GOVERNOR O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES FUNDING TO IMPROVE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITIES IN CALVERT COUNTY          
          
Improvements, New Construction and Repairs Planned Along MD 509          
          
(September 18, 2007) – As part of his program to improve one of the nation’s highest quality road networks, Governor Martin O’Malley has committed nearly $483,000 in Transportation Enhancement Program (TEP) funding to upgrade stormwater management facilities to current standards along MD 509 (Governor Run Road) in Calvert County. The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is providing matching funding of nearly $483,000 as well. The total cost of the project is $965,774.          
          
Improvements include the construction of a new water quality facility and drainage structure repairs and replacements. The project is being accomplished under the State Highway Administration stormwater banking agreement with the Maryland Department of the Environment.           
          
The planned improvements provide a variety of environmental benefits for the Patuxent River watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. These include improved water quality, stream stabilization, and a more hospitable habitat for wildlife and macro- and microorganisms. Because the Patuxent River is also a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, the project works to improve the quality of the bay and meets the intent of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.           
          
“Maintaining infrastructure is a vitally important – but often-ignored – part of our responsibility to protect the environment and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Governor O’Malley. “Maryland’s government must begin proactively addressing critical issues like this before these issues become real environmental concerns.”           
          
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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