Pennsylvania gives $34 million for water cleanup

This story originally appeared on StateImpact Pennsylvania.

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The state is giving more than $34 million to scores of water cleanup projects across the commonwealth.

The largest share is going to efforts in the south-central part of the state.

Of the 149 projects granted money from the Growing Greener program, 43 in south-central Pennsylvania will get $12 million. Many of those involve reducing agricultural runoff, which eventually flows to the Chesapeake Bay.

They include such efforts as planting riparian forest buffers in Berks County, beautification of York County’s Codorus Creek, and Dickinson College’s attempt to develop high-frequency monitoring tools to manage algal blooms.

Just less than $6 million is funding 15 Lancaster County projects, many of which involve reducing agricultural pollution or stream restoration.

The Growing Greener program is used for farmland preservation projects, open space conservation, state park maintenance, abandoned mines reclamation, and watershed restoration. Money can also go to upgrade local water and sewer systems and recreation sites.

The Department of Environmental Protection says the program is the largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania’s history to address the state’s critical environmental concerns.