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DEP Awards Over $3.8 Million In Federal Section 319 Grants To 15 Projects To Restore Watershed Health

On October 19, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the award of over $3.8 million in federal Section 319 grants to 15 projects across Pennsylvania that will help communities restore impaired watersheds.

Grant funding is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and authorized through Section 319(h) of the federal Water Pollution Control Act.

“Clean water is a key part of a community’s health,” said DEP Secretary Rich Negrin. “That’s why cleaning up Pennsylvania waters is vital in ensuring our communities live happier and healthier lives. The Section 319 grant provides resources for watershed-based plans and saturating watersheds with practices that will ultimately help our communities thrive. This helps further our mission of upholding every Pennsylvanian’s right to clean air, pure water, and preservation of natural resources.”

Nonpoint source pollution is water pollution that doesn’t come from a single specific discharge point, such as a pipe, but rather from diffuse sources, which are many smaller or scattered sources from which pollutants may be released.

About 95 percent of water-quality-impaired watersheds in Pennsylvania are affected by nonpoint source pollution.

Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants focus on reducing Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution from agricultural activities, urban stormwater runoff, and streambank and shoreline erosion; and Iron, aluminum, and acidity pollution associated with energy resource extraction and acid mine drainage (AMD).

The Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants program supports projects that carry out best management practices (BMPs) specified in Watershed Implementation Plans for 43 watersheds around the state, with special consideration for projects in Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The program also supports development of new Watershed Implementation Plans for additional impaired watersheds.

The following projects received Section 319 Grants--

Allegheny County

-- Etna Borough Green Streets Phase 5.1 Construction for Phase 5.1 of Etna Borough’s Green Streetscape project

Bedford County

-- Acid Mine Drainage Remediation Construction Completion of the Sandy Run SA0-D17 AMD remediation project

Bucks County

-- Dairy Waste Storage Agricultural Best Management Practice Implementation

Centre County

-- Implementing the Halfmoon 319 Watershed Implementation Plan on Priority Parcels

Chester County

-- Clean Water for Octoraro Communities and Ecosystems: Increasing Capacity for the Octoraro Source Water Collaborative

Lancaster County

-- Pequea Creek Watershed Implementation Plan: Water Monitoring Program & Expedited Project Design Program

-- Conewago and Conowingo Tributary Focus Project

-- Conowingo Watershed Implementation Plan Update

-- Conowingo Creek 10,000 feet of Stream Restoration

Luzerne County

-- Conservation District Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program - East

Mifflin County

-- Upper Kishacoquillas Creek Watershed: Agricultural Best Management Practices Implementation VII

Schuylkill County

-- Clinton #2 and Tracy Overflow Acid Mine Drainage Discharges Treatment System Design

-- Kaska Mine Discharge Treatment System Design

York County

-- Tributary to Codorus Creek Stream Restoration Design and Permitting

-- Codorus Creek Watershed Implementation Update

Statewide Project

-- County Conservation District Demonstration Project: Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage, Western PA

The projects in Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed also advance Countywide Action Plan priority initiatives and the state Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan to improve the health of the watershed.

Visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed webpage to learn more about cleaning up rivers and streams in Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Click Here to sign up for regular updates on Pennsylvania’s progress.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

Check DEP’s 2022 Water Quality Report to find out how clean streams are near you.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Report Emergencies, Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s Blog, Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

NewsClips - Watersheds:

-- Williamsport Sun: Lycoming College Clean Water Institute’s Matt Kaunert Speaks About Declining Populations Of Hellbenders In Pennsylvania

-- Tribune-Democrat: Blacklick Valley H.S. Students Get Inside Look At $26 Million Plan To Treat Mine Drainage Pollution, Revive Blacklick Creek

-- Altoona Mirror: Sediment Reduction Project On Beaverdam Branch, Juniata River Makes Progress

-- Altoona Mirror: Community Members’ Efforts Help Establish Rain Garden At Duncansville Memorial Park

-- Registration Open For PASA Sustainable Agriculture Conference Feb. 8-10

-- Rodale Institute 2022 Annual Report: Growing The Regenerative, Organic Agriculture Movement

-- The Center Square: More Trees Coming To Low-Income, Historically Black Neighborhoods Across Pittsburgh