BALTIMORE, MD (December 7, 2011) - The Maryland Board of Public Works approved nearly $18 million in grants to reduce pollution and improve water quality by reducing sewage overflows, restoring stream banks, encouraging “green infrastructure,” and upgrading a large wastewater treatment plant. The Board is composed of Governor Martin O’Malley, Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, and Comptroller Peter Franchot. Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown represented Governor O’Malley at today’s meeting.

“Projects such as these are an important part of our effort to improve Maryland waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay,” said Lieutenant Governor Brown. “These projects reduce pollution and protect public health while creating jobs for more Marylanders.”

The following projects were approved today in the following locations:

• Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant Enhanced Nutrient Removal Upgrade – Washington, D.C.

  Capital construction grants totaling $17 million to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, in addition to $113 million in previous Bay Restoration Fund and other state grants, will help fund the planning, design, and construction of the Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) and Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) upgrades at the existing 370 million gallons per day Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant. Blue Plains is the largest advanced wastewater treatment plant in the world. After the upgrades, the facility will reduce its nitrogen discharge by 83 percent, significantly reducing the amount of nutrients discharged into the Potomac River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.

• Paul Street/East Mechanic Street Combined Sewer Overflow Elimination – Allegany County

  A $600,000 Supplemental Assistance Program grant to the City of Frostburg will help fund improvements to the existing Frostburg combined sewer infrastructure. The project involves the separation of the combined sewer system. This project involves multiple sources of funding which are being provided over several years based on the project schedule. This grant is for Phase VII-A of the project, which consists of the planning, design, and construction of gravity sewer and stormwater lines, including the replacement and rehabilitation of the system, to reduce combined sewer overflows and the resulting pollution in the Paul Street/Mechanic Street area.

• Booze Creek Stream Restoration – Montgomery County

  Capital construction grants totaling $130,000 to Montgomery County will help fund the Phase I of the Booze Creek Stream Restoration Project. The project is a component of the Cabin John Creek Watershed Study and will be coordinated with Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission work on Booze Creek sewer infrastructure. The stream restoration project will provide protection for exposed sewer mains and stabilize stream banks and will include riparian buffers. The restoration will reduce sediment pollution to the waterway. 

• Kensington Hill Library Low Impact Development Retrofit – Montgomery County

  A $115,000 Water Quality State Revolving Loan Fund “green infrastructure” grant to Montgomery County will help fund the Kensington Hill Library Low Impact Development Retrofit project. The project will capture and treat stormwater from about 90 percent of the parking and road surfaces on the property, using such Low Impact Development practices as a bioretention facility, two rain gardens, a bioretention swale, and an infiltration trench. The project will reduce stormwater runoff that can carry nutrients and other pollutants.

• Aspen Hill Library Low Impact Development Retrofit – Montgomery County

  A $112,500 Water Quality State Revolving Loan Fund “green infrastructure” grant to Montgomery County will help fund the Aspen Hill Library Low Impact Development Retrofit project. The project will capture and treat stormwater from all of the parking and road surfaces on the property, using such Low Impact Development practices as a bioretention facility, a rain barrel, and a vegetated curb extension biofilter. The project will reduce stormwater runoff that can carry nutrients and other pollutants.

• Essex Skypark Shoreline Enhancement – Baltimore County

  A $30,000 Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Nonpoint Source Fund grant to Baltimore County will help fund the Essex Skypark Shoreline Enhancement project. The project consists of restoring three areas of severely eroded stream bank along the Back River shoreline. The restoration will consist of segmented sills, minor regarding and filling, stone breakwaters, phragmites removal, and planting of tidal wetland vegetation. The restoration will reduce sediment pollution to the waterway.

###