2 minute read
Thank you, EPA
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Receives $1.8 Million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funds
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) extends a huge thank you to the Environmental Protection Agency for its recent receipt of the first two years of funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Each of the 28 National Estuary Programs (NEPs) will receive $909,800 a year for the next five years to support projects that address climate resilience, prioritize equity, and manage other essential water quality and habitat challenges. PDE recently received its first two years of funding — $1.8 million — as the host of the Delaware Estuary Program.
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“This funding is a valuable investment in equity, clean water, and resilience for the Delaware River’s sensitive coastal shoreline,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz.
PDE’s portion of the BIL funding will go toward environmental and community restoration goals listed in the Delaware Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). For the first two years of funding $650,000 will go toward constructing a freshwater mussel hatchery on the grounds of Bartam’s Garden in Philadelphia. The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is raising funds needed to complete this project so the BIL funding accelerates the timeline. PDE plans to produce up to 500,000 freshwater mussels per year for placement in regional waterways to support water quality and biodiversity.
Several other BIL-funded projects will focus on:
• Preventing wetland loss in places like Matt’s Landing, New Jersey, and other locations in the Estuary.
• Researching the filtration capacity that freshwater mussels could have in stormwater ponds.
• Purchasing PDE’s first research boat to aid with field work throughout the Estuary.
“We are very grateful for the opportunity to receive this funding and have begun to implement projects that are being supported through the BIL,” said Kathy Klein, Executive Director of PDE. “A minimum of 45 percent of the funding over the five years will be used to support work that will benefit underserved communities in the Delaware Estuary region.”
