EPA is soliciting applications from eligible entities (see Section III.A) under this announcement to support goals of the SNEP for coastal watershed restoration.

SNEP is a geographically-based program serving as a collaborative framework for advancing ecosystem resiliency, protecting and restoring

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water quality, habitat, and ecosystem function, and developing and applying innovative policy, science, and technology to environmental management in southeast coastal New England.

These broad goals were informed by input from members of a Steering Committee that includes the States of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, key environmental and watershed organizations, local tribes, and other Federal agencies.

Objectives under these goals include improving water quality to reduce the impact of nutrients on water quality and aquatic life; restoring physical processes that support critical habitat and ecosystem function; and aligning restoration and management efforts on a regional scale to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency.

This RFA reflects those objectives and focuses primarily on reducing the impacts of nutrients, especially nitrogen, on aquatic life and coastal ecosystems, restoring physical processes that support critical habitat and ecosystem function, and measuring, monitoring, and reporting change in condition and the effectiveness of actions.

Under this focus, EPA intends to fund a selected applicant to manage a competitive subaward grant program to support projects that build capacity to implement strategic protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems and their watersheds, including associated water quality and aquatic habitats, in southeast New England.