The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $2.4 million to support projects aimed at protecting, managing, and restoring wetlands in the mid-Atlantic region. The funding will benefit recipients in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Virginia, and West Virginia through the Wetland Program Development Grant (WPDG). These grants are intended to help states and Tribes develop and manage wetlands programs.
Wetlands serve as critical habitats for fish, waterfowl, and other wildlife while also acting as barriers against floods and storms. Awarded biennially, WPDGs focus on building comprehensive wetland programs with an emphasis on monitoring and assessment, voluntary restoration and protection, regulatory approaches, or wetland-specific water quality standards.
“Wetlands are central to the well-being of our mid-Atlantic states. To protect wetlands is to improve the health and economic viability of communities,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “The Biden-Harris Administration has deployed historic resources to safeguard our rivers, wetlands, and lakes, and these grants are just another example of our commitment to water quality and to our state partners and local organizations who are doing work on the ground.”
The District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment (DCDOEE) received $127,575 for their project titled “Improving Wetland Restoration and Protection in DC Through Enhanced Mapping, Outreach, And Regulatory Guidance.” This initiative aims to enhance wetland mapping and monitoring; build outreach capacity; and publish a regulatory guidance document. Outputs include a public website with updated interactive mapping.
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) received two grants: $439,207 for “Enhanced Environmental Screening, Review, and Protection of High Quality Nontidal Wetland and Waters” which will improve regulatory project review among other objectives; and $449,295 for “Tidal Living Shorelines,” focusing on shore erosion control practices with outputs including design guidance updates.
The University of Delaware (UD) was granted $319,382 for their study on how climate change combined with road salt salinization may affect nitrogen removal by freshwater urban/suburban wetlands. Outputs will include assessment criteria related to road salts' impact on nitrogen filtering abilities.
Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) received $525,147 for enhancing wetland management through tools like an interactive web map displaying living shoreline projects. Additionally,VIMS got $224,491 for "Resilient Wetlands," aiming at improving understanding regarding coastal wetlands sustainability under climate change impacts.
West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) secured $314 903 towards increasing capacity for wetland conservation via planning monitoring support new regulations training outputs involving updated state plan establishment baseline conditions rollout functional assessment training videos field techniques maps
Wetland Program Development Grants provide opportunities promoting coordination acceleration research training relating protection restoration prevention reduction elimination water pollution Requests Proposals typically announced spring every two years State Tribal programs universities eligible submit applications Grants competitive funded authority Section 104(b)(3) Clean Water Act required 25% non-federal contribution
Enhancing State Tribal Programs Initiative built framework four core elements foundation state tribal management protection plan Core Elements Framework designed help states tribes develop Wetland Program Plans
