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Massachusetts DEP outlines Section 319 nonpoint‑source grant program and priorities
Summary
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection presented details of the Section 319 grant round — funding purpose, eligible applicants, program goals and anticipated timelines — and urged watershed‑based proposals that demonstrate feasibility and stakeholder support.
An agency official from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection outlined the purpose and priorities of the Section 319 nonpoint‑source grant program, saying the funding supports work to “restore and protect water quality pursuant to the Clean Water Act and the Massachusetts water quality standards.”
The official said the program funds projects that reduce pollution carried by rainfall and snowmelt (nonpoint‑source pollution) and emphasized that eligible applicants include public and private organizations, tribal governments, counties, cities and towns, nonprofit organizations and interstate agencies; federal agencies are not eligible. “We will fund any public or private organization, including tribal, county, cities, town organizations,” the official said. The presenter described three project types for the round—implementation to restore impaired waters, implementation to protect healthy waters, and projects addressing nitrogen‑impacted coastal waters—and said the most competitive proposals will use a watershed‑based approach.
The official provided expected program scale and timing: “This funding round, we anticipate 2,500,000,” and the agency expects to fund about 15–30 projects that will last roughly 2.5 years from contract start. The request for proposals (RFP) was announced as anticipated for release on August 19; applicants were told staff will be available to answer questions before the RFP issues but cannot assist with specific proposals after issuance.
