The Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Network is pleased to announce its 2021 technical assistance awards to two Tribal Nations and six Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts communities to advance their stormwater and watershed management, and climate resilience planning.
Technical services provided by the Network in this round include: developing innovative financing of climate adaptation actions, building local capacity to implement stormwater and watershed best management practices, and conducting a municipal capacity assessment to address critical environmental needs.
“The SNEP Network’s first round of direct community assistance awards has been a great success, and EPA is excited to support their presence in another nine deserving communities,” said EPA Region 1 Acting Administrator Deborah Szaro. “I’m particularly pleased that this year the Network will be working with two federally recognized Tribes. It reflects the Network’s emphasis on capturing a rich mix of projects and communities, including those in underserved and economically disadvantaged communities, as well as tribal lands. This outreach recognizes that building capacity across all communities in our region is critical to its continued environmental and social resilience.
Communities awarded SNEP Network services this year are:
- Mansfield, MA
- Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
- Newport, RI
- Providence Neighborhood Planting Program and City of Providence Forestry Division
- Providence, RI in partnership with the Seekonk Riverbank Revitalization Alliance
- South Kingstown, RI
- Warren, RI in partnership with the Warren Land and Conservation Trust
- Westerly, RI and Southern Rhode Island Conservation District
- Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah
Summary project descriptions can be found here: https://snepnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CFP-Awards-2021-Project-Description-Table-9-8-21.pdf
“This year’s community projects focus on building capacity at the local and regional levels to help communities decide their own climate futures” said Martha Sheils, Director of the New England Environmental Finance Center (New England EFC). “We are especially looking forward to working with underrepresented communities and two Tribes this year to advance their work on flooding, stormwater management, watershed planning, and water quality projects as well as preparing them to apply for the new federal grants that may become available and to help them with innovative ways to sustainably finance these efforts and to rely less on one-time grants”.
About the SNEP Network
The SNEP Network is a collaborative partnership of local non-profit organizations, universities, and other local organizations with expertise in a wide range of technical assistance and training to advance stormwater and watershed management and sustainable financing. The Network was formed in 2019 with a focus on regional initiatives and community projects that resulted in better informed local governments who are aware of and have access to tools and resources for funding and financing stormwater management and climate resilience programs. Some community projects that were initiated in years one and two will continue into year three to keep momentum going toward setting up innovative sustainable financing programs. Year three projects will engage groups of communities and Tribes in a process to address climate resilience and stormwater management, peer to peer exchange, the use of nature based solution to address watershed and water quality problems, and processes to enhance the Network and its partners’ capacity to engage underserved and underrepresented communities in climate and stormwater management.
The Southeast New England Network is funded by the US EPA and the Southeast New England Program under a 5 year Cooperative Agreement. For more information about upcoming SNEP Network webinars and events, other assistance and training opportunities and resources, or to get in touch with us, visit the SNEP Network’s website at snepnetwork.org.
The SNEP Network is managed by the New England EFC , one of 10 university-based Environmental Finance Centers in the nation and serves the 6 New England states of EPA Region 1. Its mission is to build local capacity to pay for the growing costs of protecting the environment and to be better prepared to manage the chronic and acute problems of environmental protection and finance. The New England EFC is based at the University of Southern Maine, part of the University of Maine system and situated in Portland, Maine’s economic and cultural center. USM is a public university with 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students and is known for its academic excellence, student focus and engagement with the community.
Media Contact: Phaeng Southisombath, SNEP Network Project Manager, 207-288-8164 or phaeng.southisombath@maine.edu.
