Under its role in the Urban Water Federal Partnership, NOAA partnered with the City of Wilmington and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, providing technical grant writing support to the City (grant recipient) to obtain the grant. NOAA continues to provide technical support in assessing and addressing contaminant data from the brownfield sites and the Brandywine River, developing urban river restoration components, and performing public outreach and communication.

The community continues to call for the Brandywine River to be the focus of the redevelopment for community social and recreational benefit and as the basis to attract economic investments. The draft plans have incorporated on-going transportation projects into the designs (Department of Transportation is now a partner), housing and retail market analysis (including ecotourism and passive recreation jobs), and community connectivity. Also incorporated are environmental restoration projects such as dam removals for migratory fish, living shorelines, freshwater mussel restoration, wetlands, and green infrastructure to address climate related impacts including combined sewer overflows into the Brandywine River.

This project highlights NOAA's role in the Urban Water Federal Partnership to identify and move opportunities forward where urban environmental cleanup and natural resource restoration projects can be integrated with economic development projects that address long standing environmental justice areas.  The effort includes includes many agencies traditionally not associated with "river restoration" such as U.S. Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Department of Commerce Economic Development Agency in order to bring coordinated federal resources to these areas in need.   

For further information, contact Simeon.Hahn@noaa.gov.

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