On December 9, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the award of $24 million in grants to support local projects to reduce pollution and restore local streams, rivers, and lakes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

DEP awarded grants through the 2025 Countywide Action Plan (CAP) Implementation Grants to county teams across Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

“These grants have been used to implement everything from streambank tree plantings to livestock crossing installations. Their work benefits not only their communities, but our Commonwealth and beyond,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “It’s projects that counties are putting on the ground that are changing the conversation from ‘talking about fixing the Bay’ to ‘fixing the Bay,’ and I’m excited to see the ingenuity and progress made by this year’s grant recipients.”’

The 2025 CAP Implementation Grant round brought in applications for 205 projects that will be completed in the next 12 to 18 months, resulting in an estimated reduction of nearly 110,000 pounds/year of nitrogen, 42,150 pounds/year of phosphorus, and 11.8 million pounds/year of sediment.

The 2025 CAP Implementation Grants include $9.6 million from the state Environmental Stewardship (Growing Greener) Fund and $14.4 million in EPA funding, including $7.1 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds, to support counties’ implementation of their local priority initiatives in their CAPs.

In addition to the funding awarded for implementing projects, DEP also awarded nearly $1.8 million to county teams to support local Clean Water Coordinators who help to strategically implement the CAPs.

Additional EPA funding includes $1.12 million in Local Government Implementation (LGI) funds to be used to implement projects in the Octoraro Watershed in Chester County that will be reported toward the multi-jurisdictional Conowingo Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) as a supplement to funding for Chester County’s CAP.

Grants Awarded

The 2025 CAP Implementation Grants were awarded to:

Adams County Conservation District: $ 389,000

Bedford County Conservation District: $ 440,475

Berks County Conservation District: $ 200,000

Blair County Conservation District: $ 386,598

Bradford County Conservation District: $ 256,350

Cambria County Conservation District: $ 200,000

Centre County Conservation District: $ 751,261

Chester County Conservation District: $ 67,295.75

Clearfield County Conservation District: $ 116,747.25

Clinton County Commissioners: $ 136,774

Cumberland County Commissioners: $ 214,965.50

Franklin County Conservation District: $ 1,219,663

Fulton County Conservation District: $ 241,497

Huntingdon County Conservation District: $ 542,142

Lackawanna County Conservation District: $ 294,503

Lancaster County Conservation District: $ 5,921,801

Lebanon County Conservation District: $ 670,062

Luzerne Conservation District: $ 264,346

Lycoming County Commissioners: $ 492,447

Montour County Conservation District: $ 924,704 for Montour, Columbia, and Sullivan counties

Northumberland County Conservation District: $ 211,000

Potter County Conservation District: $ 200,000

Schuylkill Conservation District: $ 447,135

Snyder County Conservation District: $ 863,863 for Snyder and Union counties

Susquehanna County: $ 294,880

Tioga County Conservation District: $ 378,577

Tri-County Regional Planning Commission: $ 2,174,710 for Dauphin, Perry, Juniata, and Mifflin counties

York County Planning Commission: $ 404,218.75

Along with state and sector efforts, County Action Plans are a key component of Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Phase 3 WIP to reduce pollution from local streams and rivers.

All or part of 43 counties are in Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The area spans half the state and includes over 12,000 miles of polluted streams and rivers.

All 34 counties that were asked to voluntarily develop a CAP continue to actively implement their CAPs.

Countywide action teams have implemented a diverse range of projects and initiatives in the watershed since 2021, including not only stream restorations, streambank tree plantings, rain gardens and livestock crossing installations, but also a rapid stream delisting strategy which aims to delist pollution-impaired steams from Pennsylvania’s list of agriculturally-impaired waterways by the year 2030.

Find exceptional projects funded by previous CAP grants in DEP’s Annual Reports

Visit DEP’s Countywide Action Plans webpage for more information on County Clean Water Action Plans.

Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Progress

Pennsylvania has made historic progress in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Earlier this year, the Shapiro Administration announced that the Chesapeake Bay showed steady overall improvement, earning a C+ grade from the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card  – the highest overall grade for the Bay since 2002.  Read more here.

The Upper Bay, which is fed by the Susquehanna River from Pennsylvania scored one of the highest grades among any area of the Bay – and posted a significant improvement from last year – showing how efforts in agency collaborations, strong partnerships, and sustained investments led to progress throughout the Susquehanna River watershed and beyond.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

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 This Week - Watersheds:

-- Chesapeake Bay Executive Council, Including Gov. Shapiro Announce Plans To Revise Watershed Agreement, Form New Agricultural Advisory Committee  [PaEN]

-- DEP Awards $24 Million In Grants To Support County Clean Water Projects To Improve Water Quality In Chesapeake Bay Watershed  [PaEN]

-- Coalition For The Delaware River Watershed, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Announce $17 Million In Grants To Enhance The Health Of The Delaware River Watershed  [PaEN]

-- Vote Now For Pennsylvania's 2025 River Of The Year Among 3 Finalists-- Delaware River, Perkiomen Creek, Youghiogheny River [PaEN]

-- Congress Passes Good Samaritan Legislation To Address Toxic Legacy Of Abandoned Mines, Biden Expected To Sign  [PaEN]

-- Headwaters To The Ohio Water Network Launches Assessment Of Needs Of Community-Based Watershed Groups And Leaders; Seeks Partners In PA  [PaEN]

-- Friends Of The Wissahickon Mark Completion Of $3.5 Million Valley Green Run Restoration & Pedestrian Bridge Project  [PaEN]

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light Launching Watershed Circle Watershed Protector Training For Congregations, Community Groups  [PaEN]

-- DEP Finalizes Great Lakes Water Management Program 5-Year Report  [PaEN]

-- PA Sea Grant Now Accepting Research Proposals To Enhance Use, Conservation Of PA's Coastal, Watershed And Great Lakes Resources; Jan. 15 Webinar  [PaEN]

-- PA Sea Grant: Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Application Period Open For Graduate Students  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Center For Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training Hosts Jan. 22 Webinar On Safeguarding Private Drinking Water Sources [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Study Points To Farmland Treated With Biosolids As Possible Source Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Fish

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper: US Fish & Wildlife Service Proposes Eastern Hellbender As Endangered Species After Groups Push For Better Protections

-- PennLive: Eastern Hellbender, PA’s Official Amphibian, Proposed As Endangered Species

-- USGS PA Water Science Center Fall Newsletter: Pesticide Sampling; Philadelphia Water Resources Tool; Sampling For PFAS Contamination; Addressing Microplastics Science Gaps  [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Total Maximum Daily Load Water Quality Plan For Buffalo Creek In Perry County  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Trout Unlimited: A Watershed Moment: Congress Passes Good Samaritan Legislation To Address Toxic Legacy Of Abandoned Mines

-- Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership: Federal Good Samaritan Legislation To Help Cleanup Abandoned Mines Heads To President’s Desk

-- National Wildlife Federation: Final Passage Of Federal Good Samaritan Act Will Encourage Abandoned Mine Cleanup

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Joins Governors In Renewed Commitment To Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Governors Seek To Shore Up Bay Cleanup Amid Uncertainties

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster Conservation District Receives $5.9 Million For Chesapeake Bay Watershed Pollution Reduction

-- Altoona Mirror: Mid-State Counties Receive Funds To Fight Pollution Of Chesapeake Bay

-- The Daily Item Editorial: State Grants Support Shared Responsibility For Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

-- Lancaster Farming: New Ag Committee To Advise Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Program

-- Altoona Mirror: Mid-State Counties Receive Funds To Fight Pollution Of Chesapeake Bay

-- The Daily Item Editorial: State Grants Support Shared Responsibility For Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Study Points To Farmland Treated With Biosolids As Possible Source Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Fish

-- Forests For The Chesapeake Bay Newsletter: Loysville Youth Center Reforestation Project; Hackberry; Tree Tender & Woods In Your Backyard Education; Much More!

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Blog: 2025 Calendar Offers Key Dates To Connect With Nature, Tips For Journaling And Citizen Science

-- WHYY: Conservationists Celebrate More Than 200 Federally Funded Projects To Restore Waterways In Delaware Watershed

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Dec. 13 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Warren Times: Allegheny River Cleanup Recognized By US Forest Service

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Allegheny County’s Stormwater Issues Require Coordinated Response - By Olivia Zelinsky, Chatham University student 

-- Center For Biological Diversity: Lawsuit Launched To Cleanup Coal Ash Storage Pond At Talen Energy Brunner Island Power Plant Along The Susquehanna River In York County

-- USDA Invests $9.1 Million In Sewage Facility Upgrades In Dauphin, Westmoreland Counties

-- Partnership For The Delaware Estuary: Gardening For Clean Water Newsletter For Habitat Owners, Caretakers

-- Post-Gazette: PA Lawmakers Protest Coast Guard Cuts In Pittsburgh; Staffing Shortages Blamed

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Yes, Pittsburgh’s Rivers Need The Coast Guard

[Posted: December 9, 2024]

12/16/2024