Maryland State Wire

Gov. Larry Hogan's administration has awarded $22 million to 18 recipients via the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund to improve the state's waterway health.

Hogan said in a press release that the trust fund was one way to impact the Chesapeake Bay.

"The Trust Fund serves as an example for the nation of how state funding can be strategically targeted to have measurable impacts on water quality and the quality of life of residents and visitors who enjoy our treasured Chesapeake Bay,” Hogan said. “These 18 implementation-ready projects, totaling $22 million of investments, will have a long-lasting, positive impact on the Bay and our environment and build on our historic investment in Bay restoration efforts.”

The money will go toward funding restoration of the stream and wetlands, as well as new stormwater management and riparian tree buffer plantings, among other improvements to the bay.

For the past three years, Hogan has fully funded the trust fund, making him the first governor to do so. He has provided $4 billion for the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay since he became governor.

Maryland Natural Resources Secretary Mary Belton said in the press release that the fund allows collaboration with sister agencies, as well as others who want cleaner and healthier water.

“Through these innovative and pioneering partnerships, Maryland is realizing lower costs for the removal of nutrients and sediments, benefiting both the environment and taxpayers," Belton said.

The 18 recipients include Anne Arundel County; Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection; Baltimore County Soil Conservation District; Baltimore Tree Trust; Caroll County Bureau of Resource Management; Carroll Soil Conservation District; Cecil County Stormwater Management Division; Cecil Land Trust; Frederick County; Hartford County; Howard County Department of Public Works; Howard County; Low Impact Development Center; Maryland Forestry Foundation; Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection; Oyster Recovery Partnership; Park School; and ShoreRivers Inc.

The projects are funded for the 2019 fiscal year and include restoration to remove a concrete channel in the stream in Anne Arundel County; to restore a foot stream in Baltimore County; improve Baltimore County's Watershed Implementation Plan goals; plant trees in Baltimore County; and remove "impervious surfaces" from tree wells; deepen a pond in Carroll County that will decrease thermal impact to the receiving stream; new stormwater management in Cecil County; restoration of degraded streams in Cecil County; and implement forest management plans across, among other projects.

Hogan chairs the Chesapeake Executive Council of the Chesapeake Bay Program, which establishes policy direction for projects that restore and protect the Bay.

The trust fund was created in 2007 and is administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. A governor-appointed scientific advisory panel called the Chespeake Bay Cabinet guides the fund. Since it began, there have been more than 2,000 projects supported, creating more than 2,000 jobs.