Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today that eight projects in the state’s Northeast and Lehigh Valley Region were awarded a total of $1,243,293 through DEP’s Growing Greener Plus grant program. These projects work to protect waterways and watersheds, reclaim abandoned mine sites, and work to reclaim and plug abandoned oil and gas wells. This year’s awards exceed $15 million statewide.
“The Growing Greener Plus grant program empowers communities to pursue environmental progress and innovation,” said Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “This support fuels vital Pennsylvania initiatives that protect our land and restore local watersheds. As a result, our Commonwealth can look forward to a greener future.”
Growing Greener is the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania's history to address critical environmental concerns. Growing Greener grants can be awarded to watershed groups, local or county government, municipal authorities, county planning commissions, county conservation districts, council of governments, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations. Grantees have up to three years to implement their projects.
This funding is being distributed through existing Commonwealth grant programs to ensure high-impact projects are selected in the affected communities and that proper oversight is provided. Grant programs include those operated by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the DEP.
For more information on the Growing Greener Plus grant program, application guidance, and to sign up for notifications when grant programs reopen, visit DEP’s webpage, Growing Greener Plus Grants Program.
The full list of approved Growing Greener Plus projects, funded by the Environmental Stewardship fund, in the Northeast and Lehigh Valley Region includes:
Carbon County
- Carbon County Conservation District - $142,000 for the Hunter Creek Restoration Project
- Jim Thorpe Borough - $150,000 for the Silk Mill Run Dam Removals and Stream Restoration
Lehigh County
- Lehigh County Conservation District - $127,250 for Lehigh County Stream Restoration Projects
Lehigh and Northampton Counties:
- Wildlands Conservancy - $163,517 for the Lehigh Valley Stream Restoration Project
- Wildlands Conservancy - $50,000 for Landowner Outreach and Project Development in the Lehigh Valley and Lehigh River Watershed Phase III
Schuylkill County:
- Schuylkill Conservation District - $74,151 for the Little Mahanoy Creek Headwaters Restoration Project
- Schuylkill Conservation District - $236,375 for Upper Mahantango Creek Agricultural BMP Projects
Statewide:
- Pocono Northeast RC&D Council - $300,000 for C-SAW Consortium for Scientific Assistance to Watersheds
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