Pike County included in environmental projects to get state funding
Environment. Growing Greener awards help reduce pollutants in local waterways.
| 06 Jan 2021 | 12:57
Lake Wallenpaupack
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced on Dec. 30 that 22 projects to clean up waters in the state’s Northeast region have been selected to collectively receive more than $5 million in funding through DEP’s Growing Greener program.
● In Pike, Wayne, Lackawanna, Monroe counties, $500,000 went to the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District for its Environmentally Sensitive Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program for Community Associations program.
● In Wayne, Pike, Lackawanna, and Monroe counties, $242,000 went to the Wayne Conservation District for its Northeast Region Nutrient Management Plan Reimbursement Program.
● In Monroe County, $10,478 went to the Brodhead Watershed Association for its Determination of Cause and Significance of Elevated in Forest Hills Run and Yankee Run; and $911,400 to the Monroe County Conservation District for its Sand Spring Stream Bank Restoration Project.
“Growing Greener awardees help keep Pennsylvania clean,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “It is imperative that communities in Pennsylvania receive the necessary funding to reduce pollutants in area waterways.”
Largest environmental investment
Statewide, more than $34 million has been awarded to fund 149 projects to clean up waters. Grantees have up to three years to implement their projects from the award date.
Growing Greener is the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania’s history to address Pennsylvania’s critical environmental concerns of the 21st century.
Growing Greener has helped to slash the backlog of farmland-preservation projects statewide, protect open space, eliminate the maintenance backlog in state parks, clean up abandoned mines and restore watersheds, provide funds for recreational trails and local parks, help communities address land use, and provide new and upgraded water and sewer systems.
DEP is authorized to allocate these funds in grants for watershed restoration and protection, abandoned mine reclamation, and abandoned oil and gas well plugging projects.
Three other agencies also received funds to distribute for appropriate projects: the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to administer farmland preservation projects, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for state park renovations and improvements, and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority for water and sewer system upgrades.
Two Growing Greener project awardees in the Northeast region include a project at Harveys Lake to eradicate invasive Hydrilla and monitor harmful algae blooms, and a project benefiting Luzerne County to address nutrient and sediment load reductions in water bodies on agricultural operations.
Other Growing Greener awards in the Northeast Region:
Lehigh:
Lehigh County Conservation District, Cedar Creek Enhancement, South Whitehall Township, $60,375
Wildlands Conservancy Inc., Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River Watershed Landowner Outreach Phase II, $88,500
Luzerne:
Harveys Lake Borough, Hydrilla Eradication and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Monitoring and Management, $266,570
Luzerne Conservation District, Toby Creek Watershed Restoration Projects, $268,906
Luzerne Conservation District, Huntington Creek Watershed Agricultural Best Management Practice Project, $375,315
Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, Warrior Creek Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MD4) Stream Restoration, $433,000
Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, Gardner Creek MS4 Stream Restoration, $116,875
Montour, Bradford, Clinton, Columbia, Luzerne:
Columbia County Conservation District, Multi-County Soil Health 2020-2023, $447,380
Northampton:
Forks Township, Ramblewood Basin Retrofit, $163,180
Friends of Johnston, Inc., Johnston Preserve Stormwater Management Engineering and Permitting, $94,016
Plainfield Township, Little Bushkill Stream Restoration, $100,000
Philadelphia, Lehigh, Bucks, Lackawanna, Monroe:
The Academy of Natural Sciences, Headwater Climate Resilience, $162,591
Schuylkill:
Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association, Packer 5 Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Treatment Project Design, $165,434
Schuylkill Conservation District, Mahantango High Farms Best Management Practices (BMPs), $750,500
Schuylkill, Franklin, Adams, Erie, Crawford, Warren:
The Pennsylvania State University, Furthering the Master Watershed Steward Program in Pennsylvania, $162,422
Wyoming:
Mehoopany Creek Watershed Association, Inc., Mehoopany Creek - Windy Valley and North Branch - Restoration Maintenance Project, $150,000
Wyoming County Conservation District, Controlling Nutrients within a High-Quality Watershed, $80,731
Wyoming County Conservation District, Nutrient/Sediment Pollution Reduction Initiative, $31,555
Statewide:
Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts Inc, PA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, $1,522,910
Pennsylvania Lake Management Society, Implementation of Lake BMPs Project IV, $468,790
Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation Development Council, Consortium for Scientific Assistance to Watersheds (C-SAW) X, $703,638
Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Quick Response 9: Fiscal Management for Repair of Growing Greener Projects, $200,000