The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) has awarded $32,905 in Technical Assistance Grants for nine projects that will further goals and address needs identified in the River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.

The latest grant round brings the cumulative amount to $720,397 that the UDC has provided to its member municipalities since 1988. In all, 210 projects have been funded through the Technical Assistance Grants (TAG) program.

Member municipalities submitted applications by an August 31 deadline. Combined requests totaled $44,485. A special meeting of the Project Review Committee to deliberate over the applications took place on September 11. The full council approved the recommended slate at its October 4 monthly meeting.

Technical Assistance Grants are available for research, planning and studies conducted by the UDC’s eight member New York towns (Hancock, Fremont, Delaware, Cochecton, Tusten, Lumberland, Highland and Deerpark), five Pennsylvania townships (Damascus, Berlin, Lackawaxen, Shohola and Westfall), and the encompassing river corridor counties.

Buckingham and Manchester townships would also be eligible to receive this member benefit if they joined the UDC.

TAG awards can provide seed money for a municipality to embark on a project without having to dip into local tax dollars.