Chester County lawmakers laud grant funding to clean up rivers and streams in Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Chester County Delegation December 12, 2024 | 10:15 AM
HARRISBURG, Dec. 12 – Members of the Chester County state legislative delegation are pleased to report a state and federal investment in keeping the Chesapeake Bay Watershed clean from its tributaries in Chester County.
The Chester County Conservation District was awarded more than $67,000 in funding directed by the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Investing in cleaning the waterways that flow into the Chesapeake Bay is more than an environmental effort – it's a commitment to safeguarding a vital ecosystem, supporting local economies and preserving a legacy of natural beauty and abundance for generations to come," said state Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, D-Chester.
The DEP awarded grants through the 2025 Countywide Action Plan (CAP) Implementation Grants to county teams across Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
“Stormwater runoff and agricultural runoff remain leading sources of water quality impairment in Chester County and Pennsylvania,” said state Sen. Carolyn Comitta, minority chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. “These investments will help prevent pollution and restore and protect the local watersheds that are crucial to environmental health, public health, and the strong quality of life in our communities.”
Pennsylvania has made historic progress in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Earlier this year, the Shapiro administration announced that for the first time in its history, the Chesapeake Bay showed steady overall improvement, earning a C+ grade from the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card – the highest grade ever awarded to the overall health of the Bay since the report was created.
“The Conservation District is a leader in environmental stewardship and I’m glad they’ve received this funding,” said state Rep. Christina Sappey, D-Chester. “They will work hard to assure the rivers, streams and creeks running through Chester County are clean and will not have a negative impact on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.”
“Our environmental impact isn’t just local, as everything always flows downstream,” said state Rep. Dan Williams, D-Chester. “It’s imperative that we do our part here in Chester County to ensure that our waterways are clean and healthy. Not contributing to further pollution of the Chesapeake Bay is our moral obligation. The Chesapeake watershed is an ecological, cultural and recreational treasure that must be protected and continue to be restored.”
“I am extremely pleased to hear of PA DEP’s latest grant to help clean our county’s tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay,” said state Rep. Chris Pielli, D-Chester. “Our fragile ecosystem, local economy and overall health depends on this type of dedicated investment and regional cooperation to reverse decades of neglect and negative environmental impacts.”
State Rep. Paul Friel, D-Chester, said, “This funding in an important investment in our natural infrastructure- ensuring that our families, farms and communities have clean and healthy waterways for generations to come.”
“Protecting our watersheds, groundwater and waterways should be a top priority for all levels of government,” said state Sen. Katie Muth. “Pennsylvania’s waterways have been contaminated from decades of legacy pollution and industrial runoff and continue to face threats on every front from extraction operations, improper waste disposal, pollution runoff and pesticides. It is imperative that both state and federal governments provide adequate resources to continue to fund initiatives that protect and remediate our waterways and our watersheds in our region and across the Commonwealth. I genuinely appreciate the continued hard work of the Chester County Conservation District in all their efforts.”
The 2025 CAP Implementation Grants include $9.6 million from the state Environmental Stewardship Fund and $14.4 million in EPA funding, including $7.1 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds, to support counties’ implementation of their local priority initiatives in their CAPs.