Press Release

September 24, 2012
Cardin Joins EPA Officials To Announce $700,000 Grant To The University Of MD To Reduce Stormwater Runoff, Pollution Flowing Into The Chesapeake Bay

BLADENSBURG, MD — U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) today joined EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin, Maryland Department of Environment Secretary Robert M. Summers and Bladensburg Mayor Walter James to announce a grant for $691,674 to the University of Maryland.  EPA’s Sustainable Chesapeake Grant will allow the University to help two local communities improve how they manage stormwater runoff, the fastest growing source of pollution to the Chesapeake Bay and its local rivers, including the Anacostia and Patuxent.  

“One of my top priorities has been to better manage stormwater runoff so we significantly reduce its impact on the local rivers and streams that make up the Chesapeake Bay Watershed,” said Senator Cardin, chairman of the Water and Wildlife Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee.  “EPA’s grant of $700,000 to the University of Maryland will enable the university and local communities to form a collaborative partnership that will help develop ways to better identify runoff hotspots and improve overall stormwater management.”

“Restoring urban waters and the Chesapeake Bay is essential to revitalizing the health and economic future of the communities around them,” said EPA Regional Administrator Garvin.  “Today, the University of Maryland is helping us forge the powers of science and community action to develop new grassroots tools, find sustainable solutions that best meet the needs of two communities, and ultimately benefit the health of the Bay.” 

EPA funded the grant under the agency’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program.  The project will focus on improving the management of stormwater in Howard County Maryland’s Wilde Lake watershed and the District of Columbia’s Watts Branch watershed.  The project will provide funding, technical assistance and scientific knowledge to help community members identify stormwater problem areas and obstacles they face, increase the use of best management practices, and design more locally-driven solutions. This project is expected to run from 2012 to 2015.

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