12 local projects awarded funding to protect Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone

PA Department of Enviromental Protection investing over $574K in local projects

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced funding for 12 projects to protect and restore the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone. Funded primarily by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the grants are administered by DEP’s Coastal Resources Management Program.

“Our coastal zones are vital environmental, economic, and community resources for the commonwealth,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell in a press release.

Coastal zones include where the land meets the coast, and are often challenged with development, erosion, biodiversity loss and pollution. The Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone is 112 miles, located in Bucks, Delaware and Philadelphia counties.

Funded Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone Projects

Philadelphia

• Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission – $50,000 to implement the Coastal Management Program in the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone that includes Delaware, Philadelphia and Bucks counties
• Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission – $50,000 to conduct outreach to municipalities in the Delaware Estuary Coastal Zone focused on climate resiliency and related hazard mitigation
• John Bartram Association – $50,000 to support FloatLab education staff at Bartram’s Garden
• Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Inc. – $62,384 to conduct Pennsylvania Coast Day 2022 events to educate the public about coastal recreation, historic sites, and public access
• Partnership for the Delaware Estuary – $50,000 to engage residents and youth in clean water stewardship through freshwater mussel education
• PA Cleanways dba Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful – $40,000 to conduct community cleanups and marine debris removal in the Delaware Estuary
• Fairmount Park Conservancy – $75,000 to contract a landscape architect to develop a plan to restore Pattison Lagoon in Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park in the City of Philadelphia.
• Glen Foerd Conservation Corporation – $12,590 to complete an historical boathouse structural plan

Bucks

• Bucks County – $70,000 to design and engineer the Levittown trail.
• Heritage Conservancy – $20,000 to Watershed Stewardship program at Bristol Marsh and Croydon Woods

Delaware

• City of Chester – $60,000 to develop final design documents for the Chester City East Coast Greenway trail connection on Norris Street
• Marcus Hook Borough – $40,000 to develop the Market Square Memorial Park Delaware River pier removal and reconstruction master plan

Cover photo: Pennsylvania Coast Day on Sept. 9, 2017. Credit: Shaun Bailey of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary

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