The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the District of Columbia a $1.2 million grant to fund pollution control in area storm water runoff.
The D.C. Department of Environment's non-point source program, the grant recipient, will combine the money with about $800,000 in local funding for a total award of $2 million.
"EPA is pleased to be a partner in the district's aggressive approach to cleaning up waterways in and around our nation's capital," said Donald S. Welsh, administrator for EPA's mid-Atlantic region. "This funding supports projects that are vital to protect and improve water quality for drinking water, recreational activities and to preserve the natural habitat."
The target of the department of environment's projects is storm water pollution, or non-point source pollution, caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over the ground and carrying natural and manmade pollutants into lakes, streams, rivers, oceans and other bodies of water.
The EPA grant and local funding will support a number of projects that focus especially on urban sections of the Anacostia River. Crews will design and install low-impact development projects to control runoff and conduct stream restoration work on runoff-damaged waterways.
Source: EPA
