Project Summary

1. Project Identification

Name	Ballard Street Salt Marsh
Region	New England
State	Massachusetts
Location	Saugus, Mass.
	Saugus River at Bristow Street in Saugus, Massachusetts, also fed by Pines River tributary at Bristow Street in Saugus, Massachusetts
Date of this update	February, 22, 1999

2. Problem(s) addressed (check one or more)

Habitat degradation caused by tidal restriction from standard flapper type tide gates which are in disrepair and need replacement to achieve flood control benefits of original construction.

Habitat Restoration/Protection
Wetlands
River systems
Beaches/Dunes
Offshore areas
Mangroves
Assisting Species at Risk
Pollution Mitigation
Non-Point Source Pollution
Other (describe)

3. Project Description (100 words or less. Please include qualitative information, e.g. acres of habitat restored, miles of steam reopened to migration, and legislative authorization, e.g. WRDA, ISTEA, CWA/NEP, CZMA, etc.)

Approximately 32 acres of tidally restricted (leaking flapper tidegate) salt marsh wetland dominated by Phragmites australis (common reed) would be restored to functioning salt marsh. Due to the need for flood control during storm surges and significant precipitation events a Waterman/Nekton Self-Regulating Tidegate or similar structure is being considered. The need for excavation for improved flood water storage and wetland habitat is also being evaluated.

4. Goals/Benefits (quantify where possible using measures of success list) Was a cost-benefit study conducted for this project? yes/no If yes, provide a summary of findings.

The project, if implemented, will improve coastal wetlands while also improving flood control to the adjacent low lying neighborhood which currently relies on a broken flapper type tidegate on and is affected by a missing tidegate on another culvert leading to and draining the wetland. Standard repair and replacement of the broken and missing tidegates would not restore any coastal wetland (salt marsh or tidal creeks) and would result in increased Phragmites vegetation problems such as impaired drainage and fire threats. A cost-benefit study has not been performed.

5. Partners (include each participant's responsibilities - funding, permitting, etc.)

• Federal

  Lead:	EPA New England initiated project with a concept plan and a $90,000 grant to the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.
  Others:	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District performed some flood analyses.
  	Natural Resources and Conservation Service, prepared a Hydrologic and Hydraulic evaluation which included survey work, community questionnaires on flood problems, and modeling of the wetlands hydrology.
  	U.S. Fish and Wildlife partners for Fish and Wildlife will contribute some funding for the habitat restoration effort.

• Non-Federal

  State government:	Massachusetts Wetland Restoration and Banking Program provided coordination and public outreach.
  	The Northeast Massachusetts Mosquito Control and Wetlands Management District already performed some essential creek maintenance work and investigated the condition of the missing tidegate and size of the second culvert affecting the wetland. They may provide additional excavation work including open marsh water management for mosquito control and wetland restoration.
  	Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, Area of Critical Environmental Concern - supporting the project and creating a marsh restoration plan for the larger marsh.
  	The Metropolitan District Commission has an agreement with the town to care for the land and will likely assist in the project.
  Local government:	The town of Saugus, Mass owns the land and will likely be the permit applicant and sponsor.
  Private industry:	General Electric Corporation, Lynn, Massachusetts Plant previously agreed to assist in the projects engineering and design for the new tidegate.
  Public interest groups:	New England Interstate Water Pollution and Control Commission provided grant management.
  	Saugus River Watershed Council performed some wetland and creek assessment and will assist in community outreach.
  Educational Facility:
  Other partnerships:	Additional partners and funding is being sought.

6. Funding/Contributions (organization and amount)

• Cash

  Federal		$90,000 grant
  Non Federal	State government	TBD
  	Local government	TBD
  	Private industry	TBD
  	Public interest groups	$1,500?
  Total		TBD

• In-Kind Services (hours, equipment, or other forms of assistance and estimated dollar value)

  To be determined.

• Volunteers (number of people and hours, and estimated dollar value)

  To be determined

7. Legislative authorities used by each participant

8. Value added by Coastal America Partnership including Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals achieved through this collaboration (500 words or less)

Coastal America Status along with the State requesting assistance, enabled NRCS project support to perform the Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis.

Corps of Engineers technical assistance provided using Coastal America limited funding.

9. Project Status

Initiation date	Some initial creek maintenance work done in 1998. Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis report prepared in Draft, July 1998.
Completion date
Current stage	(Plan Development and Permitting)

10. Contacts

• Project Manager

  EPA lead:
  Edward Reiner, USEPA
  1 Congress St.
  Boston, MA 02114-2023
  Phone (617) 918-1692
  Email Reiner.Ed@epa.gov

• Participating Agency/Organization Contacts: (e.g. volunteer groups, conservation groups, state agencies, and other federal agency contacts)

11. Any additional information/comments

Project has taken a long time due to difficult technical questions regarding potential effects on flooding.

This page was last updated on Saturday, 24-Jun-2000 11:48:47 EDT
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