News

DATE: 6/5/08	CONTACT: Lisa Schell, (919) 716-0057
RELEASE: Immediate	DISTRIBUTION: Statewide

CLEAN WATER MANAGEMENT TRUST FUND BOARD MEETS IN RALEIGH TO CONSIDER NEW GRANT APPLICATIONS

RALEIGH -- The 21-member board of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund meets June 8-9 in Raleigh to to conduct a preliminary review of acquisition, restoration and stormwater and wastewater grant proposals submitted February 1, 2008 as well as to conduct other business.

The board will meet at the North Raleigh Hilton, located at 3415 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh, beginning at 10:15 a.m. Sunday with committee meetings. The full board will meet Monday beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the North Raleigh Hilton.

Agendas for all committee meetings, as well as the full board session scheduled for Monday are available on line here.

Before the board are 195 new requests totaling $177 million.The applications received 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 wastewater systems or septic tanks. Some of the projects are for restoration of degraded lands or for better stormwater management. Specific February 1, 2008 grant applications include:

• Five requests from the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation totaling $7.4 million to help purchase additional parklands in Burke, Chatham, Johnston and Watauga counties;

• Five requests from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission totaling $4.9 million to help add to the state's gamelands in Ashe, Burke, Caswell, Davidson and Richmond counties;

• A $7.2 million request from the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust to help purchase land to protect Big Horse Creek in Ashe County in the New River Basin;

• A $3 million request from Lenoir County to help construct a wastewater reuse facility and protect the Neuse River;

• A $3 million request from the Town of Parkton to regionalize its wastewater treatment system and protect the Lumber River;

• A $2.7 million request from Resource Institute, Inc. to help fund the Griffiths Lake Stormwater Initiative in Mecklenburg County;

• A $1 million request from the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District to help restore Upper Sandy Creek and improve water quality in the Neuse River Basin.

A complete list of projects submitted on February 1, 2008 can be found on line here.

Final decisions on funding will come at a later date and will be based on water quality benefits and availability of funds as appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly.

The CWMTF was established 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.

CWMTF estimates that over $17 billion is needed to protect and restore water quality in North Carolina.

The independent, CWMTF Board of Trustees has full responsibility over the allocation of moneys from the Fund.

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For more information, contact Lisa Schell at 919/716-0057. The complete agenda is available by clicking here.

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