Grants award pay-for-success projects to reduce pollution, improve tourism and seafood industry
BALTIMORE (March 5, 2025) – The Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) today announced that 15 projects have been selected to receive $47 million in Clean Water Commerce Act funding for demonstrating pollution reductions that will improve health, tourism and economic success of the Chesapeake Bay.
The grants are part of a “pay-for-success” model that incentivizes farmers and other stewards of the land and water to reduce pollution and support the $3.2 billion Bay economy. Instead of funding projects upfront, the state only pays for guaranteed results demonstrating cost-effective clean water solutions. The funding will support a range of environmental initiatives – shoreline restorations, aquaculture, fertilizer applications best practices and other techniques.
“This program allows us to get the most out of every dollar spent to improve our waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay,” said Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain. “Maryland is proud to be a leader in cutting-edge approaches to clean water, and in turn, improved tourism and commerce.”
Projects were selected based on rankings that consider the price per pound of nitrogen reductions as verified by Chesapeake Bay Program modeling. Some projects also reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change or make communities, including those that are overburdened and underserved, more resilient to flooding.
Funding sources include Maryland’s Bay Restoration Fund, administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment; the Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share Program, administered by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA); and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program, through an award to the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).
“Projects funded by the Maryland Department of Agriculture will help mitigate nutrient losses from in-field tile drainage systems. These practices are critical components of our bay restoration strategy. I’m excited to partner with our sister agencies to continue our conservation work,” said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks.
“The 19 percent cost savings across comparable project rounds shows that pay-for-success contracting is truly delivering more results for less,” said Harry Huntley, Agriculture Lead for the Environmental Policy Innovation Center. “EPIC is excited to partner with MDE and MDA in showing that federal funds can be deployed using the same cost-effective conservation methods that Maryland has pioneered.”
The Clean Water Commerce program has previously selected 17 projects for a total of $54 million in grants to prevent 1.3 million pounds of nitrogen from entering Maryland waters.
The newly selected projects are:
- McDonald Farm Stream Restoration (Kent) – Restores natural features on a crop farm to filter runoff, recharge groundwater, and reduce flooding, with a nitrogen reduction of 34,000 lbs/year.
- Alternative Crop Cultivation (Caroline, Dorchester) – Grows giant miscanthus for chicken bedding, sequestering carbon and reducing methane, with a nitrogen reduction of 63,000 lbs/year.
- Stumpf Farm Stream Restoration (Cecil) – Uses restoration techniques to improve resilience, habitat, and stormwater storage, with a nitrogen reduction of 27,000 lbs/year.
- The Mill Advanced Nutrient Management (Harford) – Uses precision agriculture and specialty fertilizers to reduce nitrogen application, with a nitrogen reduction of 42,000 lbs/year.
- Sears Farm Stream and Ravine Restoration (Kent) – Stabilizes 4,000 feet of forested stream and ephemeral channel, with a nitrogen reduction of 9,400 lbs/year.
- Cooks Point Living Shoreline Restoration (Dorchester) – Prevents shoreline erosion, reduces pollution, and creates habitat, with a nitrogen reduction of 2,180 lbs/year.
- Indian Head Shoreline Restoration (Charles) – Enhances shoreline stability and recreational opportunities for an environmental justice community, with a nitrogen reduction of 1,700 lbs/year.
- Rock Hall Shoreline Management (Queen Anne’s) – Constructs a breakwater to protect marshland and a vulnerable community from sea level rise, with a nitrogen reduction of 1,267 lbs/year.
- UT South River Stream Restoration (Anne Arundel) – Stabilizes stream flow, slows runoff, and enhances habitat, with a nitrogen reduction of 2,798 lbs/year.
- Wellington Wetland Restoration (Somerset) – Converts 13 acres of farmland into a wetland with a forest buffer, with a nitrogen reduction of 535 lbs/year.
- Finchville Drainage Water Management (Dorchester) – Manages 96 acres of drainwater in the Nanticoke Creek watershed, with a nitrogen reduction of 1,682 lbs/year.
- Rich Levels Bioreactor Project (Kent) – Uses woodchip bioreactors to filter nitrates from 152 acres of farm ditches, with a nitrogen reduction of 1,284 lbs/year.
- Eastern Neck Drainage Water Management (Kent) – Manages 59 acres of drainwater in the Chester River watershed, with a nitrogen reduction of 482 lbs/year.
- Hellen Creek 20 Million Oyster Challenge (Calvert) – Establishes an oyster reef with 13 million spat to improve water quality and shoreline protection, with a nitrogen reduction of 2,000 lbs/year.
- Sustainable Oyster Farming (Dorchester) – Launches an oyster farm under Hoopers Island Oyster Company, with a nitrogen reduction of 2,723 lbs/year.
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