISD, Brown University, Compass Cartographic and EPA’s Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division through the ORISE fellowship program.

Blackstone River Commons Highlights Watershed Needs Through 60-Mile Paddle Expedition and Public Events
August 11-14, 2022 | In Person
The Blackstone River Collaborative is organizing a 60-mile paddle from the headwaters of the Blackstone in Worcester, MA through its connection to the Seekonk River and on to the Narragansett Bay in Providence, RI from August 11 - August 14, 2022. Each day will offer new perspectives, stops to discuss specific issues, and an opportunity to highlight the diverse voices and issues along the river.

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition Open House
August 18, 2022 | Hybrid
You are invited to visit the Barnstable Clean Water Coalition’s (BCWC’s) new property at 948 River Road in Marstons Mills. Come learn about BCWC’s Innovative/Alternative Septic System and Cranberry Bog Restoration Projects. Thursday, August 18th from 5pm–7pm. Registration Required and Space limited.

SNEP Network: Stormwater Financing 101
August 30, 2022 | In Person
What is stormwater financing? In this webinar, you will learn about how stormwater programs are managed, the basics of setting stormwater utility fees, and examples of stormwater program implementation. This webinar will also cover the legislation in Southern New England that enables communities to establish stormwater utility programs.

One Water Summit 2022
September 13-15, 2022 | In Person
The US Water Alliance's One Water Summit gathers the most diverse group of water stakeholders in the country for a completely unique and urgent conversation about the future of water through engaging plenaries and workshops, dynamic institutes and site-visits, with plenty of networking time between individuals, organizations, and delegations. Our Summit also serves as a time to award the US Water Prize, where we recognize outstanding One Water leaders across the nation.

2022 Coastal & Estuarine Summit
December 4-8, 2022 | Hybrid
Early bird registration is now open for the Restore America’s Estuaries 2022 Coastal and Estuarine Summit. In its 11th year, the 2022 Summit will bring together coastal restoration and management communities to explore issues, solutions, and lessons learned in their work. The Summit Program will address all aspects of coastal and estuarine restoration and management, including the Great Lakes and international locales. These topics are crucial as coastal communities pursue new, more robust strategies to effectively manage, protect, and restore their resources in a changing climate. Ensuring these resources, and the communities that rely on them, are resilient now and into the future will be a particular focus.

The USGS Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center is seeking two postdoctoral researchers
The USGS Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center housed at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst in collaboration with the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center and the US Fish & Wildlife Service Atlantic Coastal Joint Venture are seeking two postdoctoral research scholars to make meaningful contributions towards the development of a decision framework for salt marsh restoration and conservation.

The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s In-Lieu Fee Program invites applications for funding for land conservation or aquatic resource restoration projects in the Connecticut River watershed and central Massachusetts. The attached RFP and application materials are also available on COMMBUYS under BD-23-1046-COM-COM4-77929. The online map linked in the RFP may be used to determine whether a project is located in an area where funds are available. Municipalities, non-governmental organizations, and state agencies are eligible to apply. Please feel free to share the RFP with others who may be interested. Both responses to the RFP and questions about the RFP or the In-Lieu Fee Program may be directed to Aisling O’Shea at aisling.oshea@mass.gov.

Have an idea for a story or something you’d like to see in our newsletter? Contact our Communications Coordinator, Adam Reilly at Reilly.Adam@epa.gov

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