Nineteen Growing Greener Grants Awarded to Conservation Districts
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced projects to clean up waters in the state’s northwest and southeast regions through DEP’s Growing Greener Plus program.
Statewide, more than $18 million was awarded to fund over 60 projects to clean up waters. Grantees have up to three years from the award date to implement their projects.
Nineteen of the 65 projects funded in the 2021 Growing Greener Grant round were awarded to conservation districts. This is 29.2% of the total number of projects funded. Of the $18,222,967 in Growing Greener funds awarded, $4,586,041 went to conservation districts. This is 25.2% of the total amount awarded.
Projects announced so far include:
- Armstrong Conservation District, Mahoning-Redbank Creek Ag BMP Grant, $294,061
- Columbia County Conservation District, Town of Bloomsburg Kinney Run Watershed Project, $245,000
- Erie County Conservation District, PA VinES Program (Vested in Environmental Sustainability) in the Lake Erie Watershed, $249,500
- Jefferson County Conservation District, Rattlesnake Creek Stream Improvement Project, $276,150
- McKean County Conservation District, Upper Allegheny Ag. BMP Project, $382,492
- Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD)
- PACD Agriculture Plan Reimbursement Program, to help farmers statewide develop agricultural plans for their operations, $500,000
- PACD Engineering Technical Assistance Program, to provide statewide engineering and soils technical assistance to entities developing or implementing a watershed assessment, watershed restoration plan, or watershed protection plan. Program staff are based out of four regional offices and cover all river basins throughout the state, $2,047,769
Conservation district projects funded through Growing Greener will continue to be highlighted as they are announced.