PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz announced a nearly $10 million investment into Chesapeake Bay restoration on Monday.
The announcement included over $5.6 million in grants for six organizations to help protect and restore Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Additionally, officials stated that the grant will generate over $7.2 million in matching contributions, making a total conservation impact of over $12.9 million.
"Each [project] will improve not just the local environment where the projects are located, but the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem downstream by removing runoff pollution, cleaning up streams and rivers and planting native trees," stated Ortiz. "Four decades ago, visionary leaders set us on a course to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Today, thanks to partnerships like the ones for these projects, we will kickstart the next 40 years of conservation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed."
Grant recipients included:
- Stroud Water Research Center ($1,000,000): Will work across eight counties to train, support and mentor local conservation professionals to advance forest buffer capacity and implementation.
- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay ($1,000,000): Through a partnership with Perdue Farms, the implementation of priority conservation practices, like vegetative buffers, stormwater controls and heavy-use area stabilization will be incentivized.
- The Pennsylvania State University ($1,000,000): Will engage congregations through volunteer programs, initiate green infrastructure projects in places of worship and support congregational members in adopting conservation practices on their farms.
- The Nature Conservancy ($997,600): This project will utilize the existing Delmarva Wetland Partnership to add capacity to design restoration projects, provide project management support, provide landowner support to offset the costs associated with restoration and implement 600 acres of wetland restoration and 46 acres of associated upland buffers.
- Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District ($1,000,000): Will expand the Upper Susquehanna Coalition's water quality program to support and accelerate riparian forest buffer restoration, non-tidal wetlands and floodplains.
- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay ($646,800): This project will address the specific conservation needs of farmers and prioritize conservation practices that reduce pollution runoff, restore riparian forest buffer habitat, improve in-stream habitat and contribute to the overall sustainability of farms.
"We will continue to work with state and local governments to better manage stormwater, improve our built infrastructure and find nature-based solutions to improving water quality throughout the watershed, as well as ensuring that polluters are being held accountable." expressed Ortiz.
