June 16, 2005

The Department of Environmental Quality today awarded three 2004 Cool Cities catalyst grantees a total of $404,500 in Clean Michigan Initiative Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Grant funding designed to accelerate Michigan’s Cool Cities efforts. The recipients of the funding are the city of Saugatuck, city of Alpena, and the St. Clair Community College in Port Huron.

“These communities are demonstrating a genuine commitment to environmental protection and sustainability,” said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. “The grant funds provided by the DEQ underscore our commitment to a healthy environment and to livable, vibrant communities.”

The DEQ supports the Cool Cities Initiative by providing technical and financial assistance for the inclusion of environmentally sensitive and sustainable practices in the urban renewal projects. The benefits of efficient energy and water use in urban areas where water, sewer, and power grid systems are likely to be stretched are especially important. The three projects awarded grants through the CMI NPS Pollution Control Grant Program will all be implementing practices that will hold and treat storm water on site.

The St. Clair Community College project will result in the installation of infiltration areas on the campus in order to reduce the strain on storm drains. The Alpena project will result in the implementation of stream bank stabilization practices, rain gardens, and a bike path made out of porous material that will allow water to drain through it. The Saugatuck project will install rain gardens, vegetated bioswales, and a bioretention/ storage basin. Native plants will be used in the rain gardens and bioswales as they do not require any irrigation and serve to take up excess storm water, as well as filter and clean the storm water which passes though the system.

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

Revised June 16, 2005 by Pat Watson