Reed Announces $11.5 Million for Rhode Island’s Regional Environment

PROVIDENCE, RI - The Southeast New England Program (SNEP), funded by Congress and managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), works to restore clean water, healthy ecosystems, and sustainable communities in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

On Thursday, Sept. 5, U.S. Senator Jack Reed joined with federal, state and local partners to announce $11.5 million in grants and technical assistance for local organizations working on high-priority environmental projects throughout the region.

The funding announced includes $1.5 million in grants to seven Rhode Island organizations through SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants (SWIG), managed by Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) (more on the individual grants below).

At the event, EPA also announced $8.75 million in new funding for technical assistance to help communities working on clean water and healthy ecosystems. The assistance will be provided over the next five years through the SNEP Network, managed by the New England Environmental Finance Center at the University of Southern Maine, part of the University of Maine system.

"I helped create the Southeast New England Program to strengthen our ecosystems by bringing people together across communities to develop a strategic, informed approach to protecting and improving the health of Narragansett Bay and our entire coastal watershed," said Senator Jack Reed. "The SNEP awards we are celebrating today will advance several key projects that will enhance water quality and improve the overall health and well-being of our communities, waterways, and estuaries."

"EPA New England is thrilled to help announce this year's grant awards under the Southeast New England Program (SNEP). Through its partners Restore America's Estuaries and the Environmental Finance Center of the University of Southern Maine, SNEP has worked closely with local communities to improve water quality and restore coastal habitats in Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts." said EPA New England Deputy Regional Administrator Karen McGuire. "Thanks to support from Senator Reed and his Congressional colleagues since 2014, this beautiful landscape of coasts and communities has benefitted from millions of dollars in funding for projects and technical assistance. Today's award enables the great work of restoration and protection to continue."

"These grants will result in big benefits across Rhode Island," said Terry Gray, Director of the RI Dept. of Environmental Management. "The projects that are being funded will improve water quality, support important habitat, and help combat the threats from stormwater pollution and the impacts from climate change. These projects also show a great diversity in investments across the state on both the types of projects being supported and the communities where they are located. We look forward to working with the SNEP team and all the applicants as this work goes forward."

"The funding from these grants will help protect our waterways, improve stormwater management infrastructure and further our efforts to build a more climate resilient city," said Mayor Brett P. Smiley. "Thanks to Senator Reed's continued leadership and advocacy on behalf of Providence, we are creating a healthier, more sustainable future for generations to come. I am looking forward to collaborating with the team at SNEP to advance these important projects and improve the health and well-being of our entire community."

2024 SNEP Grant Recipients

The recipients of the 2024 SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants were selected through a competitive process from among $9 million in requests. The 12 projects to be funded are:

Rhode Island Grants

Trout Unlimited / RI Dept. of Environmental Management | Breakheart Pond Dam Removal Engineering (Arcadia Management Area, Richmond, RI) | $190,000

Groundwork Rhode Island / Blackstone Park Conservancy / City of Providence | Stormwater Management in York Pond Watershed | $282,288

Town of Coventry | Upper Dam Pond Restoration | $87,568

Town of South Kingstown | Green Hill Pond Water Quality Improvements | $250,000

Pawtuxet River Authority | Fish Passage Engineering at Pontiac Dam (Cranston) | $150,000

Town of Smithfield | Esmond Village Natural Infrastructure Park | $346,522

City of Cranston | Natural Solutions for Flood Mitigation, Fenner Pond Watershed | $192,500

Massachusetts Grants

Nantucket Conservation Foundation | Windswept Bog Wetland Restoration| $200,000

Buzzards Bay Coalition | Remediating Stormwater Pollution at Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford) | $362,838

Town of Yarmouth | Chase Brook Park Coastal Restoration | $434,230

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Marston's Mills Cranberry Bog Restoration | $200,000

Interstate Grant

New England Water Pollution Control Comm. | Community-Based Habitat Restoration: Water Chestnut Management in Blackstone & Ten Mile Watersheds, Phase 2 | $100,000

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