Maryland Trust Fund Awards Water Quality Grants
The grants will provide funding to stream and wetland restoration, innovative stormwater management practices, riparian tree buffer plantings, and more in multiple counties in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced fiscal year 2019 funding has been awarded to 18 recipients through the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund to improve the health of Maryland's waterways. The Trust Fund allows Maryland to accelerate Chesapeake Bay restoration and improve water quality by focusing targeted financial investments and resources on the most efficient and cost-effective non-point source pollution control projects.
The grants will provide funding to stream and wetland restoration, innovative stormwater management practices, riparian tree buffer plantings, and more in multiple counties in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
"The Trust Fund serves as an example for the nation of how state funding can be strategically targeted to have measurable impacts on water quality and the quality of life of residents and visitors who enjoy our treasured Chesapeake Bay," Hogan said. "These 18 implementation-ready projects, totaling $22 million of investments, will have a long-lasting, positive impact on the bay and our environment and build on our historic investment in bay restoration efforts."
Hogan is the current chair of the Chesapeake Executive Council of the Chesapeake Bay Program, which establishes the policy direction for the restoration and protection of Chesapeake Bay.
"The Trust Fund allows the department to collaborate with our sister agencies and local champions and partners in government and nonprofit organizations to achieve a common goal, cleaner and healthier water," Maryland Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton said. "Through these innovative and pioneering partnerships, Maryland is realizing lower costs for the removal of nutrients and sediments, benefiting both the environment and taxpayers."
The full list of Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund projects funded for FY2019 can be found here. The Trust Fund is administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and guided by the Chesapeake Bay Cabinet and a governor-appointed scientific advisory panel.