Photo provided
Schuylkill River Heritage Area Executive
Director Kurt Zwikl announces the
2012 Schuylkill River Restoration Fund grant recipients on the Russell Guntz
Farm, in Oley, on Thursday. Looking on are (l to r) PA House Rep. David
Maloney, Exelon Generation representative Chris Gerdes, Delaware River Basin
Commission Planner Jessica Sanchez, and farm owner Russel Guntz.
Blogger's note: The following was submitted by the Schuylkill River Heritage Area.
OLEY -- The Schuylkill River Heritage Area distributed over $200,000
in grants Thursday to nine projects that will improve water quality in the Schuylkill River and its tributaries.
The Schuylkill River Restoration Fund grants were funded by
Exelon’s Limerick Generating Station, the Philadelphia Water Department and
Aqua PA, and administered by the Schuylkill River Heritage Area (SRHA).
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Manatawny Creek at Memorial Park in Pottstown |
The grant announcement took place at the
Russell Guntz Farm, in Oley, a Restoration Fund recipient for a recently
completed agricultural remediation project.
Speakers included Christopher Crockett, Deputy Commissioner
of the Philadelphia Water Department; Kurt Zwikl
Executive Director of the Schuylkill River Heritage Area; Jessica Sanchez,
River Basin Planner with the Delaware River Basin Commission; Chris Gerdes,
representative of Exelon’s Limerick Generating Station; and state Rep. David
Maloney, R-130th Dist.
Maloney presented certificates of recognition to property
owner Russell Guntz and Berks County Conservancy Senior Ecologist Larry Lloyd
for their work in significantly reducing the agricultural run-off from the
Guntz dairy farm, located along Manatawny Creek.
Following the grant announcements, Guntz and Lloyd led
a tour of the farm, highlighting the agricultural remediation projects.
Among
the projects completed as a result of the grant were: construction of a manure
storage tank, a new roof over the barnyard, rain gutters, stream bank fencing
and a stoned animal walkway. All the projects help prevent manure and other
pollutants from washing into the Manatawny Creek, which is a tributary of the Schuylkill River.
This is the seventh year the grant program has been
available.
This year, money was distributed to five projects that will mitigate
stormwater runoff and agricultural pollution. There are also four land
transaction grants, totaling $4,000 each, to assist with costs associated with
permanent protection of priority watershed parcels. (Please see 2012 Grant
Awards list for recipients and project descriptions).
All the projects will benefit the entire watershed because
they reduce the amount of pollution that enters creeks, and ultimately, the
river, which is a source of drinking water for 1.5 million people.
“Over the past seven years, the Schuylkill River Restoration
Fund has helped fund 30 projects, effectively reducing the amount of pollutants
entering the river and its tributaries,” said Zwikl. “We are grateful to the
unique partnerships that have formed to support this fund, which is helping us
improve water quality throughout the watershed.”
This year, Exelon Generation contributed a total of $211,092
to the fund, while the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) donated $100,000.
Aqua PA, a first time contributor, provided $2,500. All funds not distributed
for 2012 projects will be rolled over into the 2013 grant round.
The Land Transaction Assistance Grants program, introduced
last year, provides for matching grants of up to $4,000 per project. It will
pay for costs associated with property purchases and conservation easements, in
order to facilitate preservation of high priority lands for water quality and
habitat protection. A total of $16,000 in land protection transaction grants
were distributed to assist with protection of four properties.
Exelon has provided $1.6 million to the Schuylkill River
Restoration Fund since it was established in 2005. The annual fund began as
part of a demonstration project for what is known as the water supply program
at Exelon’s Limerick Generating Station. That program is under the purview of
the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC).
For the past several years, the Schuylkill Action Network (SAN) has been working to grow the program by
seeking additional funders. This is the third year the Philadelphia Water
Department has contributed, and the first year Aqua PA has donated, so that
more projects can be undertaken. SAN
continues to seek additional contributors in an effort to further expand the
fund.