DEP Announces Coastal Zone Management Grants to Protect, Preserve Pennsylvania's Shorelines

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Organizations that work to protect and preserve Pennsylvania's coastal zones along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary will benefit from $1.4 million in Coastal Zone Management Grants that were announced today by Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger.

The annual grants, largely funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, were awarded to 30 non-profit organizations and governmental agencies in counties that border Pennsylvania's coastal zones or have a direct impact on water quality in those areas.

"The restoration and protection of the Delaware Estuary and the Lake Erie shoreline is critical to the quality of life in coastal communities," Hanger said. "The organizations receiving these grants are working to conserve and protect these coastal resources and provide opportunities for long-term development strategies that will preserve and improve economic and recreational opportunities."

Coastal Zone Management Grants are intended to support programs that measure the impact of various pollution sources, improve public access, preserve habitat, and educate the public on the benefits of the state's coastal zones.

Coastal zones and adjacent shore land face increasing pressure from development, erosion, biodiversity losses and pollution. Pennsylvania has two coastal areas: 112 miles of coastline along the Delaware Estuary and 76 miles of coastline along Lake Erie, as indicated by a recent program analysis that updated these important numbers.

The Delaware Estuary coastal zone lies within Bucks, Delaware and Philadelphia counties and contains islands, marshes and the shore lands of tributaries that are affected by ocean tides. The Delaware Estuary is considered the largest freshwater port in the world.

The Lake Erie coastal zone is located within Erie County and includes the shorelines of major tributaries. The zone extends to the middle of the lake, to the boundary with Canada and inland 900 feet within the city of Erie.

Since 2003, the Pennsylvania Coastal Resource Management Program has provided more than $8.7 million in funding for coastal zone projects.

Applications for the next round of Coastal Zone Management Grants will be accepted until October 15, 2010.  Nonprofit groups, educational institutions, local governments and authorities, and state agencies are eligible to apply.

For more information, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: Coastal Zone.

Media contact: Tom Rathbun, 717-787-1323

Editor's Note: The following is a complete list of the $1,380,680 in coastal zone management grants.

Berks County

• Berks County Conservation District - $25,000 to implement and track the Coastal Non-Point Pollution Program management measures.

Bucks County

• Bristol Borough - $50,000 to prepare design and construction documents for a trail and gateway project in the Borough.
• Bucks County Conservation District - $25,000 to implement and track the Coastal Non-Point Pollution Program management measures.

Chester County

• Chester County Conservation District - $25,000 to implement and track the Coastal Non-Point Pollution Program management measures.

Delaware County

• Delaware County Conservation District - $25,000 to implement and track the Coastal Non-Point Pollution Program management measures.
• Delaware County Planning Department - $10,000 for an interactive environmental education program as part of the annual Delaware County Riverfront Ramble.
• Villanova University - $50,000 to conduct research on the effects of stormwater infiltration on subsurface flows that impact the Delaware Estuary.

Erie County

• Asbury Woods Nature Center and Millcreek Township School District - $49,347 to conduct the Leadership in Watershed Education program that develops curriculum and projects for middle school children regarding the importance of coastal watershed conservation.
• Audubon Pennsylvania - $46,000 for the third phase of a study that will research coastal habitat significance of migratory song birds in the Lake Erie Coastal Zone, conduct bird banding during migration periods and report findings to key state agencies on critical habitat and bird populations.
• Earth Action - $45,000 to continue and extend the Earth Action program with a focus on preventing pollution from nonpoint sources, urban runoff and pharmaceutical disposal.
• Erie County Conservation District - $25,000 to implement and track the Coastal Non-Point Pollution Program management measures.
• Erie County Department of Planning - $65,000 for Lake Erie Coastal Zone projects coordination and technical assistance.
• Erie County Department of Planning - $9,000 to assist Lake Erie coastal communities in administering the Bluff Recession and Setback Act of 1980.  Nine municipalities have been designated as having bluff recession hazard areas and are required to administer bluff setback ordinances.
• Erie County Department of Public Safety - $4,127 to purchase a dedicated equipment trailer to be employed in emergency situations that threaten vital coastal resources.
• Erie Downtown Partnership - $13,500 to continue building and implementing a program intended to help reduce litter and its impacts on the coastal resources of Lake Erie.
• Erie Times-News In Education, Inc. - $34,680 for a recurring Newspaper In Education weekly page focusing on coastal zone environmental issues.
• Erie-Western PA Port Authority - $75,000 to construct a public fishing pier in Presque Isle Bay located in Liberty Park.
• Northwest Tri-County Unit - $13,543 to operate the Regional Summer School of Excellence program titled "Investigating and Researching Environmental Health Problems."
• Regional Science Consortium - $43,896 to evaluate historical shoal spawning locations along the Lake Erie coastline, as part of an effort to determine if the habitat can sustain lake sturgeon spawning.
• Regional Science Consortium - $49,946 to evaluate research partitioning habitats between non-game native benthic Lake Erie stream fishes to determine whether Round Gobies are causing detrimental effects on native fish habitat.

Montgomery County

• Montgomery County Conservation District - $25,000 to implement and track the Coastal Non-Point Pollution Program management measures.

Multiple Counties

• Clean Air Council - $50,000 to produce a conceptual and final design for the Cobbs Creek Connector Trail, a multi-use recreational trail that would provide connections between important Coastal recreational areas such as John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Fairmount Park, as well as the Delaware County communities of Colwyn, Yeadon, and Darby.
• Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple University - $50,000 to conduct a research project to simulate land use development patterns in the Pennypack Creek Watershed, to include the comparison of existing and projected scenarios that will help inform local decision makers.
• Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission - $48,000 to implement the Coastal Zone Management Program in the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone that includes Delaware, Philadelphia, and Bucks counties.
• Heritage Conservancy - $28,788 to work with the Montgomery County Planning Commission to complete an assessment of riparian buffers along 1,400 stream miles within six watersheds located in coastal drainage areas of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
• PA Cleanways - $49,966 to coordinate the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup Day in the Delaware Estuary, to include the planning, organizing and conduct of three to five community cleanups.
• Partnership for the Delaware Estuary - $47,751 to begin restoring native freshwater mussels to the Pennsylvania Coastal Zone as a strategy for improving water quality and enhancing habitat complexity in impaired streams.
• Penn State- Sea Grant - $100,234 to enhance the state's ability to effectively manage coastal aquatic and terrestrial habitat restoration efforts and other coastal zone activities within the state's two coastal zones and their related watersheds.
• Temple University - $49,902 to conduct research and study into the effects of nutrients on coastal resources in the Delaware Estuary.

Philadelphia County

• City of Philadelphia - $75,000 to improve the riverfront and coastal areas near the intersection of Race Street and Columbus Boulevard in Philadelphia, which includes Piers 9 and 11 and a former Philadelphia Water Department building.
• City of Philadelphia/Fairmount Park - $49,000 to implement a plan to use landscaping as a stormwater management tool along the embankment under Schuykill Avenue between Chestnut and Market Streets in Philadelphia.
• Partnership for the Delaware Estuary - $35,000 to conduct Pennsylvania Coast Day 2011 events, which educate the public about coastal recreation, historic sites and public access.
• Philadelphia Water Department - $25,000 to implement and track the Coastal Non-Point Pollution Program management measures.
• Schuykill River Development Corporation - $38,000 to design a public fishing pier on the Grays Ferry Crescent section of Schuykill Banks, located on the east side of the Schuykill River between 34th and Wharton Streets.

Schuylkill County

• Schuylkill County Conservation District - $25,000 to implement and track the Coastal Non-Point Pollution Program management measures.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection