Today, NOAA is announcing $8 million in recommended funding for eleven projects under the 2016 Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency Grants Program. The program is part of NOAA's comprehensive approach to building coastal resiliency.

Read the press release.

In the Greater Atlantic Region, four projects have been recommended for funding: 

Massachusetts

• The Town of Yarmouth will replace a degraded and undersized bridge on a primary transportation corridor on Cape Cod. Currently, storm surges exacerbate flood damage for property owners. Removing the bridge will reduce flood damage and improve fish passage and water quality. ($663,044)
• The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, Division of Ecological Restoration will remove the Carver Cotton Gin Dam in East Bridgewater, which is a safety hazard and prevents fish passage on the Satucket River. This will open up approximately 13 miles of riverine corridor and access to 652 acres of migratory fish spawning habitat to benefit river herring and American eel, while improving stability of an upstream bridge. ($212,871)
• The Town of Scituate will remove Hunters Pond Dam, opening up approximately five miles of riverine corridor and nearly 200 acres of rearing and spawning habitat on Bound Brook. This will benefit migratory fish including river herring, American eel, and rainbow smelt, which have undergone a dramatic decline in Massachusetts over the last 400 years. Removing the dam will eliminate the potential for dam failure that would cause flooding and close a road. ($192,566)

Maryland 

• American Rivers will remove the Bloede Dam from the Patapsco River. This is the linchpin of a larger effort to remove four dams on the river, restoring more than 65 miles of spawning habitat for blueback herring, alewife, American shad, hickory shad, and removing a safety hazard. ($1,000,000)

More information about the Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency Grants Program.

Questions? Contact John Ewald at john.ewald@noaa.gov or 301-427-8029.