The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Thursday announced the award recipients of nearly $11 million in Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Grants for restoration, conservation and environmental outreach in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia.

PA Congressman Glenn 'GT' Thompson* (PA-5) noted Pennsylvania will receive $9.9 million and 13 projects will be funded in his state.

"I have had several opportunities to tour farm sites using Ag innovation and smart conservation practices as provided by the NFWF grants and Penn State University, as well as other dynamic partners," Thompson, a member of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committees said. "I have been very impressed by the on-the-ground work across the entire six state Chesapeake Bay Watershed, especially in increasing the removal of sediment and nutrients from our streams and rivers."

"We are honored to host this year's Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund grant announcement," said Rick Roush, dean of Pennsylvania State University's College of Agricultural Sciences. "A strong partner of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for many years, the college since 2008 has received more than $3.6 million in grant funding from NFWF and provided nearly $4 million in match from the college and our many partners to support innovative research, community engagement and implementation of best management practices on farms, in communities and along streams throughout Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In concert with the objectives of these newly funded projects, Penn State is committed to building a new consensus-based, collaborative strategy to achieve water quality goals while ensuring profitable and productive agriculture."

The Pennsylvania projects include--

-- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Inc. ($749,676) The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay will improve drinking water supplies in the Octoraro Creek Watershed, Lancaster County, through outreach and agricultural best management practice installation on Plain Sect farms, building on existing local efforts.

-- Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Adaptive Toolbox ($632,319) will pilot the Pennsylvania Adaptive Toolbox for Conservation Saturation, seeking greater participation in conservation planning and practice implementation, and demonstrating a correlation between conservation efforts, herd health and farm profitability.

-- Borough of Carlisle, Cumberland County Stormwater Management ($599,452) will reduce flooding by providing the needed stormwater retention capacity to serve run-off from the planned redevelopment of an adjacent brownfield site, while preventing nutrients and other pollution from entering the vulnerable LeTort Spring, which feeds into the Conodoguinet Creek and eventually the Chesapeake Bay.

-- Borough Of Spring Grove, Codorus Creek Stream Restoration ($185,000) Spring Grove Borough, York County, will restore approximately 1,250 linear feet of Codorus Creek to correct eroding streambanks and channels, thereby reducing sediment discharge to the Lower Susquehanna watershed.

-- Chesapeake Conservancy, Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA, Susquehanna University ($562,236) The Chesapeake Conservancy, Susquehanna University and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA will collaborate and harness newly available high-resolution Geographic Information System datasets and tools to pilot a new innovative approach to conservation, conduct precision conservation, and better focus restoration efforts and best management practice implementation on the ground.

-- Lancaster Farmland Trust East Lampeter Twp. BMP Implementation ($328,328) The Lancaster Farmland Trust will implement stream corridor and livestock best management practices (BMPs) on strategic farms in East Lampeter Township.

-- Lancaster Farmland Trust BMP Implementation With Mennonite Farmers ($187,662) The Lancaster Farmland Trust will assist three conservative Mennonite farmers in Eastern Lancaster County with implementing strategic field-based and structural practices that address nitrate levels.

-- American Rivers Chiques Creek Migratory Fish Habitat ($199,915) American Rivers will remove a fish barrier to restore access to 2.9 miles of upstream headwaters for spawning brook trout in Chiques Creek.

-- Trout Unlimited Kettle Creek Sediment Reduction ($163,231) Trout Unlimited will increase coldwater habitat availability and reduce sediment pollution to benefit the eastern brook trout in Kettle Creek, in Tioga, Potter and Clinton counties, as a continuation of the watershed restoration that has been underway for the last 17 years.

-- Western PA Conservancy Chest Creek Watershed Restoration ($178,708) The Western PA Conservancy will implement agricultural best management practices (BMPs) and sediment reduction measures, and install riparian buffers in the Chest Creek Watershed, located in northern Cambria County.

-- Western PA Conservancy Juniata River Agricultural Technical Assistance, BMP Implementation ($158,846) The Western PA Conservancy and partners will work with agricultural landowners in the Juniata River watershed to implement best management practices to reduce nutrient and sediment runoff in the Yellow Creek subwatershed.

-- York County Planning Commission ($203,419) will create a county stormwater authority whose purpose will be three-fold: (1) assist municipalities in meeting Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan, which sets forth a strategy for the state to achieve the required pollutant reductions mandated by the Total Maximum Daily Load, or pollution diet for the Chesapeake Bay; (2) complete specific Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit requirements on behalf of the regulated municipalities; and (3) coordinate staffing needs with the York County Conservation District to provide technical assistance to the waiting list of farms.

-- Multi-State Regional Phosphorus Pollution Reduction ($626,834) Sustainable Chesapeake will engage stakeholders throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed in a comprehensive approach focused on achieving farm and regional nutrient (especially phosphorus) balance in high density animal production areas.

For more information, visit the NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Grants webpage.

*Editor’s Note: In July, Congressman Thompson was one of two members of the U.S. House offering an amendment to the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill to gut the federal, state effort to cleanup the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams.

NewsClips:

Acting DEP Secretary Addresses Challenges In Chesapeake Cleanup

Crable: Lancaster County Farms Face State Inspections

DEP Moves To Enforce Farms’ Manure Plans

DEP Visiting Farms To Determine Environmental Compliance

Farmers In Chesapeake Bay Watershed To Get Visits From DEP

PA Farmers Surveyed About Conservation Efforts For Chesapeake Bay

PA Waterways Show Serious Spikes In Bacteria Studies Show

Creeks, Susquehanna River Show Highest Bacteria Levels After Rain

Study Finds Pollution In Dauphin, Cumberland Streams

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