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News Release

RI Department of Environmental Management

Environmental Protection Agency, New England Office

For Release: September 7, 1999

Contact: Gail Mastrati at DEM, (401) 222-4700 ext. 2402

Amy Miller at EPA, (617) 918-1008

DEM & EPA AWARD $1 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

WARWICK - The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency today awarded more than $1 million in grants for two dozen projects that will improve water quality throughout Rhode Island.

At a news conference at Goddard Memorial State Park, DEM Director Jan H. Reitsma and EPA New England Administrator John P. DeVillars, flanked by a host of local officials, announced 17 grants totaling $885,000 through the state's Nonpoint Source Management Program. The money will be used by communities to address failing septic systems, stormwater discharges and other so-called nonpoint source pollution problems.

DeVillars announced an additional $175,000 in grants for six wetland enhancement projects in such locations as the Woonasquatucket River and Greenwich Bay.

"Communities and local organizations, as well as the EPA and other federal agencies, are essential partners in our statewide effort to resolve environmental problems on a watershed basis," said DEM Director Jan H. Reitsma. "Today's grant awards reflect our commitment to building strong partnerships with other agencies as well as local communities to address high-priority water quality problems in the most effective way possible."

"These investments will go a long way to protecting and restoring many of Rhode Island's most precious water bodies, including Greenwich Bay in Warwick and the Woonasquatucket River, a cornerstone of the renaissance in downtown Providence," said DeVillars, whose agency provided $668,000 to DEM to support the Department's community grant program.

The federal funds were combined with $217,500 of state monies drawn from the Rhode Island Nonpoint Source Bond Fund.

The $885,000 in nonpoint grants are broken down into two categories - $668,000 to fund 10 watershed restoration projects in priority areas throughout the state; and $217,500 to help eight communities develop Onsite Wastewater Management Programs for repair and maintenance of septic systems.

Onsite wastewater management grants were awarded to the following eight communities: Glocester, $35,000; Jamestown, $35,000; Johnston, $35,000; North Kingstown, $27,800; Portsmouth, $24,000; Scituate and Foster (joint project), $25,700; and Tiverton, $35,000.

The communities will use the grants to develop septic system management programs to encourage proper septic system repair and maintenance. (Six Rhode Island communities already have wastewater management plans in place.) Communities that develop such programs are eligible for the R.I. Clean Water Finance Agency's Community Septic System Loan Program, which provides loans for upgrading failed and substandard systems at 4 percent interest.

Septic systems serve the wastewater needs of about 35 percent of all Rhode Island homes. When designed and maintained properly, septic systems treat domestic wastewater effectively. However, DEM estimates that 80,000 of Rhode Island's septic systems are substandard, beyond intended life expectancy, or improperly maintained. Malfunctioning and substandard septic systems, along with stormwater runoff, have been cited as Rhode Island's most significant nonpoint pollution sources.

The Watershed Restoration Action grants will be used to support improvements to water resources known to be polluted by nonpoint sources. The projects will address such issues as stormwater discharges, wastewater management, wetlands loss, and aquatic habitat degradation.

The projects include:

G $60,000 to the Town of Portsmouth to develop a facilities plan for abating stormwater and wastewater pollution problems in the Portsmouth Park and Island Park sections of the town;

G $15,000 to the Town of East Greenwich to develop a stormwater abatement project for Greenwich Cove, which is part of Greenwich Bay;

G $240,000 to the City of Warwick to design, permit and construct several stormwater treatment projects in the Greenwich Bay watershed;

G $77,463 to the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District for a stormwater abatement and restoration project in Greenwich Bay's Brush Neck Cove;

G $21,781 to the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District to develop a priority listing for stormwater systems that need repairs and maintenance in the Greenwich Bay watershed;

G $14,614 to the City of Cranston and the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District to help design a project to restore the salt marsh habitat at Still House Cove on Narragansett Bay;

G $71,400 to the City of Providence to remove a degraded sluiceway at the Lincoln, Lace and Baird property near the Woonasquatucket River and restore it to a wetland with a high habitat value;

G $36,500 to the City of Woonsocket for the design of stormwater management structures to eliminate sedimentation to Cass Pond;

G $72,212 to the Town of Glocester for a demonstration project involving innovative septic systems as part of a sustainable development project in the town. The project also will identify suitable locations for stormwater retrofits; and

G 59,384 to the Town of North Kingstown and Save the Bay to develop plans for reducing nitrogen and other pollutant discharges into Wickford Harbor and improving valuable eelgrass habitat.

EPA announced an additional $175,000 of grants for the following wetlands enhancement projects:

G $25,000 to the City of Providence to develop a plan for restoring a wetlands buffer area along the banks of the Woonasquatucket River. The low maintenance vegetative buffer will improve water quality and create wildlife habitat;

G $33,750 to the Town of North Kingstown to develop a strategic wetland action plan to protect wetlands and wetland resources in the community. A key goal of the action plan will be a strategy for achieving a no net loss of wetlands in an effort to embrace sustainable economic development;

G $42,019 to the University of Rhode Island to develop a vernal pool manual and website that will include physical characteristics of vernal pools, how to identify them and plant communities associated with vernal pools;

G $23,874 to the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District to assess and identify critical habitat features in Queens River in southern Rhode Island. The project will be done in coordination with the Wood Pawcatuck Watershed Association and the Audubon Society of Rhode Island;

G $10,862 to the City of Warwick to educate coastal homeowners in Warwick about protecting, managing and enhancing the city's coastal marshes and tidal waters. Save the Bay will assist in this effort;

G $37,578 to DEM and the Nature Conservancy to develop a conservation plan for wetland and other natural resource areas in Tiverton and Little Compton; and

G $1,200 to DEM, which will partner with the Rhode Island Association of Wetland Scientists and the Town of Coventry, to plan the remediation of a 20-acre open space property off Sandy Bottom Road in Coventry.
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