Geographic Programs - Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program

To develop and support the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) for coastal watershed restoration. SNEP is a geographically-based program intended to serve as a collaborative framework for advancing ecosystem resiliency, protecting and restoring water quality, habitat and ecosystem function, promoting the development of sustainable communities, and developing and applying innovative policy, science, and technology to environmental management in southeast coastal New England (eligibility map is available at: https://www.epa.gov/snep/background-information-southeast-new-england-program). A critical aspect of this framework is the integration of physical processes, water quality, and critical habitat at a regional, watershed, and/or landscape scale. SNEP's Strategic Plan under this framework includes goals for achieving, 1. a resilient ecosystem of safe and healthy waters, 2. thriving watersheds and natural lands, and 3. sustainable communities. Additional background information on SNEP can be found at the following website: www.epa.gov/snep. EPA intends to fund projects, either directly or via a pass-through organization, that address SNEP priorities, EPA's "Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative" Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American and Pillar 3: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership, and spur investments in regionally significant and landscape scale restoration projects through projects, networks, and/or partnerships among governmental and community resource managers, technology, scientific, and policy...

Assistance under SNEP is available to state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments; institutions of higher education; nonprofit institutions and organizations; intertribal consortia; and interstate agencies. Private businesses and individuals are not eligible to be grant recipients, however, they are encouraged to work in partnership with eligible applicants on projects. Federal agencies may be eligible for funding through interagency agreements. Applicants are not limited to the geographic area of southeastern coastal New England, however, those applying from outside the specified region must carry out their projects and have at least one local partner from within the geographic area specified in the competitive funding announcement. Organizations must be capable of undertaking and managing activities that advance SNEP priorities, including managing potentially complex fiscal and administrative requirements. 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; the term interstate agency is defined in Clean Water Act Section 502 as an agency of two or more States established by or pursuant to an agreement or compact approved by the Congress, or any other agency of two or more States, having substantial powers or...

While there is no statutory or regulatory cost sharing requirement for this program, as a matter of policy, the Agency may impose a cost sharing requirement in specific competitions. If the Agency decides to do this, the cost sharing terms will be stated in Section 2 of the NOFO.

Fiscal year 2017: Pass through entity was funded at $3,945,172 to solicit and fund projects under this program. Fiscal year 2018: Through a subaward program, this program awarded >$4M in 14 subawards throughout SNEP region that address municipal capacity, habitat restoration, monitoring capability, and development of data management systems. Fiscal year 2021: EPA�s SNEP program supported eight awards that together improve municipal capacity, water quality and habitat restoration, and monitoring capability. SNEP continues to support a technical assistance network that is coordinating and managing a program to build the capacity of local communities, tribes, and organizations to increase use of available financial and technical resources to support best management practices and financing for coastal watershed restoration efforts. SNEP also continues to support a Watershed Grant program to support local implementation projects, and is also providing funds to the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program and the Narragansett Estuary Program to implement their management plans including support of subawards within their study areas to support coastal watershed restoration efforts. New...