Cartwright doubles funding available for stormwater grants

House and Senate leaders on Dec. 16 reached an agreement on two 2020 federal spending packages, one of which includes funding secured by U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright to offset the costs of improving stormwater infrastructure in Northeastern Pennsylvania. This increased funding doubles the money available for sediment removal grants and programs to control polluted stormwater runoff in the Chesapeake Bay watershed region, which includes parts of Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. It will help municipalities in Northeastern Pennsylvania meet a federal mandate to restore the Chesapeake Bay with fewer local funds. Cartwright doubled the total money available for grants that can go to communities in Northeastern Pennsylvania, from $12 million in 2019 to $24 million in 2020. "This federal money will help clean up our region's waterways so our kids have safe, clean water to drink," Cartwright says.