The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York Sea Grant (NYSG) announced two local projects are among the eight chosen to share $388,289 in grant awards for projects that address the diverse environmental needs of waterfront communities in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region.
Funding for these projects is provided through the New York Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program.
Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges: $50,000 for the “Odessa Green Infrastructure Initiative: Feasibility Phase” which aims to reduce pollutants and flooding within Catlin Mill Creek, L’Hommedieu Creek, and other downstream waterbodies by implementing green infrastructure in the village of Odessa, aligning with the community’s efforts to improve sustainable economic and social benefits.
City of Ithaca: $45,500 for the “Build-out Analysis Modeling for Scenario Planning” to inform future land use planning within the city of Ithaca’s drinking water source protection area to support the long-term health and sustainability of Six Mile Creek, which serves approximately 30,000 residents, by exploring impacts of various development scenarios and providing community leaders with decision-making tools.
“New York State is investing in projects to reduce pollution, flooding, and erosion, helping protect drinking water resources across the Great Lakes watershed and bolstering economic development,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “These locally supported smaller-scale projects have a sizeable impact far across the region and DEC looks forward to our continued partnership with New York Sea Grant and today’s awardees to help waterfront communities implement solutions to protect Great Lakes water quality and coastal resiliency.”
“The Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program empowers shoreline and watershed stakeholders to take an active role in conserving, protecting, and enhancing their unique environmental and ecological resources in keeping with New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda,” said New York Sea Grant Associate Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth. “These grants have supported projects ranging from adding ADA-compliant canoe and kayak accessibility and youth environmental education opportunities to restoring fish passageways and creating living shoreline habitat.”
Project award recipients advance the New York Great Lakes Action Agenda’s goals to apply an ecosystem-based approach to enhance community resiliency and environmental integrity, and are identified in locally-supported community plans pertaining to water quality, natural resources, or sustainable land use.
