DEP Awards $574,974 In Grants To Protect Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone

On January 5, the Department of Environmental Protection announced 12 projects received Coastal Zone Grants totaling $574,974 aimed at protecting and restoring the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone would be funded through grants. 

This year’s projects emphasize education, design, and engineering; all of which will benefit this critical habitat and ecosystem.   

“Our coastal zones are vital environmental, economic, and community resources for the commonwealth,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “Each year, the diverse Coastal Zone projects help us rethink, reexamine, and rededicate our efforts towards a comprehensive approach to ensuring the sustainability of these habitats.”

Coastal zones are areas where land meets the coast and include both coastal waters and adjacent shorelands. These areas are challenged with increasing pressure from development, erosion, biodiversity loss and pollution.

 Coastal Zone Grants are awarded to projects related to fisheries, wetlands, stormwater management improvements, recreation, public education, coastal hazards such as bluff recession, and other areas. 

Grants may also be awarded to other projects in the watershed that have an impact on coastal waters.

The 112-mile Delaware Estuary coastal zone is located in Bucks, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties and encompasses islands, marshes, and other areas in the Delaware Estuary watershed. It is the largest freshwater port in the world.

DEP announced funding for these 12 awards in the City of Chester, a recipient of $60,000 to design the final stage of an East Coast Greenway connection trail. Once completed, this trail will provide close access to the Delaware River and the important coastal ecosystem. 

“Protecting the environment and bringing people closer to the natural habitat is what DEP strives for every day,” said DEP Southeast Regional Director Pat Patterson. “Projects like the Norris Street trail connection exemplify what the Coastal Zone Grant program is all about.”

Approved projects include: 

Philadelphia

-- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission – $50,000 to implement the Coastal Management Program in the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone that includes Delaware, Philadelphia and Bucks counties

-- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission – $50,000 to conduct outreach to municipalities in the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone focused on climate resiliency and related hazard mitigation

-- John Bartram Association - $50,000 to support FloatLab education staff at Bartram’s Garden

-- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Inc. – $62,384 to conduct Pennsylvania Coast Day 2022 events to educate the public about coastal recreation, historic sites, and public access

-- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary - $50,000 to engage residents and youth in clean water stewardship through freshwater mussel education

-- Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful - $40,000 to conduct community cleanups and marine debris removal in the Delaware Estuary

-- Fairmount Park Conservancy - $75,000 to contract a landscape architect to develop a plan to restore Pattison Lagoon in Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park in the City of Philadelphia.

-- Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation - $12,590 to complete an historical boathouse structural plan

Bucks

-- Bucks County - $70,000 to design and engineer the Levittown trail.

--Heritage Conservancy - $20,000 to Watershed Stewardship program at Bristol Marsh and Croydon Woods

Delaware

-- City of Chester - $60,000 to develop final design documents for the Chester City East Coast Greenway trail connection on Norris Street

-- Marcus Hook Borough - $40,000 to develop the Market Square Memorial Park Delaware River pier removal and reconstruction master plan

Funded primarily by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the grants are administered by DEP’s Coastal Resources Management Program. 

Since federal approval of the DEP Coastal Resources Management Program in 1980, the program has provided more than $50 million in funding for coastal zone projects.

For more information, visit DEP’s Coastal Resources Management Program webpage.

Related Article:

-- DEP Awards $250,000+ In Grants To Protect Lake Erie Coastal Zone

[Posted: February 9, 2022]  PA Environment Digest