EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY		CONTACT:	Marta Gronlund, 425-638-2333
December 31, 2007

Redmond Storm Water Facilities to be Upgraded

An important City of Redmond stormwater project succeeded in being placed on the preliminary offer list recently distributed by Washington State’s Department of Ecology (DOE) Stormwater Management Implementation Grants Program. This list makes Redmond highly eligible for $1 million in grant funds that would go towards the design and permitting of the Redmond Way Storm Trunk and Water Quality Facility project, the third of five water quality facilities the City is planning to install in downtown Redmond to treat all stormwater runoff prior to its discharge into the Sammamish River.

This upgraded stormwater trunk will collect all the runoff from two densely developed and heavily traveled downtown watershed areas, preventing an estimated four tons of pollutants from reaching the Sammamish River each year.

According to Redmond’s Mayor Rosemarie Ives, “Making it onto the Ecology Department’s offer list is an important accomplishment and positions Redmond for the final stages of grant confirmation. Redmond is very committed to improving the environment and this achievement recognizes the value and priority of our efforts to date and plans for the future.”

In 2007, the Washington State Legislature appropriated $17.92 million for the DOE to develop the Stormwater Management Implementation Grants Program, which issues and manages grants to local governments in the Puget Sound. Sixty-four applications were received from Puget Sound communities, requesting a total of over $35 million. Pending public comment on the draft offer and applicant list through January 8, 2008, DOE will publish the final offer and applicant list in late January.

For more information regarding Ecology’s Stormwater Management Implementation Grants Program, visit www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/SWMgmtImplementationGrants.htm.

For more information on the City's website, view City’s Regional Stormwater Facility Plan or contact Stephen Hitch, Stormwater Engineer, at 425-556-2891 or shitch@redmond.gov.

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