NORTHEAST PA – Five projects in Northeast Pennsylvania were awarded a total of $1 million through the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Growing Greener Plus grant program. 

These projects work to protect waterways and watersheds, reclaim abandoned mine sites, and reclaim and plug abandoned oil and gas wells. Projects include stream restoration, dam modifications and agricultural conservation. This year’s awards exceed $12 million statewide. 

The projects in Lehigh County to receive awards are the Wildlands Conservancy ($200,000) for Laurel Run, and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary ($149,802) for a water quality collaborative. The Monroe County Conservation District received an award ($407,599) for the Pine Creek subwatershed of Buckwha Creek. In Northampton County, awards went to the  Wildlands Conservancy ($175,000) for the Bushkill Creek and the Bushkill Stream Conservancy ($120,000) for the portion of creek flowing through the Binney and Smith Preserve.

Cross-county projects include the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission ($30,000) for a stormwater management plan for Lehigh and Monroe counties; the Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation Development Council ($400,000) for technical assistance; Stream Restoration, Inc.($621,015) to provide watershed groups with technical assistance.

Growing Greener is the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania's history to address critical environmental concerns. Grants can be awarded to watershed groups, local or county government, municipal authorities, county planning commissions, county conservation districts, council of governments, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations. Grantees have up to three years to implement their projects.