Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2021 - 59

CURRENTS
Grants Available to Improve Sinnemahoning Creek Watershed
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC)
announced an invitation for project applications to the
Sinnemahoning Creek Watershed Restoration Grant Program.
This is the sixth round of grants.
Project applicants must meet the eligibility criteria
and must use the application form specified in the grant
application package. Project applications must be postmarked
no later than Saturday, January 23, 2021. The PFBC
anticipates final selection and public announcement of grant
awards by the end of April 2021.
This funding is available through a 2007 settlement
agreement with Norfolk Southern as restitution for
environmental damages from a June 30, 2006 train derailment
in rural Norwich Township, McKean County. The accident
spilled sodium hydroxide into Big Fill Run, SinnemahoningPortage Creek, and the Driftwood Branch of the
Sinnemahoning Creek. Under the settlement, Norfolk Southern
agreed to pay the Commonwealth $7.35 million as restitution
for environmental damages. The PFBC received $3.675 million
of the settlement and must use the funds to develop and
implement projects that benefit fishing, boating, and aquatic
resources in Cameron, Elk, McKean, or Potter counties.
The PFBC's primary emphasis will be on projects in the
Sinnemahoning Creek Watershed upstream of the confluence
with the First Fork of Sinnemahoning Creek; however, projects
located elsewhere within the eligible counties will be considered.
Projects eligible for funding in this round will be limited
to the following: fish habitat protection and enhancement;
restoration of aquatic habitat connectivity through the removal
of barriers to fish passage; riparian buffer plantings of trees and
shrubs; abandoned mine drainage treatment systems or mine
reclamation projects that result in significant improvements

to water resources that are likely to benefit fish and other
aquatic life; acquisition and development of properties for
public fishing and boating access; enhancement or restoration
of populations of specified aquatic Species of Greatest
Conservation Need; storm water conservation practices/best
management practices (including Environmentally Sensitive
Maintenance (ESM) practices for dirt, gravel, and low volume
roads) that maintain or improve water quality and/or habitat
for fish and other aquatic life; and acid deposition abatement
and alkaline addition to remediate adverse impacts from acidic
precipitation to habitat for fish and other aquatic life.
Further description of these types of eligible projects
and instructions for applying can be found within the grant
application package available at www.fishandboat.com.
Awarding of funds for any selected projects will be
contingent upon availability of funds. Currently, the balance
of unobligated funds remaining in the program account
is approximately $380,000. For this round, the PFBC will
consider individual grant awards in the range of $10,000 to
$100,000. Depending on the total amount of funds ultimately
awarded, which will be contingent on the number and quality
of the applications received, this will likely be the last round of
grants for this program. Therefore, this funding round is likely
to be highly competitive.
Applicants must secure matching funds equal to at least
25% of the total project costs in order to supplement the PFBC
funds and assist in implementing their proposed projects. This
minimum match threshold is equal to one-third of the grant
amount the applicant is requesting from the PFBC.
For more information about applying for this grant
program, contact Fisheries Biologist Jeff Schmid at
814-359-5242 or jschmid@pa.gov.

Take Part in the
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * January/February 2021

photos-PFBC archives

Winning entries will appear in a feature article in a
future issue of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater and on the
Commission's Facebook page. The contest will run from
November 1, 2020 through August 31, 2021.
Entries must be e-mailed to sgearhart@pa.gov. The
following information must be included in the e-mail.
* Entrant's Name
* Entrant's Address
* Entrant's Phone Number
* Entrant's E-mail
* Photo Description (location, county, species, etc.)
* Date of Photo

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2021

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