Grant To Fund Clean Up

HARTFORD — A project to help control polluted runoff in Fairfield County will be supported by a discretionary grant of $25,000 from the Fairfield County Community Foundation, Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE) announced.

Stormwater runoff occurs as rain or snowmelt picks up deposits of oily residue, chemicals, and other pollutants from streets, parking lots, and construction sites, concentrating those contaminants in waterways.

The grant from the Fairfield County Community Foundation will support CFE’s work with Fairfield County municipalities to research the extent of their stormwater problem and generate a report that provides recommendations for funding opportunities to support cleanup measures. A technical advisory group of municipal and scientific experts will be established to advise and inform the project. The effort will also incorporate a public education initiative to build support for a concerted stormwater effort on the part of Fairfield County municipalities.

“The federal government mandates that communities control polluted runoff from streets and parking lots, but it does not provide them the means to do so,” said CFE Executive Director Don Strait. “Connecticut, however, has been a leader in creating incentives that make other water pollution cleanup issues affordable, which is why we believe municipal funding methods will be critical in the effort to reduce polluted runoff in Fairfield County and elsewhere in the state.”

Through the Community Foundation, donors support programs operated by nonprofit organizations in community and economic development, children and youth, women and girls, health and human services, the environment, arts and culture, and nonprofit organizational effectiveness.

According to Fairfield County Community Foundation Board Chair Wilmot Harris, the Community Foundation awarded more than $6 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. For more information about the Fairfield County Community Foundation, call 203-834-9393 or visit www.fccfoundation.org.