DEEP Announces Recipients of Long Island Sound Ecosystems Grant for Green Stormwater Infrastructure and Habitat Restoration

Over $7.8 million Awarded to Eighteen Projects focused on Coastal Habitat and Water Quality

(HARTFORD) —The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced the recipients of the newly created Long Island Sound Ecosystems Grant Program. A total of over $7.8 million has been awarded to eighteen Connecticut municipalities and non-profits focused on improving water quality, enhancing ecosystem resilience, and improving fish passage.

“Almost all of Connecticut is within the Long Island Sound watershed. These innovative projects will protect and restore valuable coastal marsh habitat, remove impediments to migratory fish passage, and advance innovative green stormwater infrastructure – advancing our shared goal of protecting and improving the health of the Sound that provides ecosystem, recreation, and economic benefits to the citizens of Connecticut. We are grateful to our federal partners at EPA and NOAA for their support in making this impactful program possible,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes.

These projects advance the goals of the Long Island Sound Partnership (LISP) Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP), ensuring consistency with regional restoration and water quality objectives. Collectively, they will advance the state’s restoration project pipeline by supporting a combination of planning, engineering, design, and construction funding needs. They also leverage both in-kind and funding contributions from a variety of sources, amplifying the impact of the Long Island Sound Ecosystems Grant investment.

The projects funded in this round are listed below. More information on each of these projects will be available on DEEP’s Ecosystems Grant webpage.

Organization	Project Location	Project Title	Project Categoryand Phase	Funding Awarded
The Connecticut Audubon Society	Westport	Restoration of the H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve	Habitat Restoration Planning, Engineering,&Design	$114,761
Town of Woodbury	Woodbury	Engineering Design for the Replacement Clark Brook Culvert atMinortownRoad, Woodbury, CT to Provide Fish Passage	Habitat Restoration Planning, Engineering,&Design	$241,032
City of Waterbury	Waterbury	Risdon Pond Dam Removal	Habitat Restoration Planning, Engineering,&Design	$339,000
National Audubon Society - Connecticut Office	Guilford	Designing a Coastal Resilience Strategy within the East River Marsh	Habitat Restoration Planning, Engineering,&Design	$460,917
Save the Sound, Inc.	Fairfield – Bridgeport Line	Design Phase II of Restoration of the Ash Creek Spit and Great Marsh Island on the Bridgeport-Fairfield line	Habitat Restoration Planning, Engineering,&Design	$471,900
City of Norwalk	Norwalk	Andrew’s Field Habitat Restoration and Watershed Resilience Project	Habitat Restoration Construction	$255,000
American Rivers, Inc.	Old Lyme, Branford	Design, permitting and removal of the Yopp Pond and Wards Mill dams	Habitat Restoration Construction	$245,000
Branford Land Trust	Branford	Jarvis Creek Preserve Marsh Restoration and Migration Project	HabitatRestoration Construction	$541,195
Trout Unlimited, Inc.	New Hartford	Farmington River Priority Aquatic Passage and Flood Resiliency Improvement Project	Habitat Restoration Construction	$771,109
Save the Sound, Inc.	Guilford	Implementing a Living Shoreline Project in Chittenden Park in Guilford, CT	Habitat Restoration Construction	$1,200,000
Trust for Public Land	Bridgeport	Sliver by the River	Habitat Restoration Construction	$1,406,362
The Connecticut Audubon Society	Milford	Milford Point Stormwater Management Project	Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning, Engineering,&Design	$55,500
Town of Groton	Groton	PoquonnockBridge– Resilient Streets: Engineering and Green Infrastructure Design Project	Green StormwaterInfrastructurePlanning, Engineering,&Design	$195,000
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments	Thomaston, Watertown, Waterbury, Naugatuck, Beacon Falls	Naugatuck River Stormwater Retrofit Assessment	Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning, Engineering,&Design	$200,000
North Central Conservation District	Hartford	Green Infrastructure for Hartford’s Annie Fisher School Neighborhood	Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning, Engineering,&Design	$224,960
Town of Wolcott	Wolcott	Scovill Recreational Parking Lot Stormwater Management	Green Stormwater InfrastructureDesign & Construction	$140,000
Town of Thompson	Thompson	Municipal Stormwater Disconnection Using Green Stormwater Infrastructure	Green Stormwater InfrastructureDesign & Construction	$324,931
Town of Stratford	Stratford	Stratford Arboretum	Green Stormwater Infrastructure Construction	$667,500

These grants were made possible by federal funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Long Island Sound Partnership.

Contact DEEP.EcosystemsGrant@ct.gov for any grant-related questions.

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DEEP.Communications@ct.gov
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