$2 Million Program Announced To Restore Coastal Watersheds

Federal and state officials are launching a program to protect and restore the coastal watersheds of southeast New England.

Municipalities and nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts will receive a total of $2 million in the first year of the new federal initiative.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed led the effort to acquire the funding. He was in Newport Wednesday with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrators and other officials to celebrate the start of the Southeast New England Coastal Watershed Restoration Program.

Rep. William Keating of Mass. announced the local grants, saying the most persistant threat facing Southcoast and Cape Cod communities is groundwater contamination and water pollution.

Among local organizations and communities receiving funding are the Buzzards Bay Coalition, $215,000, the town of Fairhaven, $90,000, and the Town of Wareham, $75,000.

The program seeks to restore New England's waterways, protect ecosystems and help the region prepare for climate change.