Researchers have been awarded a $700,000 competitive grant at the University of Maryland to develop a community-based plan for improving the Chesapeake Bay’s fastest growing source of pollution- storm water runoff.
The grant, awarded to researchers from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is a coveted opportunity from the EPA for researchers to develop a strategic plan to improve pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and its local rivers including the Anacostia and Patuxent.
The research team, which will include members from AGNR and University of Maryland Extension, as well as the School of Public Health and the A. James Clark School of Engineering, will be led by Paul Leisnham, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology.
“These are very competitive grants, they’re very difficult to get,” said Senator Ben Cardin at an event to announce the grant. “This speaks volumes to the fact that the University (of Maryland) has the capacity, as well as the relationships with the private sector and local governments, to be able to make a difference here and give confidence, so it’s a real feather in the cap of the university.”
