This RFA specifically seeks to fund climate resilient infrastructure that promotes nature based solutions (NBS), habitat restoration and protection to restore ecosystem services degraded by poor stormwater and development practices, as well as planning related to these topics.
Donor Name: Environmental Protection Agency
State: Massachusetts and Rhode Island
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/30/2023
Size of the Grant: $400,000-$600,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
The objective of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.” Despite continuing progress in achieving these goals, coastal ecosystems are recognized as particularly vulnerable to upstream pollution sources, fragmented management, and the impacts of climate change. The coastal watersheds of southeast New England are prime examples of this vulnerability. The economy and community health of this region are directly tied to its unique ecological systems, but these systems are currently impaired by excessive nutrients from wastewater and stormwater, by the legacies of past industrial uses, by shifting socio-economic patterns, and other factors. Traditionally, these problems have been addressed independently, separated by jurisdictions, institutional identities, and sometimes parochial interests. It has become clear, however, that the scope and scale of these environmental stressors calls urgently for a more holistic approach to protecting aquatic ecosystems and sustaining local communities. Created by Congress to take this approach, Southeast New England Program’s (SNEP) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) role as a partnership facilitator among multiple organizations is central to its mission to empower collective action in these areas, and its focus on the region’s ecosystems offers an opportunity to address complex common issues while also working at the local scale to align restoration and management efforts more broadly to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency.
Goals
- Broadly, the goal of this solicitation is to provide funding for projects that work towards achieving SNEP’s Strategic Plan goals of healthy waters, thriving habitats, and resilient communities. Ultimately, projects selected under this solicitation should in some way improve, or work towards improving, regional coastal and in-land waters, habitat, and/or community resilience to the impacts of climate change.
- In addition, through this RFA SNEP will emphasize projects which:
- Take holistic and multi-disciplinary approaches;
- Take place in the SNEP region;
- Produce multiple benefits (environmental, social, economic, carbonsequestration, ecosystem service improvements, etc.);
- Support or and/or leverage larger efforts, projects, or plans;
- Seek to plan or design for future, large-scale projects; and/or
- Implement projects consistent with SNEP’s Strategic Plan.
- In addition, through this RFA SNEP will emphasize projects which:
Priority Topics
- Stormwater Infrastructure and Roadway Runoff
- Green infrastructure/stormwater improvement projects that specifically address water pollution and flooding while also promoting access to open space, green space, and/or habitat improvement.
- Development of joint municipal/tribal equipment/resource sharing program pertaining to Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE), stormwater monitoring, outfall mapping, stormwater control measure maintenance, and/or stormwater design.
- Green roadway planning, design, and stormwater mitigation. Emphasis on including these elements in broader infrastructure projects, especially those pertaining to the redevelopment of low-lying roads subject to flooding.
- Salt Marsh
- Maintaining and restoring habitat connectivity of coastal waters and saltmarsh to support ecological function and future marsh migration.
- Supporting saltmarsh restoration, protection, and/or migration through holistic planning, applied research of new technologies or approaches, or implementation.
- Salt marsh land acquisition planning (the actual acquisition of land cannot be funded under this solicitation).
- Riparian Areas, Floodplain, and Inland Wetlands
- Design and/or implementation of riparian or floodplain restoration adjacent to major rivers that discharge to coastal waters.
- Design and/or implementation of riparian, floodplain or wetland habitat restoration along estuaries and coastal rivers and ponds.
- Analysis of gaps in riparian buffer areas around major river corridors, estuaries and coastal waterbodies for potential acquisition or easement (the actual acquisition of land cannot be funded under this solicitation).
- Habitat Connectivity and Aquatic Organism Passage
- Assessment, prioritization, and/or design of culvert enhancement or removal projects to reduce flooding, build climate resilience, and improve water quality, habitat connectivity and aquatic organism passage.
- Removal or replacement of culverts to reduce flooding, building climate resilience, and improve water quality, habitat connectivity and aquatic organism passage.
- Assessment, prioritization, and design for dam removal or aquatic passage (such as fish ladders). This can include the development of strategies to address and/or incentivize removal of small dams on private land with landowner permission.
- Parcel acquisition planning in support of dam removal or aquatic fish passage (the actual acquisition of land cannot be funded under this solicitation).
- Urban Area Resilience and Habitat Restoration
- Habitat creation, restoration, and/or protection projects that provide multiple benefits to residents in urban areas (ex. access to natural lands, recreation, resilience to large storms).
- Urban stream and habitat protection bylaw, regulation, or policy development. Resilience to flooding and anticipated impacts of climate change on waters and habitat in urban areas.
- Land acquisition planning to support habitat or floodplain restoration and water quality improvement in urban areas (the actual acquisition of land cannot be funded under this solicitation).
- Monitoring
- Monitoring of previously completed habitat restoration projects to evaluate impacts of the approach on habitat targets or ecosystem services.
- Municipal and Tribal Planning
- Watershed or town wide comprehensive infrastructure planning and management for stormwater, habitat, water quality improvement, natural open space and/or climate resilience.
- Planning/guidance/template development for managed retreat of saltmarsh or development in areas threatened by storm hazards and sea level rise.
The priority topics support the development of built and natural infrastructure in the SNEP region and are necessary to achieve SNEP’s goals and support landscape restoration.
Funding Information
- EPA Region 1 is soliciting applications for up to six (6) projects to implement climate resilient infrastructure that promotes nature-based solutions (NBS), habitat restoration and protection to restore ecosystem services degraded by poor stormwater and development practices, as well as planning related to these topics.
- Grants can range from $400,000-$600,000 and may last up to five (5) years.
- The total amount of funding anticipated for all grants under this RFA is $2,300,000.
- Region 1 anticipates awarding funds equitably among the priorities and between Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Eligibility Criteria
- In accordance with Assistance Listing 66.129, assistance under this SNEP RFA is available to state, local, and tribal governments; institutions of higher education; nonprofit institutions and organizations; and interstate agencies. Private businesses, federal agencies, and individuals are not eligible to apply; however, they may work in partnership with eligible applicants on these projects.
- For-profit organizations are not an eligible entity for this funding opportunity. Additionally, non-profit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
