SNEP Opportunity to Advance Resilience (SOAR) Fund

The SNEP Opportunity to Advance Resilience (SOAR) Fund is a program developed in 2023 by EPA Region 1 designed to improve climate resiliency in disadvantaged communities throughout Southeast New England. Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), SNEP is committed to investing at least $5 million in SNEP disadvantaged communities via the Fund by 2027. 

For information on how SNEP is implementing IIJA funds, please visit IJA Implementation.

• Defining Disadvantaged Communities
• Map of SNEP DACs
• 2025 SOAR Awards
• 2024 SOAR Awards
• 2023 SOAR Awards
• Seeking Continued Community Input

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Defining Disadvantaged Communities

Through an iterative process with regional programmatic partners, SNEP developed the following programmatic definition of disadvantaged communities as any community (identified at the block group or census tract-level, where specified) that meets at least one of the following criteria:

• Any census block group at or above the 90th percentile for any of EJScreen’s Supplemental Indexes when compared to the nation or state. The National Supplemental Demographic Index is an average of:
  • Percent low-income; 
  • Percent limited English speaking; 
  • Percent less than high school education; 
  • Percent unemployed; and where data is available,
  • Communities with low average life expectancy. 
• Any census tract defined as disadvantaged in current and future iterations of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool;
• Any current or future federally recognized Tribal Land; and
• Any census block that meets current and future state-level criteria for disadvantaged communities other than those included due to explicit consideration of race-based indicators.

This definition is reviewed annually by our Program and regional partners. For more information on the SNEP definition for disadvantaged communities, please visit the SNEP Equity Strategy. 

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Map of SNEP DACs

All communities in the SNEP region that meet this definition are identified in the following web application:

An interactive map identifying the areas that meet EPA’s definition for Disadvantaged Communities in the SNEP region can be found here. 

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2025 SOAR Fund

The application period for the 2025 SOAR Fund is anticipated to open in Spring of 2025. For more information, or to review past SOAR funding solicitations, please visit Funding Opportunities.

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2024 SOAR Fund

SNEP selected four grantees across Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts, representing nearly $1.1M in direct investment in disadvantaged communities. Click here to view the full press release.

The following projects were selected for funding via the 2024 SOAR Fund RFP:

Voces Fuertes (Strong Voices) for the Water Table | $300,000 
Providence, RI | Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council

The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC) will invest in high impact training programs, to  expand targeted outreach and engagement of its neighbors, and will build strategic pipelines from  existing restoration and resilience programs, sites and activities into high wage jobs and careers. WRWC represents seven disadvantaged community (DAC) census tracts in the 02909 and 02908 zip codes 
of Providence, RI. These communities cope with increasing severe storms and flooding, low- income  and impoverished households, transportation overburden, lack of greenspace, poor health outcomes,  and exposure to hazards/toxins among other interconnected racial, environmental and social justice burdens.
 

Climate Resiliency Training and Employment to Address Community Needs | $300,000 
Providence, RI | Groundwork Rhode Island

Groundwork Rhode Island (GWRI) will work with partners including the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program, Garden Time, and the City of Providence Department of Public Works and Forestry  Division, to strengthen existing and launch new workforce training and employment programs focused  on making Providence more climate-ready and resilient. GWRI’s new Storm Crew will employ graduates 
of its existing Adult Job Training program to take on low-barrier tasks that will address  stormwater management and drainage challenges across the city, improve water quality, and reduce localized flooding in disadvantaged neighborhoods. GWRI will continue to collaborate with Garden Time and PNPP to strengthen the existing Canopy Crew employment program, which employs graduates of Garden Time’s Green Reentry workforce program, and focuses on young street tree care, including watering, mulching, aerating, and structural pruning of street trees in disadvantaged communities.

Protecting the Watershed with Trees | $152,460
Newport, RI | Newport Tree Conservancy *First-time applicant*

Newport Tree Conservancy will increase tree planting in disadvantaged communities and educate residents on the benefits of trees in mitigating climate-related water risks as a strategy for reducing the impact of flooding and pollution and keeping residential neighborhoods safe and livable. The Conservancy will broaden the tree canopy of Miantonomi Park in Newport’s marginalized North End to ensure that open green space is available to residents and to harness the substantial environmental benefits of increased tree canopy. They will more deeply engage residents of the project area in tree planting, care, and decision-making as a strategy for increasing community involvement in addressing an environmental injustice that has disproportionately affected the North End; and finally, this project will increase the capacity for community engagement and partnership by mobilizing project partners in the City of Newport and the Newport Open Space Partnership to plant trees more effectively and to engage residents in volunteerism, advocacy, and leadership.

Workforce Development for Sustainable Southcoast Communities | $300,000
New Bedford and Fall River, MA | Groundwork Southcoast  *First-time applicant*

Groundwork Southcoast (GWSC)’s “Workforce Development for Sustainable Southcoast Communities” project will build climate and community resilience in the environmental justice (EJ) communities and SNEP disadvantaged communities (DACs) of New Bedford and Fall River, MA. This will be achieved through piloting a new workforce development program wherein DAC-resident youth will deploy localized nature-based climate solutions. This project encompasses: 1.) hiring a full-time Program Director to build and oversee GWSC’s growing portfolio of workforce and community engagement programs across the southcoast region, and 2.) piloting the “Green Corps” workforce development program for out of school youth aged 18-26. Green Corps will receive specialized, hands-on green infrastructure and climate resilience training for 20-25 hrs/week year-round. With Green Corps taking on the majority of hands-on work within GWSC’s portfolio, Green Team (a part-time employment program for youth 14-21) will have increased capacity to maintain habitat restoration projects, food access work, and ramp up community outreach and engagement. GWSC also intends to hire a Green Corps Team Leader, which is also a training role, with the goal to train this leader to eventually become a full time Programs Coordinator.

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2023 SOAR Awards

In the first year of this Program, SNEP selected five grantees across Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts, representing $1.275M in direct investment in disadvantaged communities. Click here to view the full press release.

The following projects were selected for funding via the 2023 SOAR Fund RFP:

Engaging Environmental Justice Communities to Promote Urban Watershed Health and Equitable Access to Nature | $299,926 (Federal), $72,349 (Match)
Worcester, MA | Massachusetts Audubon Society

This project will conduct planning for green infrastructure interventions to reduce flooding predicted to continue to worsen due to climate change, which is a top priority for the City of Worcester as identified in its 2019 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plan, based on resident input and data analysis. In addition, building on this proposed work, Mass Audubon seeks to collaborate with community organizations, residents, and municipal departments to launch its Nature in the City initiative in Worcester. The aim of this statewide Mass Audubon program is to co-create city-wide approaches that surface shared concerns and develop a collective vision for green and open spaces with the common goal of increasing access to nature and promoting resident-identified needs, such as improving water quality, reducing flooding and heat islands, enhancing climate resilience, and restoring green spaces in urban settings.

Understanding Urban Flooding and Finding Community Solutions in Providence, RI | $300,000
City of Providence, RI

The City of Providence is committed to climate justice for frontline communities and plans to develop a community-informed study that models flood risk in disadvantaged communities and recommends proven mitigation strategies. This work will allow the City of Providence to effectively plan for community resilience and seek future funding to address urban flooding in the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. Under this project, the City will engage a contractor to 1) conduct an urban flooding mapping analysis of the disadvantaged communities most affected by recent flash flooding events; 2) collect and review recent studies on flooding and recommended mitigation strategies, including those on the Woonasquatucket River watershed, West River, and Pleasant Valley Parkway; 3) coordinate with community organizations to support a series of neighborhood meetings to understand the needs of residents in building a flood-resilient city; and 4) present a coordinated, prioritized approach to urban flood mitigation.

Climate & Change: Where Warren Meets the Water | $75,000
Warren, RI | East Bay Community Action Program *First-time applicant*

In response to rising sea levels that will inundate the Market Street neighborhood of Warren, RI, the Town of Warren has developed the “Market to Metacom” plan (funded previously by the SNEP Watershed Implementation Grants (SWIG) program) to relocate the neighborhood to higher ground. The Town and residents recognize the need for robust resident participation in this transformational process. This project supports outreach, communication, and engagement with residents; the development of a Safety and Climate Resilience Work Group; resident workshops addressing climate anxiety and residents’ experience with the ongoing changes; Community Health Worker support to access resources; and leadership development for residents who will participate in Town planning efforts and neighborhood organizations in a holistic approach that supports community resilience.

Rhode Island Advancing Resilience in Disadvantaged Communities | $300,000
East Providence, RI | Rhode Island Department of Health

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) and the City of East Providence plan to re-designate Crescent Park Beach as a licensed swimmable beach for the residents of the Riverside neighborhood, the City, and the metropolitan region over a 3-year project period. After decades of work by several different levels of government and non-profit organizations, this project will see the return of public swimming to this beach after approximately a century of non-use due to water quality issues. RIDOH and the City of East Providence see this project as a significant environmental justice victory, and a way to celebrate the success of cleanup efforts in Narragansett Bay. The project will entail the construction of ADA compliant public restrooms at Crescent Park and the hiring of lifeguards at the beach to enable formal designation as a swimmable beach. These new restrooms will also benefit the community by enhancing the many public events held every year. The project offers several benefits to residents of Disadvantaged Communities and increases community and environmental resilience. The beach is easily accessible via the East Bay Bike Trail and public transit, making it a safe, family-friendly amenity available to residents region-wide. With the increase of harmful effects of climate change, this opportunity will allow for local residents to have a safe, outdoor recreational space to use during the summer months.