Town Receives Federal Grant to Protect Coastal Water Quality

Announced on Tuesday by the Patrick-Murray administration, the town of Danvers is one of eight municipalities, non-profits, and academic institutions receiving a federal grant through U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s office of Coastal Zone Management.  

Danvers' $20,000 grant will be used to conduct a study to identify a sustainable funding mechanism for stormwater management. The project on a whole will help the state to address the causes of coastal habitat degradation, develop plans to address coastal water quality pollution and protect coastlines across Massachusetts.

"Our coastlines and coastal communities help make up the essence of New England's history and cultural allure," Governor Deval Patrick said in a press release. "I thank the Obama Administration and our Congressional partners for providing this assistance to help protect these environmental jewels for future generations to cherish."

Projects funded through this grant program will aid the Massachusetts Bays Program, which is hosted by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’s (EEA) Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), in implementing its Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. This plan serves as a blueprint for protecting the environmental health of Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay.

“I’m proud that Massachusetts has secured federal funding to help our coastal communities protect their waters," said Senator Scott Brown in the release. "I will continue to support these important grant programs, as well as awareness initiatives like National Estuaries Day.”

Alongside Danvers, the grant awards, which were offered for the first time in 2011, will go the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen Association, Saugus River Watershed Council, University of New Hampshire, the Wildlands Trust, the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Salem State University, and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.