MDE Says Recovery Dollars Will Help Fund Water Quality and Drinking Water Projects and Provide Jobs in Every County in Maryland
BLADENSBURG, Md. (June 2, 2009) – Today, standing in front of the Anacostia River, and joined by members of Maryland’s Congressional Delegation, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Maryland Department of the Environment a $121.6 million check to fund Maryland water quality and drinking water projects under President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). ARRA funding will enable construction of water infrastructure projects that are estimated to create hundreds of jobs, and that will protect public health, improve the environment, and help clean up the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland waterways. Per MDE’s extensive screening process to review nearly 600 applicants for ARRA funding, every county in Maryland is proposed to receive some clean water recovery funding.
A total of $92.8 million is proposed for pollution reduction projects, including wastewater treatment improvements, sewer upgrades, and stormwater runoff controls; $26.4 million is proposed for improvements to drinking water treatment, water storage, and wells. Today’s event highlighted a $4 million grant to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission for repairs to the Lower Anacostia Sewer Main and Lateral Lining, located in one of the State’s Environmental Benefits Districts, as one of 95 proposed projects to receive grants and/or low interest loans through ARRA.
“I want to thank President Obama and Maryland’s federal delegation for working so hard to secure these Recovery and Reinvestment funds,” said Governor O’Malley. “Today, thanks to the EPA, our Congressional Delegation, and President Obama, the state of Maryland has a ‘shot in the arm’ for clean water and the Chesapeake Bay. This clean water recovery funding will not only create jobs; it will directly benefit public health and quality of life and protect our environment – including our Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts and our work to fight climate change.”
Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Shari T. Wilson said: “This much-needed funding will not only provide hundreds of jobs across our State, it will help safeguard our drinking water and accelerate our efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay.”
Per ARRA, the Environmental Protection Agency will provide funding for grants and/or loans through MDE’s existing Water Quality and Drinking Water Quality Revolving Loan Funds. In February 2009, just days after President Obama signed the federal recovery act into law, the Maryland Department of the Environment announced its anticipated ARRA funding and encouraged local jurisdictions to apply. In response, the Agency received an unprecedented number of requests for the ARRA funding; in February and March 2009, MDE received $3.7 billion in requests for water/wastewater projects.
The proposed funds were allocated based on readiness to proceed, as well as maximum environmental and health benefits, and will benefit every region of the State. The list and a map of ARRA projects to be funded through the Water Quality and Drinking Water Revolving Loan Funds can be found at: http://www.mde.state.md.us/Programs/WaterPrograms/Water_Quality_Finance/FedStimulusProposedProjects.asp
More information on Maryland’s use of federal recovery funding can be found at http://recovery.maryland.gov/ .
Source: Md. Dept. of the Environment (MDE)