PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP Awards $288,000 In Grants To Support Local Projects In Lake Erie Coastal Zone

On November 13, the Department of Environmental Protection awarded Coastal Zone Grants totaling more than $288,000 to seven projects in the state’s Northwest region.

The grants, which are aimed at protecting and restoring the Lake Erie Coastal Zone, will be used toward projects that will benefit this critical habitat and ecosystem.

“The Coastal Zone Grants are aimed at supporting programs that measure the impact of various pollution sources, improve public access, preserve habitats, and educate the public about the benefits of the state’s coastal zones," said DEP Acting Secretary, Jessica Shirley. "Each year, recipients of these grants do amazing work and the DEP is committed to continue supporting these partners with grant funding and technical assistance."

A coastal zone is an area where land meets the coast and includes both coastal waters and adjacent shorelands.

Coastal Zone Grants are awarded to projects related to fisheries, wetlands, 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 77-mile Lake Erie coastal zone is in Erie County and includes the Lake Erie shoreline and several major tributaries. The coastal zone also extends to the middle of the lake, to the international boundary with Canada, and inland an average of 1.4 miles.

Approved projects include:

-- Erie County Department of Planning and Community Development - $81,000 for coordination and technical assistance with Lake Erie Coastal Zone grantees, municipalities and residents and to assist Lake Erie coastal communities in administering the Bluff Recession and Setback Act of 1980.

-- Mercyhurst University - $62,000 to update the Vegetative Best Management Practices manual for bluff landowners, originally published in 2007.

-- Regional Science Consortium - $50,000 to support monitoring, water sampling and data analysis of the Harmful Algal Blooms in the waters of Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay.

-- Bayfront East Side Task Force - $15,000 to implement the Same Day Work and Pay Program, a neighborhood wide program to remove litter, alleviate some barriers to employment and foster community ownership.

-- Erie Bird Observatory - $30,000 for songbird migration research and visitor engagement at Presque Isle State Park.

-- PA Cleanways / Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful - $25,000 for community clean ups and marine debris removal in the Lake Erie Coastal Zone.

-- Regional Science Consortium – $25,000 to collect water, weather and wave measurements to analyze data from two buoys on Lake Erie, identifying water quality trends relative to real time data.

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 1 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 Blog, Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

Thursday, November 14, 2024

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

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