News
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DATE:7/30/05 |
CONTACT: Lisa Schell, 919/716-0057 |
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RELEASE: Immediate |
DISTRIBUTION: Targeted |
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General Assembly Passes Full Funding for N.C. Clean Water Projects RALEIGH -- The $20.7 billion state budget just approved by the North Carolina General Assembly includes full funding -$100 million - for the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund. "The Senate, House of Representatives and the Governor are to be commended for their efforts on behalf of North Carolina's water quality," said D.G. Martin, interim executive director of the trust fund. "This new budget, which also includes significant funding for the state's other natural resources trust funds, will go a long way toward making sure North Carolina has a healthy environment and economy. It shows a growing commitment on the part of our legislators to protect our state's environment." Martin steps down later this week after serving nearly six months as the trust fund's interim executive director. Richard Rogers, assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will take over the position permanently on August 1, 2007. The new state spending plan comes just as the trust fund's board of trustees begins to consider funding requests for grant applications submitted for review on March 1, 2007. 186 new requests for $154.9 million in water quality grants were submitted in the fund's 2007 granting period. Last year, in order to improve efficiency, CWMTF's board of trustees reduced the number of grant cycles, or times when applications for funding can be submitted, from two to one. Applications received in March came from all regions of the state; some proposed projects address the long-term protection of very high quality waters while others are intended to clean up existing pollution problems. Many of the projects are to acquire lands adjacent to streams, so that these lands might be preserved as a buffer to insure the protection of these waterways. Other projects seek assistance to deal with failing waste water systems or septic tanks. Some of the projects are for restoration of degraded lands, or for better stormwater management. A complete list of the submitted grant requests is available on online at http://www.cwmtf.net/2007list.htm CWMTF received $100 million in the last year's state budget. The trust fund was established in 1996 to help finance projects that enhance or restore degraded waters, protect unpolluted waters, and/or contribute toward a network of riparian buffers and greenways for environmental, educational, and recreational benefits. The trust fund estimates that more than $17 billion is needed to protect and restore water quality in North Carolina. ### For more information, contact Lisa Schell at 919/716-0057.
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