Overview
Coastal harbors up and down Massachusetts play a vital role in driving the Commonwealth’s blue economy. Without dredging, many harbors would become impassable for commercial and recreational vessels.
The Massachusetts Dredging Program is a capital grant program that provides funding to coastal municipalities for saltwater dredging. Construction grants are competitively awarded with a focus on shovel-ready projects that support the economic vitality, vibrant waterfronts, maritime safety, or ecosystem health of Massachusetts’s harbors.
Program Eligibility
The Massachusetts Dredging Program is open to the Commonwealth’s 78 coastal municipalities. New rounds typically open in the late winter or early spring. Dredging sites must be public tidelands, and a minimum 50% non-state match is required for any application to be considered.
Massachusetts Dredging Program grants are available only for construction-phase costs. Costs associated with the study, design, engineering, permitting, or real property transactions of a dredging project are not eligible for funding. Coastal municipalities are encouraged to consult the Seaport Economic Council Grant Program for potential funding opportunities related to pre-construction costs.
Regional Equipment Purchasing
From time to time, the Massachusetts Dredging Program may provide funding for the purchase of regional dredging equipment, or equipment used in the operation and delivery of saltwater dredging services on a regional basis. When available, regional equipment grants are competitively awarded, with a focus on new purchases that increase regional capabilities and support the economic vitality and coastal resources of Massachusetts’s harbors.
Regional equipment grants are typically open to the Commonwealth’s 78 coastal municipalities and any public commissions representing two or more of these municipalities, including county commissions. A minimum 50% non-state match is required for any application to be considered.
Past Rounds
Applicants interested in applying to the Massachusetts Dredging Program are encouraged to review the RFP, application, and associated documents from the latest grant round available on COMMBUYS (search “Dredging Program”).