So where the heck is all this federal stimulus money going? As a taxpayer, you may have wondered if the billions in the Obama Administration’s economic recovery act was for something useful. As it turns out, at least in Maryland and Virginia, a lot of money is going to clean water.
Among several other projects, $12 million from the so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going in federal grants and loans to add state-of-the-art nitrogen pollution removal equipment to one of the largest sewage plants in the region, Baltimore’s Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant. Another $6 million is being used to upgrade the Cumberland Wastewater Treatment Plant in western Maryland, and more money is being spent to fix up leaky old sewage lines and aging dams across the state.
To look over all the projects in Maryland, check out the full list here on the MDE website.
In Virginia, roughly $80 million is going to the state’s clean water revolving fund, which can be used for everything from sewage plant improvements to agricultural runoff pollution control programs.
For more details, click here.
Folks worry about their taxpayer money going to pay for bridges to nowhere. But money spent on sewage plant improvements is clearly money well spent. Not only does it improve our water quality, but each project employs scores of construction workers, engineers and others. It's a bridge to a stronger economy and a healthier Bay.
It is great to see the clean water benefits of the stimulus being highlighted - often lost in the infrastructure debate.
At American Rivers, we are also very excited about the "green reserve" - money out of this same pot that is being used for green infrastructure and water and energy efficiency. On the Maryland list for instance, a number of restoration projects are being funded. For more information, see our stimulus page:
www.americanrivers.org/stimulus
Posted by: Katherine Baer | 03/30/2009 at 04:24 PM