EPA awards $44 million for Chesapeake Bay nutrient reduction and stormwater projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced more than $44 million in grants through its Chesapeake Bay Program Office to support water quality improvement, habitat restoration and community-led conservation efforts across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The funding, distributed through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) and Small Watershed Grants (SWG) programs and administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, supports projects aimed at reducing nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution while restoring habitat and strengthening local economies.

“Both of these grant programs are part of the larger story of EPA's investments for the Chesapeake Bay,” said EPA Region 3 Administrator Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey in a press release. “We’re making targeted investments in agricultural conservation practices, wetland and floodplain restoration, riparian buffers, and living shorelines. These investments will deliver cleaner water and healthier habitats, while fostering economic growth across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”

Stormwater-focused awards include funding for nature-based infrastructure in Elmira, New York, where Chemung County will retrofit urban streetscapes with permeable pavers, street trees and underground infiltration basins. In Washington, D.C., the Department of Energy and Environment will retrofit three regional stormwater ponds to improve discharges to the Anacostia River.

Collectively, this year’s grants are expected to restore 75 miles of riparian buffers, treat runoff from more than 350 acres of developed land, implement 120,000 acres of agricultural best management practices and reduce annual nitrogen pollution by 1 million pounds. The projects will also restore wetlands and marshes, install livestock exclusion fencing and support more than 700 watershed restoration jobs across the multi-state watershed.