This cooperative agreement is provided to roger williams university (RWU) to support implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law (BIL) through the narragansett BAY estuary program…

This cooperative agreement is provided to roger williams university (RWU) to support implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law (BIL) through the narragansett BAY estuary program comprehensive conservation and management plan (ccmp). The goal is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the estuary and support its sustainable human uses through tasks outlined in this bipartisan infrastructure law (BIL) workplan of the narragansett BAY estuary program (nbep) and its partners. This cooperative agreement funds partners with local expertise to develop high-quality projects that reduce pollution, restore habitat, improve climate resilience, and advance environmental equity. Sub-awards will be provided to support the design, survey, and permitting of the hillsdale road culvert expansion; hire an engineering consultant to complete designs for fish passage at the elizabeth webbing DAM; and fund projects that are responsive to progress in BIL years one and two, BIL priorities, and the ccmp.activities:this cooperative agreement funds partners with local expertise to develop high-quality projects that reduce pollution, restore habitat, improve climate resilience, and advance environmental equity. Sub-awards will be provided to support the design, survey, and permitting of the hillsdale road culvert expansion; hire an engineering consultant to complete designs for fish passage at the elizabeth webbing DAM, and fund project development consistent with the nbep comprehensive conservation and management plan (ccmp). Subrecipient:the narragansett estuary program will pass through the entirety of this award, with the exception of indirect costs, as subawards. They will provide: - $212,740 to the wood pawcatuck watershed association to support staff and hire an engineering consultant to design, survey, and permit the hillsdale road culvert expansion in the watershed's headwaters in rhode island; - $282,000 to the nature conservancy of rhode island to hire an engineering consultant to complete designs for fish passage at the elizabeth webbing DAM on the lower blackstone river in rhode island; and - $1,268,160 for a request for proposals to fund additional project development (priorities to be determined).outcomes:deliverables and outcomes include subawards to the wood pawcatuck watershed association to support staff and hire an engineering consultant to design, survey, and permit the hillsdale road culvert expansion in the watershed's headwaters in rhode island that will expand passage of aquatic organisms and reduce road flooding and to the nature conservancy of rhode island to hire an engineering consultant to complete designs for fish passage at the elizabeth webbing DAM on the lower blackstone river in rhode island that will lead to the largest fish passage project in narragansett BAY watershed history. The project also funds a request for proposals for additional project development (priorities to be determined). Direct beneficiaries of this program include: residents of the narragansett BAY watershed study area in both massachusetts and rhode island and the ecosystems and users of ecosystem services.