E.P.A. Awards $55,600 to Promote Deckers Creek Restoration

"Today we begin a new chapter in the history of Deckers Creek - one holding great promise for both the health of the creek and the city's economy," said E.P.A. Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. "This plan clarifies the connection between economic investment and resource restoration, while generating the necessary information for treating polluted water."

The highly competitive grant from the E.P.A. Urban Waters plan will fund a study of an abandoned underground coal mine discharging polluted water into Deckers Creek, which runs for 3 miles through the City of Morgantown. The study will aid in the eventual treatment of the mine water.

The funds will also help initiate a public education campaign to advise business owners and the city's development community about the economic potential of restoring Deckers Creek, and forming a community partnership to take the next steps in the process.

The grant was awarded to Friends of Deckers Creek, a community-based non-profit watershed group working to clean up Deckers Creek, a tributary of the Monongahela River that flows from Preston Co. into Monongalia County, W.Va. The creek is impacted by acid mine drainage and other pollution issues.

EPA's Urban Waters plan helps cities unleash the potential of their waterways and land around them. The backing supports communities' efforts to access, enhance and benefit from their urban waters and surrounding land.

Information on EPA's Urban Waters program: http://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/index.html.

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