$17M for Blue Plains sewage plant approved

Associated Press//December 7, 2011//

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ANNAPOLIS — Maryland‘s Board of Public Works has approved $17 million in construction grants for the Blue Plains sewage plant, the largest single source of nitrogen pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay.

The Department of the Environment says the grants approved Wednesday will help pay for upgrades that will cut nitrogen discharges by 83 percent.

The plant on the banks of the Potomac is the main sewage treatment plant for the Washington region, serving the district, suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. It accounts for more than 3 percent of the nitrogen in the bay, where it fuels oxygen-robbing algae blooms.

The board also approved a $600,000 grant to the city of Frostburg to pay for sewer upgrades designed to reduce overflows during storms.

Tags: Annapolis, frostburg, maryland, maryland department of the environment, potomac, construction, chesapeake bay, Board of Public Works

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