Friday, November 15, 2024

$402,021 Awarded By DEP To Support Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone Projects

On November 15, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the award of  $402,021 to support 10 local projects to protect and restore the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone. 

The 112-mile Delaware Estuary coastal zone is 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.

“The Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone is particularly challenged by increasing pressure from development, erosion, biodiversity loss and pollution,” said Acting DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. "I know the recipients of these grants will do amazing work to improve public access, preserve habitats, measure pollution impacts, and educate the public about the benefits of these coastal zones." 

Coastal zones are areas where land meets the coast and include both coastal waters and adjacent shorelands. 

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.

Approved projects include: 

Philadelphia County

-- 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 continue outreach to municipalities in the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone focused on climate resiliency and related hazard mitigation.

-- John Bartram Association – $60,000 for the planning and design of the Riverfront Field Station and Welcome Center at Bartram’s Garden. This will complement the forthcoming recreational trail connecting the garden to the Schuylkill River Trail and downtown Philadelphia.

-- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Inc. – $74,912 to develop a freshwater mussel grow out pond network that will increase PDE’s ability to raise juvenile freshwater mussels for use in restoration activities in the Delaware Estuary.

-- Delaware River City Corporation / Riverfront North Partnership – $50,000 to conduct a pond rehabilitation feasibility study at Pleasant Hill Park which will evaluate the health of the ponds and provide recommendations for rehabilitation and operations.

-- Philadelphia City Treasurer City Planning Commission – $3,000 to purchase outreach materials and supplies for Eastwick Community Day, a day to engage residents around issues of flooding and resilience through a family-friendly resource fair.

-- Friends of the Wissahickon – $55,200 to complete a streambank resiliency and flood study that will offer restoration recommendations and provide cost estimates for locations identified along Forbidden Drive and adjacent access trails in Wissahickon Valley Park that are most vulnerable to flooding, high levels of sediment discharge, or susceptible to streambank collapse.

-- Schuylkill River Development Corporation – $23,400 to hire up to three Philadelphia area youth to conserve and maintain four miles of trail and 29 acres of greenway along Schuylkill Banks, which is the southernmost eight miles of the Schuylkill River Trail.

-- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Inc. – $62,000 to conduct Delaware Riverfest 2025 events to educate the public about coastal recreation, historic sites, and public access.

Delaware County

-- Delaware County Planning Department – $23,500 to develop a vision plan for Delaware County’s waterfront which will include commerce, recreation, preserving natural resources and enabling municipalities with industrial zoning to pivot and utilize area for new opportunities.

Pennsylvania’s Coastal Resources Management Program (CRMP) receives an annual grant award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

A portion of this award is used to fund eligible projects that address CRMP priorities. 

The funds are distributed through sub-grant awards to local and state government agencies as well as nonprofit groups with projects located in the Delaware Estuary or Lake Erie Coastal Zones. 

Applications are accepted late August through mid-October with project funding awarded on or around October 1st of the following year.

Visit DEP’s Coastal Zone Grants webpage to learn more about this program.. 

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Report Emergencies, Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s BlogLike DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

Related Articles - Watersheds:

-- DEP Awards $288,000 In Grants To Support Local Projects In Lake Erie Coastal Zone  [PaEN] 

-- Alliance For The Chesapeake Bay: PA Riparian Forest Buffer Project Plants Its 1,000th Acre Of Forest Buffer!   [PaEN] 

-- Alliance For The Chesapeake Bay Video: PA Riparian Forest Buffer Projects Plants Its 1,000th Acre!

-- Three Rivers Waterkeeper Calls For Stronger Environmental Oversight Of U.S. Steel Irvin Plant Discharges Into Monongahela River In Allegheny County [PaEN]

-- Environmental Quality Board Approves Proposed Spill Notification Regulation; NOx & VOC Corrections For Comment; Blasting Reg  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Will No Longer Accept New Chapter 102 Erosion & Sedimentation ePermit Applications During ‘Pause’; Oil & Gas E&S Applications Not Affected  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Extends General Permits: Oil & Gas Erosion & Sedimentation [ESCGP-3]; Beneficial Use Of Biosolids By Land Application [PAG-07 + PAG-08]; Beneficial Use Of Residential Septage [PAG-09]  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For Restoration Of Pursley Creek Damaged By Underground Longwall Coal Mining In Center Twp., Greene County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold Dec. 17 Hearing On Chapter 105 Permit For Pocono Mountains Corporate Center North Warehouse In Monroe County  [PaEN] 

-- Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy To Host 3 Public Meetings On Perkiomen Mapping &  Flood Mitigation Study Spanning Parts Of Montgomery, Berks, Bucks, Lehigh Counties Starting Nov. 12  [PaEN] 

-- Stroud Water Research Center: Trusted Partner For Community Scientists; Conserving National Park Streams; Support Clean Water  [PaEN]

-- Registration Open! Partnership For The Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental Summit Feb. 11-12  [PaEN] 

-- PA Sea Grant/DEP: Pennsylvania Lake Erie Environmental Forum Webinar Set For Nov. 19  [PaEN] 

-- PA Sea Grant Names PA 2025 Knauss Marine Policy Fellows: Nathaniel Edelheit-Rice, Sahara Rios-Bonilla, Chelsea Russ  [PaEN] 

-- Stroud Water Research Center: Trusted Partner For Community Scientists; Conserving National Park Streams; Support Clean Water  [PaEN]

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light Hosts Nov. 19 Watersheds And Their Problems Webinar  [PaEN]

-- PA Sea Grant: Choose Native Guide Promotes Using Native Species In Landscaping & Water Gardening  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- WNEP: Drought In Northeast, Central Pennsylvania Affecting Christmas Tree Farms  

-- TribLive: Driest Summer Since 2002 Leads To Increase In Wildfires

-- Courier Times: Here Are Latest Water Restrictions In Doylestown, Bucks County Amid Drought Conditions

-- TribLive: Westmoreland Water Authority Calls For Voluntary Conservation In Response To Drought Conditions 

-- Governor Of New Jersey Declares Statewide Drought Warning  

-- WHYY: New Jersey Declares Drought Warning As Reservoir, Groundwater Levels Decline-- -- Delaware RiverKeeper Nov. 15 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Bay, Rivers See Minor Impacts From Hurricane Helene

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal Forum: Bringing Communities To The Conversation, Roundtable Style - By Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Clean Water Efforts In Lancaster County Could Get A Boost Through Lancaster ExtraGive On Nov. 22

-- MorningAgClips: Franklin/Cumberland County Master Watershed Stewards Seeking Volunteers, Info Sessions Dec. 12 (In-Person), Dec. 16 (Virtual)

-- The Allegheny Front: Removing A Beloved Dam On Little Sewickley Creek In Northern Allegheny County 

-- WNEP: Students Join Forces With Diamond City Partnership For Tree Planting Project In Wilkes-Barre Area   

-- Patch.com: Newtown Township Rain Gardens Win Master Gardeners Of Delaware County Garden Contest 

[Posted: November 15, 2024]  PA Environment Digest

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