The latest Chesapeake Bay Watershed Healthy Waters newsletter from the Department of Environmental Protection highlights funding opportunities, county water quality restoration projects and much more. 

Articles include--

-- PennVEST’S Clean Water Procurement Program Accepting Applications

-- Ag Conservation Planning Reimbursement Program

-- Grant Funding Available to Improve Watersheds in York and Lancaster Counties

-- Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program Open

-- Mini-Grants Available for CREP Outreach Activities

-- Restoration Research Award Program Open

-- Shapiro Administration Launches New One-Stop Grant Search Tool

-- College Internship Opportunities with DEP’s Bureau of Watershed Restoration and Nonpoint Source Management

-- Conservation District Jobs Promoted at Career Fairs

-- New DEP Introduction to Wetland Determination Training Launched

-- Choose Clean Water Conference Seeks Proposals

-- Master Watershed Steward Training Information for Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon Counties

-- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s PA Riparian Forest Buffer Project Plants 1,000th Acre of Forest Buffer

-- Northcentral PA Conservancy Marks Continuing Progress on Warrior Run Streambank Stabilization Project

-- Bedford County CAP Targets Streambanks in an Impaired Watershed

-- Chester County Conservation District and Agricultural Cooperators Spend a Day on the Bay

-- Franklin County Conservation District Holds Conservation Excellence Tour for Legislators

-- Juniata County Conservation District Holds BMP Tour

-- Lebanon County Water Quality Sampling Within the Quittapahilla Creek Watershed

-- Master Watershed Stewards Naturalize Stormwater Basin in York County

-- Lancaster Clean Water Partners Podcast, Clean Water Conversations, Hosts Jill Whitcomb

-- Novel Stream Restoration Method for Wild Trout and Ecosystem Health (Video)

-- USGS Releases Susquehanna River Story – What Does the Science Say About Water Quality? (Video)

-- Natural Lands and ClearWater Conservancy Announce Preservation of 667 Acres in Huntingdon County

-- Lancaster Conservancy Announces Additions to Lancaster County Nature Preserves

-- Lancaster Farmland Trust Celebrates 600th Preserved Farm

-- ClearWater Conservancy Celebrates $2 Million Federal Grant for Conservation Center

-- Freshwater Mussel Partnership Informs and Directs Conservation Efforts

-- Shapiro Administration Awards $24 Million in 2025 Countywide Action Plan (CAP) Implementation Grants

-- Shapiro Administration Invests $79 Million to Expand Recreation, Community Revitalization Efforts Across Pennsylvania

-- Chesapeake Executive Council Announces Plans to Refresh Bay Watershed Agreement and Creates New Agricultural Advisory Committee

-- DEP Permit Innovations and Progress

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.

(Photos: Yellow Creek Watershed streambank stabilization and fish habitat improvement project in Bedford County.)

Related Articles This Week:

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Veteran Reporter Ad Crable Wraps Up 4 Decades Of Environmental Journalism  [PaEN]

-- DEP Awards $19.6 Million To Support 8 Local Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Projects In 6 Counties  [PaEN]

-- PA State Conservation Commission Wins Natural Resource Education Champion Award  [PaEN]

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Update Highlights Funding Opportunities, County Water Restoration Projects  [PaEN]

-- Ag Conservation Professionals! Get Your Passport To 2025 PA Farm Show, Enhance Your Conservation Skills Starting Jan. 4  [PaEN]

-- Conservation Pros: Join In Ag Literacy Week By Volunteering To Read ‘The Soil In Jackie’s Garden’ March 17-21  [PaEN]

-- Choose Clean Coalition Now Accepting Presentation Proposals For 2025 Conference On Chesapeake Bay Water Quality Issues, May 19-21 In Virginia  [PaEN]

-- Presentation Proposals Invited: 2025 Penn State Extension Dive Deeper Summit For Water Educators  [PaEN]

-- Federal Ohio River Protection Act Legislation Would Address Pressing Water Quality, Conservation Needs In Ohio River Watershed  [PaEN]

-- Now On Demand: Penn State Extension Webinar On PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' In Land-Applied Biosolids - Research Update  [PaEN]

-- Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture Now Accepting Proposals For Brook Trout Conservation Projects  [PaEN] 

-- US Fish And Wildlife & Service Seeks Public Comment On Proposed Listing Of Eastern Hellbender As Endangered; PA’s Clean Water Ambassador  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Conservation Cornerstone: Jan. 28 Webinar On Climate-Smart Ag Project (CARAT)   [PaEN] 

-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Hosts Jan. 16 Webinar On Winter Salting and Local Waterway Impacts: Opportunities To Work For Change  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Jan. 16 Webinar On Forest Carbon Markets And Payment Programs Expert Panel  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Scranton Times: Nearly $7 Million In Federal Funds Awarded To Reclaim Mine Land In Dickson City, Blakely

-- The Daily Item Guest Essay: Potential Cuts To Federal Funding For Abandoned Mine Cleanup - By Sophia Evans, Dickinson College Student  [PDF of article]

-- WNEP: Massive Mine Subsidence Swallows Schuylkill County Family’s Backyard Swimming Pool

 -- Republican Herald: Sinkhole Breaks Water Main In Mahanoy Twp., Schuylkill County; Possible Abandoned Mine Subsidence

-- Republican Herald: Sinkhole In Mahanoy Twp., Schuylkill County Linked To Abandoned Mines

-- WNEP: DEP Crews Working To Fill Mine Subsidence Sinkhole In Schuylkill County That Swallowed Swimming Pool

-- Post-Gazette: PA Farmers Turning To No-Till Farming Focusing On Bottom Line, Human Health 

-- E&E News/Politico: Congressional Lawmakers Push For Federal Focus On Ohio River Watershed Water Quality Woes

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Dec. 20 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Pennsylvania To Get Nearly $1 Billion In Federal Funds For Climate-Smart Ag Practices

-- WITF/StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Endangered Status Proposed For Eastern Hellbender

-- Williamsport Sun: Fish & Wildlife Service Seeks Public Comment On Proposed Listing Of Hellbender As Endangered

-- Lancaster Clean Water Partners Newsletter: Looking Back On 2024 And Looking Forward

-- Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Bay: Reflection On A Remarkable 2024

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Blog: Young Mom Writes Children’s Book Inspired By Adventures With Daughter Along The River  [Donation From Sales Helps RiverKeeper]

-- Lancaster Farming: Environmental Groups Ask For Susquehanna River Pump Storage Hydro Permit Rehearing

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: This Dog Will Hunt For Rare Flowers In Bay Watershed

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Moves Harrisburg Office To Wildwood Park Benjamin Olewine III Nature Center 

-- MCall: Plans For Warehouse Near Busy I-78 Intersection In Northampton County Move Forward

-- MCall: Easton Residents Denounce Plans For Massive Warehouse At Old Pfizer Plant Near Residential Area

[Posted: December 19, 2024]

12/23/2024