The latest DEP Chesapeake Bay Update newsletter features articles on a request for engineering services, upcoming PennVEST funding outreach sessions, progress reports on implementing county clean water plans and much more.

Engineering Services

DEP is seeking to build private technical assistance capacity in Pennsylvania’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed for project planning, outreach, design, engineering, and reporting to streamline Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation in support of Countywide Action Plans (CAP), and Pennsylvania’s Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP).

Two RFQs will be published to the Pennsylvania Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) Consulting Services (4400007410) supplier list on January 31. For the RFQ covering northern counties (DEP-RFQ004516).

DEP is seeking an organization capable of providing outreach to twelve (12) counties including: Berks, Cameron, Clearfield, Columbia, Elk, Indiana, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Montour, Northumberland, and Potter.

For the RFQ covering southern counties (DEP-RFQ004517), Pennsylvania DEP is seeking an organization capable of providing outreach to eleven (11) counties including: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clinton, Fulton, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Snyder, Somerset, and Union.

Responsibilities under each RFQ will include providing design and engineering assistance outreach, oversite, and tracking and reporting for at least five (5) projects annually within Pennsylvania’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

If capable of managing projects in all 23 counties, a single supplier may submit a quote for both RFQs.

NFWF Funding

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with U.S. EPA and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership, is soliciting proposals through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Small Watershed Grants (SWG) Program to restore water quality and habitats of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers and streams.

Webinar for prospective applicants February 13.  Proposals are due April 3. 

Click Here for more information.

PennVEST Funding Outreach

PennVEST will conduct a series of 15 in-person and two virtual funding outreach sessions to educate public and private entities on the financial opportunities available for funding clean water projects starting April 3.

PennVEST's in-person and virtual events offer attendees a wide range of information that provides context around the funding topic and tools to help provide financing estimates.

Event participants will learn answers to the following questions:

How can PennVEST help? Am I eligible?

What are the funding sources?

Why PennVEST financing?

How do I apply for financing?

Who can I contact for help?

How can I find PennVEST resources?

How do I stay educated on new PennVEST information?

Click Here for the schedule and to register.

Click Here to read the entire newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.

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.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

The draft 2024 report has an interactive report viewer that allows you to zoom in to your own address to see if the streams near you are impaired and why.

Click Here to check out your streams.  Click Here for a tutorial on using the viewer.

Related Articles - Watersheds:

-- In Celebration Of The Many Contributions Of John Dawes To Protecting And Restoring PA’s Environment, Foundations Create The R. John Dawes Clean Water Fund  [PaEN]

-- PASA Sustainable Agriculture Honors 2024 Pasabilities Award Recipients  [PaEN]

-- State Conservation Commission Awards $3 Million In Conservation Excellence Grants To 4 Organizations  [PaEN]

-- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Now Accepting Proposals For Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program  [PaEN]

-- Still Time To Register! Keystone Coldwater Conference Feb. 23-24 In State College  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Center For Ag Conservation Assistance Hires Engineering Firm To Help Develop Certification Program For Conservation Professionals; Spring Conference; Seeking New Faculty  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Update Newsletter: Request For Engineering Services; PennVEST Funding Outreach Sessions; Much More!  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Awards $150,000+ Grants To Support 34 Local Watershed Projects  [PaEN] ​

-- The Nature Conservancy Receives $250,000 Investment In Freshwater Connectivity From Richard King Mellon Foundation  [PaEN]

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition: 16th Annual Student Symposium On The Environment Draws Over 130  [PaEN]

-- PA Society Of Professional Engineers Host Feb. 22 Virtual DEP Update On MS4 Stormwater Program, NPDES Water Quality Permitting  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Feb. 28 Webinar On Green Stormwater Infrastructure [PaEN]

-- March 4 Penn State Extension Webinar On Monitoring Soil Moisture: A Climate Smart Ag Practice  [PaEN]

-- March 11 Streambank Stabilization And Stream Crossings On Farms Webinar  [PaEN]

-- Allegheny County Conservation District Unveils Insights Into County Development And Stormwater Infrastructure  [PaEN]

-- DEP Assesses $73,153 Penalty On 2 Contractors Building A Rutter's Store In Blair County For Water Quality Violations; Exactly The Kind Of Violations A Citizen Group Was Afraid Of   [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Contractor Permit To Construct Rutter’s Store In Huntingdon County; The Same Contractor Penalized $73,153 By DEP For Failing To Comply With Permit In Blair County  [PaEN]

-- Water At Risk: The History And Mystery Of Lawns, Try A Lower Maintenance, Natural Landscaping Instead - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association  [PaEN]

-- Protecting Clean Water Together: Explore The Brodhead Watershed In Monroe County - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association  [PaEN]

[Posted: February 3, 2024]

2/5/2024