EPA Awards Marin $4M To Keep Trash Out Of Water

SAN RAFAEL, CA — The Environmental Protection Agency has provided Marin County with a $4 million grant to design and build new stormwater treatment facilities to capture trash and other pollutants.

The money will allow the Marin Countywide Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program to design up to 17 treatment facilities and construct at least one or two, the county said Thursday. Each facility would be designed to capture anything larger than five millimeters from stormwater runoff, while removing presticide residue, PCBs, metals and other "fine sediment pollutants."

The funds will also help construct a special facility to filter materials from water that are removed while cleaning or maintaining storm drains, ensuring they do not end up in local waterwaterways.

"The effort is a major undertaking for MCSTOPPP and the grant award will allow us to make it a reality," said Berenice Davidson, assistant director at the Department of Public Works. "This is a big step forward for protecting the natural resources of this beautiful county by helping keep pollutants out of the water."

The federal grant money will cover half the total cost of the initiative, with the remainder covered by Caltrans and Marin County. The program will develop designs for potential treatment facilities in the county and several cities, including San Rafael, Tiburon, Novato, Larkspur, Corte Madera, Mill Valley and Sausalito.

While the initial funding will only cover up to two of the treatment installations, the county anticipates future funding will allow for the remaining 12 to be built in the near future.