Organization receives Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant

The Chagrin River Watershed Partners has received a nearly $200,000 grant for a project that will result in 2,000 feet of bioengineered streambank stabilization for tributaries to the Chagrin River.

U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, RBainbridge Township, announced the Willoughbybased organization was awarded the $194,278 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant by the Great Lakes Commission.

“I’m pleased to report that since 2010, GLRI funds have helped remove more than 4 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and restore more than 195,000 acres of habitat throughout the Great Lakes region,” Joyce said in a statement. “I applaud the Great Lakes Commission for recognizing the continued need for these efforts in Northeast Ohio and look forward to seeing the success of the Chagrin River Watershed Partners’ streambank stabilization project.”

Great Lakes Commission Executive Director Darren Nichols said in a statement the Chagrin River Watershed Partners project “demonstrates the power of the GLRI to generate critical economic and environmental improvements for communities throughout the region.”

Every year, tons of polluting phosphorus and sediments enter the Great Lakes Basin, causing massive economic and environmental losses and damages and contributing to the formation of Harmful Algal Blooms and dead zones, according to Joyce’s office. The Great Lakes Commission manages the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program, which is funded by the GLRI.

According to its website, the program supports projects not typically funded by other U.S. EPA or USDA cost-share programs. The website states this allows them to fund “unique and innovative programs.”

“The Task Force reviews yearly needs in the basin and adapts the grant program to meet current needs. It employs a rigorous review process that selects projects expected to generate the most impactful environmental and economic benefits for the Great Lakes region,” the website states.

This year, 13 projects throughout the Great Lakes region received a total of more than $2.2 million through the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program.