00A00824

Description:
The purpose of this agreement is to provide assistance to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) to implement its project to support the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan to protect and restore Long Island Sound.

These activities are intended to support the recipient's goals to:
- Facilitate design and implementation of habitat restoration and living shoreline projects
- Support the removal of two dams to improve fish passage
- Support future assessment, monitoring, research, and restoration of coastal saltmarshes
- Enhance the Long Island Sound monitoring program
- Promote equitable access, appreciation, and understanding of the Long Island Sound.

Activities:
The activities covered under this award will help more extensively implement the Long Island Sound Study Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan while specifically building the adaptive capacity of ecosystems and communities. Through facilitating the design and implementation of habitat restoration and living shoreline projects, communities will have enhanced resilience to climate change and sea level rise. This award catalyzes the removal of two dams, one of which lies in a distressed community. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection previously contracted engineering plans for their removal but did not have funding to complete them. Saltmarsh monitoring using high-resolution techniques will provide critical baseline mapping data that does not currently exist. This data will enable clearer long-term marsh tracking in the face of climate change and build planning capacity for surrounding communities. Additional activities include purchasing a new research vessel to enhance the Long Island Sound monitoring program and addressing language barriers with coastal anglers.

Subrecipient:
No subawards are included in this assistance agreement.

Outcomes:
The anticipated deliverables will be progress and final reports, quality assurance project plans, and technical reports. Expected outcomes include increased public knowledge about the Long Island Sound, completed living shorelines, enhanced fish migration, and stronger scientific understanding of the watershed's physical environment.

Direct beneficiaries of this program include the general population in the Connecticut and New York portion of the watershed and its surrounding areas, schools, universities, and other institutions of learning, environmental managers, and policymakers.

Furthermore, the project prioritizes the implementation of the Justice40 Initiative, a government-wide initiative with the goal of delivering 40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities. Two of the six tasks in this award focus on distressed communities/environmental justice populations. The Middle Street Dam removal task will occur in Bristol, CT, a community defined by the state of CT as distressed. By removing the Middle Street Dam, the project will serve as an impetus for the city to create a greenway for pedestrians and cyclists to safely bypass a busy, high-traffic intersection. The second task - addressing language barriers with coastal anglers - enables needed connection with non-English speaking individuals in administering CT's annual angler survey, thereby reducing bias in data collection practices. The funds for these two tasks are approximately 25 percent of the total award.

Connecticut Department Of Energy & Environmental Protection

2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS 4 - ENSURE CLEAN AND HEALTHY AIR FOR ALL COMMUNITIES 4.1 - IMPROVE AIR QUALITY AND REDUCE LOCALIZED POLLUTION AND HEALTH IMPACTS 5 - ENSURE CLEAN AND SAFE WATER FOR ALL COMMUNITIES 5.2 - PROTECT AND RESTORE WATERBODIES AND WATERSHEDS

66.437 - Long Island Sound Program

EPA Region 1: Boston [EPA - RO]

Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut United States

County-Wide

EPA-CEP-01

Infrastructure $6,545,916 (100%) percent this Project Grant was funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Act.
Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 09/30/24 to 09/30/26.