TODAY: $4M In New Bay-Related Funding

Local governments in need of assistance in helping to restore the Chesapeake Bay will get a boost starting Tuesday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will introduce a new $4 million grant initiative to assist local municipalities with Bay-related programs.

, the program announcement will be made at in at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Grants as much as $750,000 will be made available in various stages.

"Now more than ever, the Chesapeake Bay needs the creativity, innovation and ingenuity of local governments," EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin said in a prepared statement. "This new EPA funding will enable local governments to implement the best solutions to on-the-ground challenges they face in helping to restore the Bay, and share those approaches with other towns throughout the entire watershed."

According to a statement from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, funding is available in three forms.

1. Grants for green infrastructure showcase projects. A total of $2 million will be made available in $750,000 competitively-awarded grants for integrating green practices into existing programs.
2. Local government capacity building. A total of $1.25 million is available for governments seeking to overcome challenges to improving water quality.
3. Technical assistance as needed. General technical assistance will be provided via consultants and contractors at up to $40,000 per request.

According to a joint news release, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation—via the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund—will administer the grants. They will be "competitively awarded to local governments to design and implement projects demonstrating  the integration of green infrastructure into existing programs to meet community needs and improve local waterways and the Bay," the release stated.

“A growing number of local governments are viewing community improvement projects—from street and park enhancements to public facility renovations—as an opportunity to green their community and help the Bay,” David J. O’Neill, Director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Eastern Partnership Office, said in the release. “This initiative will help more local governments meet their jobs, mobility, and recreation needs, while simultaneously helping them restore local creeks and streams and the Chesapeake Bay.”

The grants can be applied to any project that produces "measurable water quality improvements to local rivers and streams, and ultimately the Bay."

The Bay's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) calls for a 25 percent reduction in nutrients in treated water.

"Local government is an important driver; able to quickly turn policy into practice,” Harford County Councilwoman , chair of the Chesapeake Bay Partnership’s Local Government Advisory Committee and a Havre de Grace resident, said in the release. “We are confident that by showcasing the good things that are happening in communities and neighborhoods that more people will be motivated to do their part.”

In the event of inclement weather, the announcement will be held at the .