Public Comment Period Open on Stormwater Grant Program

Olympia, WA - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has opened a public comment period on a new round of funding to help local governments in the state's urban areas design and build projects to prevent and control polluted runoff -- the number one threat to clean water in populated areas.

The fiscal year 2012 Statewide Stormwater Grant Program is a statewide competitive grant program that provides funding to cities, towns, counties, and ports covered by the Phase I and II municipal stormwater permits.

Phase I and II refer to the first and second-most populated areas of the state. These are urban areas where polluted runoff is the biggest threat to water quality. Stormwater permits in these areas require local governments to prevent and control rainwater runoff.

Runoff from hardened surfaces in populated areas picks up chemicals and bacteria and carries it downstream into our waters. Most of the time, stormwater is not treated, even when it goes into a street drain.

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The funding is solely for construction or design/construction projects that result in the
greatest improvements to meet municipal stormwater permit requirements. 

The final amount of funding and the final list of funding recipients will be announced after the final state budget passes at the end of this legislative session. 

The original appropriation was $30 million, but the program could be reduced to $8 million to help address the state revenue shortfall.

Find the list of local projects proposed for funding in the FY 2012 Statewide Stormwater Grant Program - Draft Offer and Applicant List (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/1210004.html).

For more information, visit Ecology's website (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/fun ... ms/StWa12a/FY12aStWa.html).