The Department of Environmental Quality announced today that 14 organizations have been selected to receive 2008 Volunteer River, Stream, and Creek Cleanup grants totaling $27,014.

Michigan's Volunteer River, Stream, and Creek Cleanup Program (VRSCCP), administered by the Great Lakes Commission under contract with the DEQ, provides small grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 to local units of government to help clean up and improve Michigan's rivers, streams, and creeks. Local units of government often partner with nonprofit organizations or other volunteer groups to carry out the cleanups.

Volunteer stream cleanup activities include removal of trash and unnatural debris from water bodies and their banks, and minimal repositioning of natural woody material to allow stream passage while maintaining the cover necessary for fish and other aquatic organisms.

Groups selected to receive funding in 2008 are:

• Holton Township - Cedar Creek Cleanup Project, $1,250;
• City of Detroit General Services Department - 2008 Rouge Park River Cleanup, $2,385;
• Grand Traverse Conservation District - 4th Annual Boardman River Clean Sweep-2008, $1,005;
• Village of Dimondale - Mill Stream Cleanup, $1,415;
• Ingham Conservation District - Red Cedar Cleanup, $2,269;
• Dearborn Heights Watershed Stewards Commission - 2008 Rouge River Creek Clean-up, $2,585;
• Sweetwater Township - Pere Marquette River Clean-Up, $900;
• St. Joseph County Conservation District - River Country Stream Cleanup, $2,720;
• Barry Conservation District - 13th Thornapple River Clean-up, $2,625;
• Missaukee Conservation District - Missaukee/Muskegon River Cleanup, $1,110;
• City of Monroe Commission on the Environment - River Raisin Cleanup, $2,000;
• Northeast Michigan Council of Governments - 2008 Big Splash Clean Up, $1,000;
• Shiawassee County Health Department - 11th Annual Shiawassee River Cleanup, $2,140;
• Hamburg Township - 3rd Annual Hamburg Township Huron River Cleanup Day, $3,610.

Michigan's VRSCCP began in 1998 and has been funded through various public acts. Since 2001, funding for this program has originated from the sale of the state's Water Quality Protection license plates.

Additional information on the VRSCCP is available on the Internet at http://www.glc.org/streamclean/ or by contacting John Hummer of the Great Lakes Commission at 734-971-9135 or by e-mail at jhummer@glc.org. Information is also available from the DEQ by contacting John Wuycheck at 517 335-4195 or by e-mail at WuycheckJ@michigan.gov.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised May 7, 2008 by Pat Watson