June 1, 2009
Contact: Gordon Hickey
(804) 225-4260
www.governor.virginia.gov
Gary Waugh / Travis Loop
DCR / Chesapeake Bay Program
(804) 786-5045 / (410) 267-5758
www.dcr.virginia.gov / www.chesapeakebay.net
GOVERNOR KAINE ANNOUNCES GRANTS TO VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION
~ $2,423,986 in grants for four Virginia projects ~
Governor Timothy M. Kaine today joined Congressman Bobby Scott, Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant and representatives from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Environmental Protection Agency to announce federal grants awarded to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The grants, totaling $2,423,986, will fund four projects in the Commonwealth that focus on innovative techniques and technologies to address nonpoint source pollution and environmental education related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
“As residents of both the Commonwealth and the Bay’s watershed, we have a stake in the health of these waters as well as a duty to protect them,” Governor Kaine said. “These grants will help to change the way we think about our actions and their impact on our waterways.”
The announcement, presented at the Bell Tower on the grounds of the State Capitol, follows a recent meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council. During that meeting, President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order directing all federal agencies to work together to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. Nonpoint source pollution remains the leading source of nutrient and sediment pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
“Our staff has worked very hard to pull together partners for an array of innovative projects,” said DCR Director Joseph H. Maroon. “While these grants address both agricultural and urban pollution sources, each of them also focuses on the fact that we all make decisions daily that affect our water quality, and that we all have a role in keeping our rivers and the Bay clean.”
The DCR grants awarded today are part of $6.1 million in grant money awarded to twelve projects in Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The four DCR projects receiving grant money are:
- Shenandoah Valley Clean Streams Initiative ($799,998):
The Shenandoah Valley Clean Streams Initiative will harness the collaborative efforts of state, local and national organizations to support the Natural Resources Conservation Service in delivering targeted Chesapeake Bay Farm Bill funding to high-density animal production watersheds in the Shenandoah Valley. Participating organizations include the Virginia Waste Solutions Forum, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Virginia Tech, Environmental Defense Fund, as well as community organizations and local governments in the Valley.
-Greening of Virginia's Capitol ($798,988):
The project will partner with numerous local, state, federal and nonprofit organizations to create a highly visible greening of Virginia's state capitol and a green corridor from the Capitol grounds toward the James River. The project will install a combination of innovative stormwater management practices along 9th and 10th Street from Bank to Cary, and at two alleys within blocks of Capitol Square. On Capitol Square, the terraced brick steps will be replaced with permeable pavers, a rain garden will be installed to collect and filter rain water and prevent erosion, and rain water collected in the stormtrap at the south corner of the Square will be reused to irrigate the grounds. As a result, the “Greening the Capital” project will reduce the amount of nutrients and sediments entering the Chesapeake Bay watershed from these sites, with an estimated combined reduction of phosphorus by 69%, nitrogen by 70%, and stormwater runoff entering the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) system by 64%. Additionally, the city of Richmond and DCR will develop an appropriate approach to "green" the city’s organizational and administrative structure necessary for the continued creation and maintenance of long-term sustainability programs in the city of Richmond.
- Community Solutions to Stormwater Pollution - Blacks Run ($325,000):
This project focuses on reducing stormwater pollution and enhancing stormwater management on three scales in the Blacks Run Watershed: the neighborhood/individual, the institutional, and the community/watershed scale. This project will result in the installation of more than 200 best management practices. Partnering organizations include The Department of Conservation and Recreation, the city of Harrisonburg, the Shenandoah Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, James Madison University, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
-Chesapeake Club ($500,000):
This grant will provide funding to work with experts to use a social marketing research approach to update the successful Chesapeake Club campaign, one of the only nonpoint source outreach campaigns with scientifically documented behavior change. The Club has run campaigns in Richmond, Hampton Roads and Washington, DC and will continue to focus on these areas through a partnership between Virginia, Maryland and D.C.
Today's announcement comes as Governor Kaine continues to move his "Renew Virginia" initiative, a series of legislative and administrative actions to promote renewable energy, create green jobs, and encourage preservation of the environment.
For more information on Renew Virginia, visit www.governor.virginia.gov.
