The Chesapeake Bay watershed just got a $90 million infusion aimed at 83 new restoration projects, part of an ongoing push to clean up a waterway that officials say still has a long way to go. EPA Deputy Administrator David Fatouhi and Rep. Jen Kiggans announced the funding Friday, framing it as critical support for long-term water-quality improvements across the Bay.
According to WAVY.com, the Chesapeake Bay watershed got what the station called “a much-needed, $90 million shot in the arm.” Fatouhi and Kiggans said the money would go toward the 83 new projects, which are meant to support long-term water-quality improvements and critical restoration for the Bay, the station reported.
The announcement arrives as the Bay carries an overall health grade of C, per the same report. Fatouhi underscored the stakes for the region's economy, saying the Bay is “an economic engine for over 1,800 communities that line the Bay,” according to the station's coverage.
Where the Money Is Coming From
Federal detail on the funding breakdown is still thin. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency release states that the agency is awarding $37 million, with an additional $53 million coming from other agencies, to implement the 83 projects — though that figure carries lower confidence than the headline $90 million total.
There's also a discrepancy in the total dollar figure itself. While the EPA and the station's reporting describe the awards as $90 million, an announcement from the Office of Rep. Jen Kiggans refers to the package as “$92 Million in Grant Awards for Conservation Efforts in the Chesapeake Bay.” Neither source resolves the gap between the two totals.
The Kiggans release also states that the 83 grants were awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants and Small Watershed Grants programs, which it says are administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation — though that detail, too, comes with lower confidence in the available record.
A Bay Still Chasing Its Pollution Goals
That funding builds on earlier Chesapeake Bay grant announcements that illustrate how much money has flowed into the watershed in recent years. In March 2024, the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation were awarded $206 million in Chesapeake Bay restoration funding to support conservation projects restoring water quality and habitat over four years, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program.
That same year, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $23.8 million in Chesapeake Bay watershed restoration grants in September, including a $1,444,500 award to Trout Unlimited for brook trout habitat restoration in the Potomac River headwaters spanning West Virginia and Virginia. The same round of grants sent $1,081,700 to the Stewardship Network for green infrastructure and workforce training work in Central Maryland, and $712,600 to the City of Corning for green stormwater infrastructure at Denison Park in New York.
Further back, watershed conservation efforts have included community-led work to reduce pollution, restore habitats and improve rural and urban communities. Efforts to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment entering the Bay remain part of the broader restoration push.
Jurisdictions continue working toward the watershed's sediment-, phosphorus- and nitrogen-reduction goals. Reducing pollution and meeting water-quality goals remain ongoing challenges for the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership.
With the Bay still rated a C overall, Friday's $90 million commitment adds another chapter to a restoration effort that has drawn hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and philanthropic support over the past several years — even as officials continue grappling with how far that money can go toward fully cleaning up the watershed.
