Deadline: 27-May-22
The Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA), through the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), is inviting applications for the Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grants FY23 (CHWQ) opportunity.
The new Coastal Habitat and Water Quality (CHWQ) Grants provide financial resources for projects that assess and treat stormwater impacts and support comprehensive habitat restoration planning activities.
Projects must: address nonpoint source (NPS) pollution from paved or unpaved surfaces; or build capacity for future implementation of stormwater green infrastructure; or assess aquatic and coastal habitat within the coastal watershed for the purposes of restoration plan development.
The CHWQ Grants provides financial resources for projects within the coastal watershed that will improve or protect water quality and habitat through the remediation or prevention of non-point sources of pollution, specifically stormwater, and through activities to support comprehensive habitat restoration planning.
The overriding goals of CHWQ are to: improve and protect coastal water quality, habitat, and recreational uses (including shellfish beds and bathing beaches), and to remove waters from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Integrated List of (Impaired) Waters.
Funding Information
- Awards and total funds availability will be made at the Secretary’s discretion pending funding approval and available appropriation. Assessment, restoration planning, and design projects are estimated to range between $50,000-$100,000. Implementation projects are estimated to range between $100,000 – $800,000.
- Exceptions may be made at the Secretary’s discretion. Specifically, additional awards can be made at the Secretary’s discretion and pending additional funding and available appropriation.
Eligible Activities
Eligible project activities include, but are not limited to:
- Efforts to assess, identify, and characterize nonpoint source (NPS) pollution impacts from stormwater runoff to coastal waterbodies.
- Design and construction of stormwater structural Best Management Practices (BMPs).
- Capacity-building activities—including trainings for municipal staff, bylaw development, and case studies—that support future implementation of green stormwater infrastructure (practices that mimic natural processes to treat contaminants in runoff prior to reaching local waterbodies).
- Development of habitat restoration plans, including data collection and synthesis, natural resource assessments, and restoration prioritization work.
- Public outreach as a component of a larger project.
Eligibility Criteria
- Massachusetts Municipalities and inter-municipal partnerships located within the Massachusetts Coastal Watershed.
- Certified 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, regional planning agencies, and stormwater collaboratives are also eligible if in partnership with municipalities located within the coastal watershed.
- Eligible municipalities or entities proposing activities leading to improvement in coastal habitat and water quality within Environmental Justice (EJ) populations are strongly encouraged to apply under this grant opportunity.
For more information, visit https://www.mass.gov/service-details/coastal-habitat-and-water-quality-grants