Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today that 43 projects to clean up waters in the state’s Southcentral region have been selected to collectively receive more than $12 million in funding through DEP’s Growing Greener program.
“Growing Greener awardees help keep Pennsylvania clean,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “It is imperative that communities in Pennsylvania receive the necessary funding to reduce pollutants in area waterways.”
Statewide, more than $34 million has been awarded to fund 149 projects to clean up waters. Grantees have up to three years to implement their projects from the award date.
Growing Greener is the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania's history to address Pennsylvania's critical environmental concerns of the 21st century.
Growing Greener has helped to slash the backlog of farmland-preservation projects statewide, protect open space, eliminate the maintenance backlog in state parks, clean up abandoned mines and restore watersheds, provide funds for recreational trails and local parks, help communities address land use, and provide new and upgraded water and sewer systems.
DEP is authorized to allocate these funds in grants for watershed restoration and protection, abandoned mine reclamation, and abandoned oil and gas well plugging projects.
Three other state agencies also received funds to distribute for appropriate projects: the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to administer farmland preservation projects, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for state park renovations and improvements, and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority for water and sewer system upgrades.
Growing Greener projects in the Southcentral region include a project by the Berks County Conservation District to implement Riparian Forest Buffers in the Chesapeake Bay and watersheds impaired by agricultural sources. Another project in the region is a stormwater retrofit by Conewago Township in Adams County. Fifteen Lancaster County projects received more than $5.9 million in funding. Eight York County projects received more than $1.9 million in funding.
Southcentral Region’s and Statewide Awardees:
Adams (1)
• Conewago Township, Sherry Village Basin, $108,000
Berks (4)
• Berks County Conservation District, Agricultural Best Management Practice (BMP) Implementation in High Quality Kittatinny-Pine Creek watershed, $381,494
• Berks County Conservation District, Riparian Forest Buffer Implementation in Berks County, $385,000
• Berks County Conservation District, Little Swatara Creek Tributaries TMDL Ag BMP Implementation, $67,485
• Borough of Shoemakersville, Shoemakersville Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Pollution Control Bioswale, $42,200
Blair (1)
• The Trust for Tomorrow, Poplar Run Repair and Maintenance Project, $40,000
Cumberland (3)
• Commissioners of Lower Allen Township, Beacon Hill Stormwater Basin Retrofit Project, $63,700
• Cumberland County Conservation District, Yellow Breeches Trout Habitat and Stream Bank Restoration at Allenberry, $255,980
• Silver Spring Township, Detention Basin Retrofits, $350,000
Franklin (2)
• Borough of Chambersburg, South Main Street Stormwater BMP Implementation Project, $200,000
• Franklin County Conservation District, Installation of Horse Operation BMPs along two Different Streams, $380,795
Fulton (1)
• Fulton County Conservation District, Upper Big Cove Creek Watershed Assessment, $112,000
Huntingdon (2)
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Huntingdon County Ag BMPs, $442,305
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Spruce Creek Stream Restoration, $45,720
Lancaster (15)
• American Rivers, Chiques Roller Mill Dam Removal, $140,255
• Conservation Foundation of Lancaster County, Cocalico Creek Headwaters Floodplain Restoration – Construction, $769,271
• East Donegal Township, Evans Run Riparian Buffer Planting and Stream Restoration, $200,000
• Lancaster Farmland Trust, Crossing the Finish Line: BMP Implementation on Strategic Farms in East Lampeter Township, $670,947
• Lancaster Farmland Trust, Driving Pollution Reduction in the Mill Creek Watershed (Upper Leacock Township), $274,405
• Little Conestoga Watershed Alliance, Indian Run Floodplain Restoration, $72,000
• Manheim Borough, Chiques Creek Pollutant Reduction Project – Construction, $437,931
• Mount Joy Township, Green Meadows Streambank Stabilization Construction, $265,792
• Mountville Borough, Mountville Borough Dry Extended Detention Basin/Constructed Wetlands, $200,000
• Penn Township, Chiques Creek Green Infrastructure Improvements - Basin Retrofits and Vegetated Swale, $402,000
• Stroud Water Research Center Inc, Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Forested Buffers for Lancaster Focus Areas, $1,253,551
• Water Science Institute, Lancaster Dams and Nutrient Reduction Opportunities - Part 2, $57,200
• West Hempfield Township, Stormwater Basin, Streambank Stabilization and Riparian Forest Buffer, $315,000
• West Hempfield Township, Chiques Creek Stormwater Basin, Streambank Stabilization and Riparian Buffer Project, $250,000
• West Lampeter Township, Groff Farm Floodplain Restoration – Construction, $600,000
Perry (1)
• Perry County Conservation District, North Rice Farm Streambank Stabilization Project, $22,970
York (8)
• Partnership for the Economic Development of York County, Codorus Creek Beautification Initiative, $500,000
• Springettsbury Township, Springettsbury Township Turnkey Water Quality Improvements for its 2018-2023 MS4 Permit, $162,000
• The Borough of Hanover Stormwater Authority, Hanover Borough, $103,000
• York County Conservation District, Bennett Run Restoration Design and Permitting, $110,000
• York County Conservation District, Unnamed Tributary to Bald Eagle Creek Design and Permitting, $90,500
• York County Conservation District, Unnamed Tributary to Leibs Creek Restoration Design and Permitting, $80,000
• York County Rail Trail Authority, Oil Creek Watershed Restoration Plan, $38,000
• York Township, Queenswood Improvements, $39,325
Chester and York (1)
• Dickinson College, Developing High-Frequency Sensor Monitoring Tools for Managing Harmful Algal Blooms, $171,624
Clearfield, Cambria, Huntingdon, Centre (1)
• Trout Unlimited Inc, Streambank Stabilization in the Chesapeake Bay - A Collaborative Initiative to Improve Stream Health and Reduce Nonpoint Source Pollution, $49,363
Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Franklin, Bedford, Centre (1)
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc, Prioritizing Forested Buffer Incentives, $675,000
Montour, Bradford, Clinton, Columbia, Luzerne (1)
• Columbia County Conservation District, Multi-County Soil Health 2020-2023, $447,380
Schuylkill, Franklin, Adams, Erie, Crawford, Warren (1)
• The Pennsylvania State University, Furthering the Master Watershed Steward Program in Pennsylvania, $162,422
Statewide (4)
• Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts Inc, PA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, $1,522,910
• Pennsylvania Lake Management Society, Implementation of Lake BMPs Project IV, $468,790
• Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation Development Council, Consortium for Scientific Assistance to Watersheds (C-SAW) X, $703,638
• Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Quick Response 9: Fiscal Management for Repair of Growing Greener Projects, $200,000
MEDIA CONTACT: John Repetz, 717-705-4904
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