Project to Treat Two Million Gallons of Stormwater a Year, Prevent Run-off to the Anacostia River

DNR Secretary Mark Belton (standing third from left) joins representatives from the Anacostia Watershed Society, Prince George’s County and the First United Methodist Church

Elected officials, citizens and supporters today joined together at the First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville to dedicate a new stormwater retrofit project that will filter runoff from more than 3 acres of pavement, the first of more than 4,000 acres across Prince George’s County that the state and county will address in an effort to help clean and restore the Anacostia River and the Chesapeake Bay.

Mark Belton, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Adam Ortiz, Director for the Department of the Environment for Prince George’s County; Rev. Dr. Yvonne Wallace-Penn, Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville; and Jim Foster, President of the Anacostia Watershed Society were on hand to celebrate the project’s completion and participate in a ground healing ceremony that involved planting native trees, shrubs and plants. Read more.