Board of Public Works approves funding for clean water and the Chesapeake Bay
Board of Public Works approves funding for clean water and the Chesapeake Bay
Grant made possible by Clean Water Commerce Act will fund water pollution reductions to Bay tributary in Harford County
BALTIMORE (April 24, 2019) – The Maryland Board of Public Works approved the first funding stemming from the Maryland Clean Water Commerce Act, a grant of more than $4 million today for a stream restoration project to reduce water pollution and help restore the Chesapeake Bay. The board is composed of Governor Larry Hogan, Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot.
“The Winters Run stream restoration project is a smart way to protect the Bay,” said Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles. “Innovative partnerships like this, made possible by Governor Hogan’s Clean Water Commerce Act, help sustain the progress we’ve made and achieve the bold goals we’ve set for a healthier Chesapeake watershed.”
The following project was approved today:
Tributary to Winters Run Stream Restoration Environmental Practice– Harford County
A $4,409,300 Bay Restoration Fund grant will provide the first funding stemming from the Clean Water Commerce Act to reduce pollution to a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. The Clean Water Commerce Act, passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2017, expanded the uses of the Bay Restoration Fund to include the costs associated with the purchase cost-effective nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment load reductions. The grant approved today is for the restoration of about 6,000 feet of degraded stream channel, where stream bank erosion is significant, leading to downstream sediment pollution. The project, to be constructed by HGS LLC, will stabilize the stream and greatly improve water quality in the Winters Run watershed and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
Upon completion of construction, HGS will provide 20 years of monitoring and maintenance. The Maryland Department of the Environment will provide annual payments for the purchase of verified annual reductions of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediments based upon unit prices. Annual purchases are estimated to be between $220,000 and $375,000, depending on actual, verified reductions.
This project is consistent with Maryland climate change adaptation and resiliency objectives by enhancing stream resilience to increased rainfall and flooding events while also reducing nutrient and sediment pollution to the Bay.
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