Watershed organizations in Schuylkill County received about $1.5 million as part of a state grant program to improve Pennsylvania’s water resources.
Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that 114 projects received $25,143,294 in funding from the Department of Environmental Protection for the protection of Pennsylvania’s water resources. The selected projects enhance watersheds, mitigate acid mine drainage and support water pollution cleanup programs.
Funding comes from the Growing Greener Grant Program, the largest single investment of state funds that address Pennsylvania’s environmental concerns, according to DEP. Growing Greener encourages partnerships between counties, municipalities, county conservation districts, watershed organizations and other organizations to restore and protect the environment.
The Growing Greener program is supported by the Environmental Stewardship Fund, which receives its funding from landfill tipping fees.
Twelve projects this year received funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 319 Nonpoint Source Grant Program, created by the Clean Water Act to reduce water pollution.
Four projects received funding from the Abandoned Mine Discharge Set Aside Program, funded by the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act and designed to abate AMD pollution. Of the 208 grant applications received for consideration this year, more than half of the proposed projects were awarded grant funding.
The Schuylkill Conservation District received four Growing Greener grants for the following projects: Good Spring Creek Floodplain Restoration Phase 1, $459,445; Mill Creek AMD Watershed Restoration Plan Development, $64,857; Delaware Watershed Agricultural Planning Initiative, $30,000; and Animal Heavy Use Area Protection Project, $321,817.
The Schuylkill Conservation District also received an AMD grant worth $67,024 for its Upper Swatara Creek QHUP AMD Monitoring Project.
“Growing Greener has been a chance to bring money in to address (AMD and flooding) problems,” Jenna Fehr, Schuylkill Conservation District manager, said Wednesday. “It’s been another source of funds to help get projects on the ground. It’s a good program and we have been able to get a lot work done.”
The projects are still in the planning stages, Fehr said.
Meanwhile, Schuylkill Headwaters Association Inc. received $485,722 from a 319 nonpoint source grant to improve its current AMD project in Reevesdale, and the Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association received a $85,581 Growing Greener grant for its Packer 5 AMD Treatment design.
“The Growing Greener program, and this year’s funding, is an investment in our future and proof that when state government works collaboratively, we achieve long-lasting results,” Wolf said as part of the announcement. “The Environmental Stewardship Fund has helped spark innovation and coordinate partnerships to tackle some of the most challenging environmental issues in our state.”