Mathews County has been awarded an $85,000 Green Streets-Green Jobs-Green Towns grant by the Chesapeake Bay Trust to help pay for stormwater management and associated improvements in downtown Mathews.

The grant is one of 10 funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for localities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Total funding is $376,000.

Mathews Planning and Zoning Director John Shaw said that Vanasse Hangin Brustlin, the design and engineering firm working on the Main Street project, applied for the grant at his request. He said the money will be used in conjunction with the $776,000 Phase I VDOT Enhancement Grant the county was awarded to pay for new sidewalks, streetscaping, and other improvements to Main Street between Brickbat Road and the entry to the Food Lion parking lot.

It could be used to help pay for pervious sidewalks, stormwater management, and other projects, said Shaw, and free up some of the Enhancement Grant funds for other uses, such as street lighting.

The Green Streets-Green Jobs-Green Towns program was created to advance watershed protection, community livability, and economic vitality by helping to develop stormwater management techniques, green jobs creation and enhanced resident livability throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed, said a press release from the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

"The 10 selected recipients comprise a diverse group of municipalities and organizations that are committed to investing in green infrastructure to improve the environmental quality of life in their communities as well as create green jobs to benefit their local economy," the release said.

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