2024 Grants in MA, NH, VT, and Multistates

CLEAN WATERS AND HEALTHY WATERSHEDS

New Hampshire

Upgrading the Hanover Water Reclamation Facility to Improve Water Quality in Long Island Sound

Grantee: Town of Hanover

Grant Amount: $1,500,000
Matching Funds: $750,000
Total Project Amount: $2,250,000

Construct and install treatment process upgrades and new equipment at the Water Reclamation Facility in Hanover, New Hampshire, which discharges into the Connecticut River. Project will eliminate 127,385 pounds of nitrogen through the improvement of facility operations, modification of the treatment processes to allow for reliable nutrient removal from discharged effluent and support meeting current and future permitted nutrient limits.

Upgrading the Newport Wastewater Treatment Plant to Improve Water Quality in Long Island Sound

Grantee: Town of Newport

Grant Amount: $450,000
Matching Funds: $750,000
Total Project Amount: $1,200,000

Upgrade the Newport Wastewater Treatment Plant to meet federal and state agency standards by adding Sequencing Batch Reactor treatment, sludge dewatering and effluent filtering to the plant process as well as upgrading the plant’s ultraviolet disinfection system. Project will integrate innovative processes at the plant that will improve effluent quality, ensure environmental compliance and aid in protecting the water quality of the Sugar River, a tributary of the Long Island Sound.

Multiple States

Harnessing Perennial Cover Crops to Reduce Nitrogen in Long Island Sound (CT, MA, VT)

Grantee: EcoAg Collaborative

Grant Amount: $306,500
Matching Funds: $171,500
Total Project Amount: $478,000

Implement an innovative perennial Clover Living Mulch System at fifteen farms across the Long Island Sound. Project will reduce 1,020 pounds of nitrogen, place 50 acres under improved management and provide farmer-to-farmer outreach opportunities to support the adoption of this approach.

Integrating the QuickDrops Water Quality Management Tool throughout the Long Island Sound Watershed

Grantee: Save the Sound, Inc.

Grant Amount: $155,400
Matching Funds: $80,300
Total Project Amount: $235,700

Develop and conduct outreach, educational programming, and user support to facilitate the widespread adoption of QuickDrops, a centralized digital water quality data management and visualization tool throughout the Long Island Sound watershed. Project will integrate the QuickDrops tool, which will enable 56 water quality monitoring groups in the watershed to easily store, retrieve and visualize local and Long Island Sound Watershed-wide data.

THRIVING HABITATS AND ABUNDANT WILDLIFE

Multiple States

Long Island Sound River Restoration Network III (CT, NY)

Grantee: Save the Sound, Inc.

Grant Amount: $500,000
Matching Funds: $250,000
Total Project Amount: $750,000

Coordinate the Long Island Sound River Restoration Network in collaboration with eight of the partner organizations, including establishing seven of the 11 collaborative pathways identified by the network members and state and federal agency partners. Project will accelerate the pace and scale of stream barrier removals across the Long Island Sound by improving public outreach as well as expanding and deepening the coordination between the network and partners.

Reducing Disturbances to Protect Beach and Island Nesting Birds in the Long Island Sound (CT, NY)

Grantee: National Audubon Society, Inc.

Grant Amount: $677,700
Matching Funds: $376,600
Total Project Amount: $1,054,300

Establish stewardship and monitoring activities and strategies to reduce and manage threats to focal coastal bird species, including piping plover, American oystercatcher and least tern, at nesting sites along the New York and Connecticut coast during the 2025 and 2026 breeding season. Project will monitor 70 coastal and island sites, implement Best Management Practices at 34 sites, and engage 700 volunteers in project activities.