BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Gov. Larry Hogan announced on Monday that he will be steering $18.8 million toward 22 restoration projects that aim to improve the water quality and habitat of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, state officials.
Hogan made the grant award announcement alongside the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Today I announced $18.8 million for critical Chesapeake Bay restoration projects that will improve water quality and habitat in the bay’s watershed, while strengthening local resilience to climate impacts.
Details: https://t.co/NR300qmACX
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) July 11, 2022
The multimillion-dollar awards will lead to the improvement of 77 unique sites affiliated with the bay, according to state officials.
Those sites will be restored via riparian buffer, reforestation plantings, stream restoration, stormwater management, and wetland creation, state officials said.
“Each of these projects plays a critical role in improving the quality of the bay and making our ecosystem more resilient,” Hogan said.
The funding for the grants comes from the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, which favors cost-efficient and effective non-point source pollution reduction projects, state officials said.
The projects receiving the funding will collectively remove more than 41,083 pounds of nitrogen, 4,332 pounds of phosphorus, and 7,967 tons of suspended solids, according to state officials.
The award recipients were selected from among 51 proposals, state officials said. The list includes:
- Western Maryland Resource Conservation and Development
- Maryland Forestry Foundation
- Blue Water Baltimore
- The Land Preservation Trust
- Carroll County Government – Bureau of Resource Management
- Cecil County Government – Stormwater Management Division
- Chesapeake Rivers Association Inc.
- Harford Soil Conservation District
- Wildfowl Trust of North America, Inc. (DBA Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center)
- Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
- Washington College, Center for Environment & Society
- Harford County
- Baltimore County Dept of Environmental Protection and Sustainability
- Montgomery County
- Baltimore County Soil Conservation District
- ShoreRivers
- Harford Land Trust
- Cecil Land Trust
- City of Rockville
- Anne Arundel Soil Conservation District (AASCD)
- Anne Arundel County Watershed Protection & Restoration Program
- Center for Watershed Protection, Inc.
