Illinois, Wisconsin Get Stimulus for Water Management
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds to Illinois and Wisconsin to prevent water pollution and protect human health and the environment, according to recent press releases.
The recipients and their amounts are:
- The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, $1,790,300, for Water Quality Management Planning (WQMP) grants.
- The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, $1,070,200 for WQMP grants.
Planning is an important step in EPA's goal to improve water quality in America's lakes, rivers and streams. WQMP grants support a broad range of activities such as setting standards, monitoring the quality of the water, developing plans to restore polluted waters and identifying ways to protect healthy waters from becoming polluted. States are also encouraged to use these funds for more innovative planning activities like developing plans to adapt to climate change, analyzing trends in water availability and use, and creating low-impact development programs. Grants are awarded to state agencies and some of the funds can be awarded to regional and interstate planning organizations.
For information on EPA's implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit http://www.epa.gov/recovery.