Culverts

Established through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program aims to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters. Funding is available for planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk costal infrastructure. Projects selected under this program should be grounded in the best available scientific understanding of climate change risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities, and should utilize innovative and collaborative approaches to risk reduction, including the use of nature-based solutions.

Awards small grants in support of grassroots efforts and community-based environmental work in New England. The Grassroots Fund utilizes participatory grantmaking to move resources to New England grassroots groups working at the intersections of Environmental Justice. The program is geared toward groups who have some experience implementing a project in their community. Grants support groups to deepen their work by further developing a community vision, lowering barriers to participation, identifying new stakeholders, and working to bring more voices and lived experiences into core decision-making processes.

The Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program is a competitive program that provides funding to states, federally recognized Tribal governments, U.S. territories, and local governments. Since the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 was signed into law, funds are used for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program.

The LINAP Embayment Water Exchange Study looked at how water exchange practices could affect the nitrogen impairments in embayments. A water exchange practice changes the amount, speed, or direction of water moving through an area. The results of the study show that water exchange techniques are not effective in large waterbodies like most of Long Island’s embayments. Often, the physical size of the water exchange practice is small compared to the large waterbodies to which they are applied, which means their impact is limited. Water exchange projects may be useful, however, for smaller Long Island waterbodies, where the volume of increased water exchange approaches the volume of the overall waterbody. The goal of the study was to provide communities with basic information on water exchange practices suitable for Long Island.

The NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) Clean Water State Revolving Fund provides interest-free or low-interest rate financing for wastewater and sewer infrastructure projects to municipalities throughout New York State. A variety of projects are eligible for financing, including construction or restoration of sewers and wastewater treatment facilities, stormwater management, landfill closures, as well as habitat restoration and protection projects. There are several different types of financing available to clean water project applicants. EFC provides both short and long-term financing, interest-free or low interest to accommodate municipalities of all population sizes with varying financial needs. When communities repay their financings, it allows EFC to finance new projects and the funds “revolve” over time.

Local Waterfront Revitalization Program provides grants to municipalities along New York’s coasts or designated inland waterways to advance the preparation or implementation of strategies for community and waterfront revitalization through the following grant categories: 1) Preparing or Updating a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP), 2) Updating an LWRP to be more Resilient to Climate Risk,s 3) Preparing an LWRP Component, including a Watershed Management Plan, and 4) Implementing a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program or a completed LWRP Component.

The BRIDGE NY Program provides enhanced assistance for local governments to rehabilitate and replace bridges and culverts on public highways/roadways. Particular emphasis will be provided for projects that address poor structural conditions; mitigate weight restrictions or detours; facilitate economic development or increase competitiveness; improve resiliency and/or reduce the risk of flooding. Priority consideration may also be given to projects that provide benefits to Environmental Justice Communities.

NOAA’s Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program is an environmental education program that promotes place-based experiential learning for K–12 students and related professional development for teachers.This funding opportunity focuses on projects combining long-term, classroom-integrated “Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences” and capacity building for K-12 Environmental Literacy at the state and local level.

The Connecticut Society for Women Environmental Professionals Grant Program provides funding for local projects in Connecticut that benefit the environment. Grants of up to $2,000 will be awarded. Any application meeting the grant guidelines that is not successful in one cycle may reapply during any following cycle. The applications will be judged based on the environmental benefits of each project, in comparison to others. “Environmental benefits” can vary widely and successful applications have ranged from property clean-ups to environmental education.

Awards small grants in support of grassroots efforts and community-based environmental work in New England. The Grassroots Fund utilizes participatory grantmaking to move resources to New England grassroots groups working at the intersections of Environmental Justice. The program is geared toward groups who have some experience implementing a project in their community. Grants support groups to deepen their work by further developing a community vision, lowering barriers to participation, identifying new stakeholders, and working to bring more voices and lived experiences into core decision-making processes.

Sustainable CT’s Community Match Fund is an innovative program that provides fast, flexible funding and support for engaging your community on wide-ranging sustainability projects. Eligible projects receive dollar-for-dollar matching funds from Sustainable CT.

NFWF will award up to $140 million in grants to create and restore natural systems in order to increase protection for communities from coastal hazards, such as storms, sea- and lake-level changes, inundation, and coastal erosion, while improving habitats for fish and wildlife species. NFWF prioritizes projects that are community led or incorporate direct community engagement and benefit underserved communities facing disproportionate harm from climate impacts.

The NEP Coastal Watersheds Grant Program is a nationally competitive grants program designed to support projects that address urgent and challenging issues threatening the well-being of coastal and estuarine areas within determined estuaries of national significance.

The Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP) is requesting project applications to restore and conserve habitat necessary to support coastal, estuarine-dependent, and diadromous fish species along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. Federal funding available through the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) program will be used to support the top ranked proposals. To ensure available funding is being directed most effectively, projects should be geared toward meeting ACFHP’s conservation objectives described in its Conservation Strategic Plan.

The Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program is a competitive program that provides funding to states, federally recognized Tribal governments, U.S. territories, and local governments. Since the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 was signed into law, funds are used for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program.

The goals of this funding opportunity are to enhance collaboration with recreational, subsistence, cultural, and non-commercial fishing communities, and to protect and restore habitat. Healthy habitat leads to more fishing opportunities and increased climate resilience, and there are numerous opportunities to advance habitat conservation by working together.

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) will be seeking proposals to restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound (Sound) with approximately $12 million in funding in 2024. The program is managed by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Long Island Sound Study (LISS). Major funding is from EPA through the LISS with additional funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Avangrid Foundation.

The Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee and Village of Sea Cliff completed subwatershed improvements at Scudders Pond to address stormwater drainage problems impacting the water quality of the pond and Hempstead Harbor, highlighted as a priority in the 1998 Hempstead Harbor Water Quality Improvement Plan. The improvements included dredging the pond, installing a hydrodynamic separator to intercept sediment, removing invasive Phragmites australis and replacing with native plants, realigning the stream to reduce erosion, redirecting the stormwater from residences to the bioswale, creation of a biofilter wetland area, replacement of the weir between the upper and lower ponds and weir at Shore Road.

In 2023, Long Island Sound Study, New York Sea Grant and Warren Pinnacle, in partnership with committed municipalities and marsh-conservation groups/organizations, developed a Plan to understand the benefits, threats and recommended conservation actions at seven focal areas across the harbors. The goal of the Plan is to inform local municipalities and marsh-conservation groups as to where they might focus their conservation efforts to maximize the conservation of marsh ecosystem services under sea-level rise conditions. This process brought together a diversity of stakeholders to develop a cohesive strategy for seven focal areas across Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor: Frost Creek, Mill Neck Creek, West Shore Road, Bayville Bridge to Centre Island, Centre Island, Shore Road, and Lower Cold Spring Harbor. The partners will now work to implement the recommendations in the plan.

St. John’s Episcopal Church (lower Cold Spring Harbor) and Village of Lattingtown (Frost Creek) were 2024 LIS Resilience Planning Support Program awardees. Their projects will build off the Oyster Bay & Cold Spring Harbor marsh conservation plan and develop specific recommendations to enhance and restore marsh habitat in lower Cold Spring Harbor and Frost Creek.

In 2023, Long Island Sound Study and Warren Pinnacle, in partnership with committed municipalities and conservation groups/organizations, developed a Plan to understand the benefits, threats, and recommended conservation actions for the Stony Brook Harbor and West Meadow Creek marsh ecosystem. The goal of the Plan is to help inform conservation and restoration efforts to maximize marsh ecosystem services under rising sea levels.

The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual provides designers with a general overview on how to size, design, select, and locate stormwater management practices at a development site to comply with State stormwater performance standards.

Developed by The Nature Conservancy, this tool identifies priority road-stream and tidal crossings in Suffolk County for replacement or upgrades. Prioritization is based on social and ecological criteria. Additionally, it includes data on current and future projected flooding and marsh extent under various sea level rise scenarios. The tool is meant to be a screening tool for planning efforts.