On May 27, 2005, Penn State University was awarded a Soil Erosion and Sediment Control grant from the Great Lakes Commission’s Great Lakes Basin Program totaling $43,350 to address stormwater management infrastructure failures at three locations on the Penn State Behrend campus. PA Sea Grant prepared and submitted this grant application and Urban Engineers Erie, Inc. was hired and has finalized the design for best management practices (BMPs) to substantially reduce erosion and to control the introduction of sediments into Trout Run, a tributary of Fourmile Creek which runs through campus. Also completed is the identification of additional green infrastructure improvements that may be implemented on campus in the future.

With design completed, PA Sea Grant has authored two more applications which, if funded, will be used to construct these BMPs to implement the design recommendations. An application was submitted to the Pennsylvania DEP for Growing Greener funds totaling $150,900 on March 3, 2006. A matching application requesting $75,000 in Great Lakes Commission GLB Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control funds was submitted on March 14, 2006. PA Sea Grant has obtained a notice of award from the Great Lakes Commission. If the Growing Greener application is funded, construction is expected to occur during the Summer of 2007.