PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Environmental Management awarded $6.8 million in matching grants to 33 projects, the DEM announced Thursday.
The projects are focused on mitigating water pollution from stormwater and nonpoint sources, the reduction of flooding and strengthening Rhode Island’s climate resilience.
“Climate change is real, and is poised to uniquely affect Rhode Island as the Ocean State,” Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said. “We need to take action to safeguard our natural resources and our communities. These grants help prepare cities and towns to deal with our changing climate, while creating jobs for Rhode Islanders in engineering, construction and landscaping.”
Funding was provided by the Narragansett Bay and Watershed Restoration Bond Fund and the federal Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution program.
“We’re excited that these grants will enable us to work with municipalities and other partners to advance a cleaner, more resilient Rhode Island,” said DEM Director Janet Coit. “This work is vitally important given a changing climate that will continue to deliver increased annual rainfall and more intense storms to our region. Continuing to invest in water quality improvement efforts is critical. It strengthens our resilience, supports our quality of life, and helps attract people and businesses to locate here.”
$3.78 million was provided to 18 projects to improve stormwater management and abate stormwater pollution. Projects include retrofitting existing infrastructure to allow natural processes to remove pollutants before they reach waterways, as well as the purchase of trucks and equipment to improve maintenance of stormwater infrastructure.
- Town of South Kingstown – $594,300 (two projects)
- City of Pawtucket – $575,000
- City of Providence – $418,000 (two projects)
- Narragansett Bay Commission – $400,000
- Aquidneck Island Planning Commission – $300,000
- Town of Jamestown – $265,000
- City of Warwick – $244,500 (two projects)
- Town of Coventry – $200,000
- Town of Cumberland – $197,500
- Farm Fresh RI – $167,500
- Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council – $133,900
- City of Newport – $110,000
- Town of North Kingstown – $87,500
- City of East Providence – $55,000
- Town of Middletown – $36,600
$2.69 million was awarded to 11 flood mitigation and prevention projects across the state. The grants support projects that utilize environmentally beneficial techniques.
- City of East Providence – $544,025
- Town of Portsmouth – $433,200
- City of Newport – $425,000
- The Nature Conservancy – $272,000
- Town of North Providence – $249,356
- Bonnet Shores Fire District – $200,000
- Town of Warren – $175,200
- Town of Burrillville – $125,000
- Town of Bristol – $124,400
- Town of Hopkinton – $91,575
- Town of West Warwick – $54,750
$321,320 in federal nonpoint source grants were awarded to four projects to address indirect sources of pollution and improve water quality/aquatic habitat. Funding was provided to the R.I. DEM from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Town of Warren – $163,000
- Town of Bristol – $75,000
- Aquidneck Island Planning Commission – $47,500
- Town of Portsmouth – $35,820
Information on individual projects can be found at the DEM website.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
