Launch of new Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program set

U.S. SEN. Jack Reed was set to help announce a new Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program, as well as $730,000 in funding to six local clean water projects, on Wednesday at Easton's Beach in Newport. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/JOSHUA ROBERTS
U.S. SEN. Jack Reed was set to help announce a new Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program, as well as $730,000 in funding to six local clean water projects, on Wednesday at Easton's Beach in Newport. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/JOSHUA ROBERTS

NEWPORT – Local officials were set to announce the new Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program on Wednesday afternoon, as well as the award of approximately $730,000 in federal funding to six local clean water projects to help protect Narragansett Bay and local watersheds.
The watershed restoration program was set to be announced at 1:30 p.m. at Easton’s Beach by U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator for New England Region Curt Spalding, state officials and local dignitaries.
The program will focus on developing restoration and protection practices, creating more efficient technologies and preparing for climate change impacts. Partners include federal and state resource agencies, local organizations and the two local National Estuary Programs in Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay.
“This program will help advance conservation and restoration projects along the waters of southern New England that simultaneously advance economic growth through job creation while also protecting public health and the environment,” Reed said in a prepared remarks announcing the event.
“Equally important, a partnership has been formed between various stakeholders in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts to jointly work together in the protection and restoration of these shared waters and resources. This collaboration is critical because larger scale ecosystems like the bay need a coordinated effort to achieve water quality goals that protect public health and help sustain these vitally important resources,” Reed continued.
Reed helped make $2 million in federal funding available for the regional program; the remainder of funds will be used for projects in Massachusetts.

A total of six local nonprofits and communities in Rhode Island will receive a share of about $730,000 in federal funding through the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. The projects include:

  • Approximately $240,000 for the University of Rhode Island to help optimize existing onsite wastewater treatment systems within the greater Narragansett Bay watershed to reduce nitrogen inputs.
  • $237,000 for West Warwick’s stormwater utility implementation and Hardig Brook restoration.
  • More than $110,000 to help Newport restore degraded water quality, protect watershed health and assess pollutant sources.
  • Nearly $50,000 for Mass Audubon to help municipalities adopt innovative techniques to reduce and remediate nutrient pollution from stormwater flowing into Narragansett Bay.
  • Nearly $50,000 for Save The Bay’s study examining how ribbed mussels remove nutrient pollution in the Narragansett Bay.
  • $40,000 for the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District’s Moswansicut Reservoir Phosphorus Project and water quality monitoring program.

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