The grants support the Commonwealth’s shared progress in reducing nutrient and sediment pollution to restore the health of local streams, rivers, and lakes.
The 2026 CAP Implementation Grant application round resulted in 222 approved projects that counties may complete over the next 12 to 24 months, resulting in an estimated reduction of more than 113,493 pounds/year of nitrogen, 28,816 pounds/year of phosphorus, and 11.8 million pounds/year of sediment delivered to the Chesapeake Bay.
Pennsylvania has reduced more than 10 times the amount of nitrogen in the past 5 years than in the previous ten years, and water quality monitoring data shows significant improvements in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment levels.
“Pennsylvania’s clean water successes are rooted in collaboration—state, local, federal, legislative, and non-governmental partners, and of course landowners,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “The work will continue to evolve, and our focus will remain on setting our collaborative partnerships up for success well beyond 2025. The momentum is real, and you can see it in our improved water quality.”
Under the Shapiro Administration, Pennsylvania has accelerated progress toward its clean water goals by investing new financial resources, targeting high performing pollution reduction strategies, implementing innovative technical solutions, listening to local leaders and stakeholders, and providing sustained support to implement county-based action plans.
The 2025 CAP Implementation Grants include $9.5 million from the state Environmental Stewardship [Growing Greener] Fund and $6.2 million in federal funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including $1.1 million in Local Government Implementation (LGI) Funds for project implementation in the Octoraro Watershed in Chester and Lancaster counties.
The LGI projects will be reported to support pollution reduction goals under the multi-jurisdictional Conowingo Watershed Implementation Plan, which aims to reduce pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay from the Conowingo Dam reservoir.
Through an innovative new arrangement, the block grant funding model of the CAP Implementation Grant has enabled DEP’s Bureau of Clean Water to provide $100,000 of 604(b) Clean Water Act planning funds to Mifflin County in support of restoration of the Town Run Watershed and $114,000 of federal Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant funding through the Bureau of Watershed Restoration and Nonpoint Source Management for restoration efforts in the Hammer Creek Watershed.
This is the first time the 604(b) Clean Water Act planning funds have been targeted through a partnership between DEP programs toward the Countywide Action Plans.
The 2026 CAP Implementation Grants were awarded to:
Adams County Conservation District: $490,329
Bedford County Conservation District: $473,321
Berks County Conservation District: $200,000
Blair County Conservation District:308,095
Bradford County Conservation District: $468,131
Cambria County Conservation District: $200,000
Centre County Government: $566,399
Chester County Conservation District: $1,265,544
Clearfield County Conservation District: $368,209
Clinton County Commissioners: $162,000
Columbia County Conservation District: $393,398
Cumberland County Commissioners: $625,176
Franklin County Conservation District: $808,103
Fulton County Conservation District: $200,000
Huntingdon County Conservation District: $409,134
Lackawanna County Conservation District: $233,785
Lancaster County Conservation District: $2,257,972
Lebanon County Conservation District: $624,483
Luzerne Conservation District: $367,417
Montour County Conservation District: $400,000 for Montour and Sullivan counties
Northumberland County Conservation District: $530,078
Potter County Conservation District: $200,000
Schuylkill Conservation District: $313,729
Snyder County Conservation District: $609,518 for Snyder and Union counties
Susquehanna County: $293,436
Tioga County Conservation District: $328,183
Tri-County Regional Planning Commission: $1,652,102 for Dauphin, Perry, Juniata, and Mifflin counties
York County Planning Commission: $1,163,118
Nutrient pollution and eroded sediment enter streams, rivers, and lakes from a range of human activities on land, including overapplication of fertilizer, plowing and tilling farm fields, stripping away trees and vegetation, and increasing paved surfaces.
Along with state and sector efforts, CAPs are a key component of Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan to reduce this pollution.
All 34 counties that were asked to develop a CAP are currently engaged in implementing their CAPs.
The Phase 3 WIP takes a Healthy Waters, Healthy Communities approach, inviting county teams to take control of local water quality improvement, with state and other partners providing as much data, technical assistance, funding, and other support as possible.
It encourages and equips counties to develop strategies and determine project sites and types that will benefit their communities and farmers, municipalities, businesses, and other landowners, while restoring the environment.
Countywide action teams have implemented a diverse range of projects and initiatives in the Chesapeake Bay watershed since 2021, including not only stream restorations, streambank tree plantings, rain gardens, and livestock crossing installations, but also a rapid stream delisting strategy which aims to delist pollution-impaired streams from Pennsylvania’s list of agriculturally-impaired waterways by the year 2030.
For stories, see the DEP Healthy Waters, Healthy Communities 2024 annual report.
Click Here for the DEP announcement.
Visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed webpage to learn more about cleaning up rivers and streams in Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Click Here to sign up for regular updates on Pennsylvania’s progress.
How Clean Is Your Stream
DEP’s draft 2026 Water Quality Assessment includes a mapping tool that allows you to check on the status of water quality near you.
Click Here to check how clean your stream is.
For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP Awards $17.7 Million To Support 222 County Water Quality Cleanup Projects In Chesapeake Bay Watershed [PaEN]
-- DEP Releases Draft 2026 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring, Assessment Report For Comment; Touts Cleaning Up 67 Miles Of Streams 7,105 Acres Of Lakes Since 2024 [PaEN]
-- Foundation For Pennsylvania Watersheds Awards $265,000 In Grants To Support 16 Local Watershed Restoration, Conservation Projects [PaEN]
-- ARIPPA, Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Award Lackawanna River Conservation Association Mini-Grant; Next Round Opens Jan. 1 [PaEN]
-- Watershed Profile: Aultmans Run Watershed - From Orange Streams To Green Dreams, Healing An Abandoned Mine-Scarred Watershed In Indiana County [PaEN]
-- Stroud Water Research Center Fall Salt Snapshot Found Most Streams Still Exceeded Chloride Standards Months After Last Road Salt Was Applied [PaEN]
-- PA Drought Task Force Adds 8 More Counties To Drought Watch, Total Now 37 [PaEN]
-- Susquehanna River Basin Low Flow Water Conditions Trigger Water Withdrawal Restrictions On 40 Shale Gas Water Withdrawal Points; 17 Shale Gas Withdrawals Blocked By Ice Conditions [PaEN]
-- Vote Now! For Pennsylvania's 2026 River Of The Year [PaEN]
-- Interns Wanted: Pennsylvania Sea Grant Seeks Summer Undergraduate Interns [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- LancasterOnline: Conestoga River Up For PA River Of The Year, A Win Could Honor Late Journalist Ad Crable; How To Vote [PDF of Article]
-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Persistent Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone Underscores Pollution Problem
-- The Allegheny Front: Penn State Student Documentary ‘Rethinking Rt. 322’ Explores Ways To Minimize Construction Impacts
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: PennDOT Plan For Rt. 322 In Centre County Draws Fire From Environmentalists, Farmers
-- Tribune-Democrat: Water Authority To Begin Repairs On North Fork Dam; Expects State To Order Work At Another Dam
-- PA American Water Asking Customers To Reduce Water Consumption Amid Drought Watch In 17 Service Counties
-- Pottstown Mercury: Perkiomen Creek Mapping And Flood Mitigation Plan Completed
[Posted: December 12, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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