GOVERNOR O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR NEW STORMWATER TREATMENT WETLANDS IN QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY          
          
Upgrading of Storm Water Management Facilities to Mitigate Runoff Pollution along MD 213 in Centreville          
          
(September 17, 2007) – Governor Martin O’Malley has committed over $133,000 in Transportation Enhancement Program (TEP) funding to create a new stormwater treatment wetland to mitigate for roadway discharge due to runoff along MD 213. The Town of Centreville in Queen Anne’s County is providing just over $133,000 in matching funding. The total cost of the project is $266,100.          
          
The project is located south of the Gravel Run Bridge on MD 213, just east of land owned by the town of Centreville. The upgrade of this stormwater management facility will meet current standards as well as address needed improvements to the Corsica River, a high priority of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.          
          
The Town of Centreville has joined with numerous partners in developing a Watershed Restoration Action Strategy, in order to remove the Corsica River from the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of impaired water bodies. Centreville is the only urban area in the watershed, and is located at the headwaters of the Corsica River.           
          
“By protecting the Corsica River, we are preserving a critical piece of Maryland’s environment,” said Governor O’Malley. “We welcome this opportunity to find long-term solutions to protect our waterways.”          
          
Eric S. Wargotz, M.D., President of Queen Anne’s County Commissioners, said, “In Queen Anne’s County, improving the health of our water systems is among our highest priorities. This is great news for anyone concerned about their living environment – and that should be all of us.”           
          
The State contribution to this and similar projects is made possible through the Transportation Enhancement Program, which funds non-traditional, community-based transportation-related projects. The Governor determines which projects qualify for funding based on need and potential benefit to the public. Grants approved so far in 2007 total $11.3 million. The Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration oversees the federal program, which has awarded more than $173 million for 244 projects in Maryland since the TEP began in 1991.          
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