News Releases from Region 03

EPA Announces Award of $21 Million in Funding for State and Tribal Environmental Priorities for DE

Funding to Delaware will support priorities of three state agencies

PHILADELPHIA (March 4, 2020) –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today the state of Delaware is among the nation’s states and Tribes to receive a portion of $21 million in Multipurpose Grants for addressing their environmental priorities.  Three Delaware state agencies will use EPA’s multipurpose grant funding to complement existing environmental protection efforts. 

"EPA recognizes the important role of states and local governments in protecting the health and future of our communities,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “This funding enables partners like Delaware to carry out activities that address their environmental and public health priorities.”

EPA’s Multipurpose Grant (MPG) program for States and Tribes supports states, tribes and territories in addressing high-priority environmental issues. Recognizing that environmental challenges differ due to variations in geography, population density, and other factors, this program provides EPA’s co-regulator partners with the flexibility to target funds to their highest priority efforts to protect human health and the environment.  With this grant funding, states and tribes are supporting a range of projects, including: addressing contaminants such as PFAS and lead, streamlining permitting processes, performing inspections, updating air and water monitoring equipment, testing radon in schools, and conducting outreach and education in areas such as pesticides application and harmful algal blooms.

The Multipurpose Grants awarded to Delaware include:

• DE Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control:
  • $112,168 – The Department will use this funding to enhance its Division of Air Quality’s air monitoring network; to fund a new annual air quality forecasting contract; and to manage PCB pollution in the A-Street Ditch in Wilmington.
• DE Department of Health and Social Services:
  • $58,544 – The Department will use this funding for planning, development and implementation of a regulatory structure to address emerging contaminants, focusing initially on PFAS-related compounds. 
• DE Department of Agriculture:

$53,219 – The Department will utilize this funding to provide cost assistance for nutrient management planning for agriculture acres in Delaware, which will reduce non-point source nutrient pollution including nitrogen and phosphorus.