HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awarded over $4.1 million to 13 projects statewide that will help communities restore impaired local watersheds.
“Healthy watersheds are like the circulatory system of our environment, providing drinking water, sustaining fish and other aquatic life, supporting habitats, and enabling the recreation opportunities that add to our quality of life and help sustain our economy in Pennsylvania,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “Yet around the state, streams and rivers are degraded by increasing nonpoint source pollution. The Section 319 Grants program supports public and private partners working with the goal of reducing this pollution across their local watersheds.”
Nonpoint source pollution is water pollution that doesn’t come from a single specific discharge point, such as a pipe, but rather from diffuse sources. About 95 percent of water-quality-impaired watersheds in Pennsylvania are affected by nonpoint source pollution. Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants focus on reducing:
• Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution from agricultural activities, urban stormwater runoff, and streambank and shoreline erosion; and
• Iron, aluminum, and acidity pollution associated with energy resource extraction and acid mine drainage (AMD).
The Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants program supports projects that carry out best management practices (BMPs) specified in Watershed...
Read Full Story: https://www.exploreclarion.com/2021/10/16/dep-awards-over-4-1-million-in-grants-to-13-projects-statewide-to-restore-the-health-of-local-watersheds/
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.