Release Date: June 16, 2015
Chesapeake Bay Trust: Molly Alton Mullins 410-271-3469 mmullins@cbtrust.org
Contact: EPA: David Sternberg at 215-814-5548 sternberg.david@epa.gov
Fifteen Projects Unveiled to ‘Green’ Local Communities, Create Jobs
and Manage Stormwater Runoff
BALTIMORE – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Chesapeake Bay
Trust, in partnership with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, announced $727,500 in grants
to be awarded to 15 organizations through the Green Streets, Green Towns, Green Jobs Grant Initiative
(G3). This program was created in 2011 to encourage local jurisdictions to use “green” techniques
when pursuing necessary “gray” infrastructure projects, accomplishing two goals within one project.
These collaborative efforts advance watershed protection and economic improvement through the
development of stormwater management techniques, green jobs creation, beautification of
neighborhoods, and community enhancement. Today’s announcement includes seven projects
designed to improve the city of Baltimore specifically, as well as eight other initiatives in
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and elsewhere throughout Maryland.
“These funds contribute to a sustainable green economy by supporting a continuous cycle of pollution
prevention, water retention and job creation - leading to a better quality of life for the people who call
these communities home,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “By keeping rain
water from coming into contact with pollution in the first place, green infrastructure improves the
health of our waters, while effectively reducing flooding, and helping our communities adapt to the
very real challenges of climate change.”
Sarah’s Hope, a homeless shelter and the site for today’s grant announcement, is one of 15 grant
recipients through a partnership with Parks and People Foundation. Their $75,000 grant will tie into a
larger Baltimore City-led renovation and expansion project that will reduce the amount of impervious
surface on the site; contribute to public open space, playground space, and community garden space;
and beautify the street and help change the appearance of the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.
In addition to the project at Sarah’s Hope, the other grantees announced today will lead efforts that
include the removal of impervious concrete, the expansion of urban tree canopies, the creation of
bioretention cells, and many other green infrastructure practices.
“The Chesapeake Bay Trust has been so pleased to partner with EPA and Maryland’s Department of
Natural Resources on this program, combining forces and resources to provide opportunities for area
residents to make a difference in their own neighborhoods and for their local waterways and
community spaces,” said Jana Davis, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. “We want to
provide local jurisdictions and neighborhood associations the tools and incentives to use green
techniques when embarking on larger infrastructure projects, and to replace impervious surface with
green where we can.”
The G3 Grant Program, administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, helps support President Obama’s
Executive Order for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay. Its purpose is to improve local,
grassroots-level greening efforts by towns and communities in urbanized watersheds that reduce
stormwater runoff through the creation of “green streets,” the increase in urban green spaces, and the
reduction of impervious surfaces. This program is open to local governments, non-profit organizations,
and neighborhood/community associations focused on green stormwater management retrofits with
grants available up to $20,000 for research efforts, $30,000 for design, and $75,000 for implementation
projects.
“DNR is proud to support this collaborative program,” said DNR Secretary Mark Belton. “These
projects will reduce stormwater runoff not only here in Maryland, but also in other bay states like
Pennsylvania and Virginia. This expanded reach beyond just Maryland is the true strength of the
partnership. Through G3, we can work together – at the federal, state and local levels − to better the
greater Bay watershed.”
Today’s 2015 Green Streets grant announcements include:
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Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association, Baltimore, $10,795
Friends of the North Fork Shenandoah River, Virginia, $43,615
Baltimore Tree Trust, Baltimore, $35,000
Second Chance, Inc., Baltimore, $30,000
Blue Water Baltimore, Baltimore, $74,826
Land and Cultural Preservation, Inc., Frederick, Md., $14,315
Community Action Commission, Pennsylvania, $70,000
City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $60,000
Old Goucher Community Association, Baltimore, $99,068
City of Staunton, Virginia, $75,000
American Rivers, Regional, $19,880
West/Rhode Riverkeeper, Inc., Edgewater, Md., $30,000
Town of Edmonston, Edmonston, Md., $15,000
Parks & People Foundation, Baltimore, $75,000
Highlandtown Community Association, Baltimore, $75,000
For more information on the Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns grant program, please visit
www.cbtrust.org/grants/g3. For a complete list of project descriptions, email mmullins@cbtrust.org.
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