The fund will invest $1m in restoration activities in 2012, with a total goal of investing $5m over the next three years.
The federal assistance, which will award grants to local partnering organizations, will be used protect and restore the Anacostia River and to create a national model for watershed conservation.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said clean waters and outdoor recreation can boost urban communities’ human, environmental and economic health.
The District of Columbia Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton said the funding comes at a critical time, with the US Army Corps of Engineers, the District and Maryland in the early stages of implementation of the 10-year Anacostia River cleanup plan mandated by my bill, the Anacostia Watershed Initiative Act.
"These funds will move the District forward with the message that the city is serious about cleaning up the Anacostia River," Norton said.
Specific grant selection criteria will be mutually agreed upon by NFWF, EPA, DDOE and other funding partners.
The Anacostia River is one of seven pilot locations as part of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, an innovative union of 11 federal agencies, led by EPA, that focus on both natural resources and economic development and aims to use environmental restoration to protect people’s health and maximize economic growth.
