Michigan Volunteer River, Stream and Creek Cleanup Program

2008 Stream Cleanup Grants Awarded

Fourteen organizations have been selected to receive 2008 Volunteer River, Stream and Creek Cleanup grants totaling $27,014 to be awarded by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Michigan's Volunteer River, Stream, and Creek Cleanup Program (VRSCCP) provides small grants in the range of $500 to $5,000 to local units of government to help implement cleanup of trash and debris within or along the banks of rivers, streams, and creeks to improve the waters in Michigan. Grant applications were received, reviewed and assessed by Great Lakes Commission and DEQ; award notices went out to grantees in spring 2008.

Funding for the VRSCCP is provided by DEQ through fees collected from the sale of the State's Water Quality Protection license plates (Public Act 74 of 2000). The Great Lakes Commission administers the VRSCCP on behalf of the DEQ.

Groups selected to receive funding in 2008:

• Holton Township - Cedar Creek Cleanup Project, $1,250

  To clean trash and other debris along a one-mile stretch of Cedar Creek near the village of Holton in Holton Township.
  
  

• City of Detroit General Services Department - 2008 Rouge Park River Cleanup, $2,385

  To remove debris in and along the banks of the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Rouge Park area.
  
  
• Grand Traverse Conservation District - 4th Annual Boardman River Clean Sweep-2008, $1,005
  To remove trash along all navigable segments of the Boardman River, totaling approximately 20 miles.
  
  

• Village of Dimondale - Mill Stream Cleanup, $1,415

  To remove litter, debris and the remains of an old grist mill from a mill stream connected to the Grand River.
  
  
• Ingham Conservation District - Red Cedar Cleanup, $2,269
  Two clean a two-mile section of river from the Harrison Road Bridge on the campus of Michigan State University to approximately 200 yards east of the Hagadorn Rd Bridge.
  
  
• Dearborn Heights Watershed Stewards Commission - 2008 Rouge River Creek Clean-up, $2,585
  To remove trash and debris in and along the Rouge River within the City of Dearborn Heights.
  
  
• Sweetwater Township - Pere Marquette River Clean-Up, $900
  To collect garbage and trash from approximately 22 miles of the Pere Marquette River.
  
  
• St. Joseph County Conservation District - River Country Stream Cleanup, $2,720
  To remove trash and debris along a combined 25 miles of waterway on the Rocky, Fawn, and Pigeon rivers, and the Nottawa Creek.
  
  
• Barry Conservation District - 13th Thornapple River Clean-up, $2,625
  To remove trash from 80 river miles and increase bank clean-up effort to cover public areas in three cities and villages along the Thornapple River.
  
  
• Missaukee Conservation District - Missaukee/Muskegon River Cleanup, $1,110
  To clean up two sections of the Muskegon River by removing trash and debris.
  
  
• City of Monroe Commission on the Environment - River Raisin Cleanup, $2,000
  To clean up approximately two miles of the River Raisin in the Monroe area.
  
  
• Northeast Michigan Council of Governments - 2008 Big Splash Clean Up, $1,000
  To clean up six river miles on the Sturgeon and Indian rivers.
  
  
• Shiawassee County Health Department - 11th Annual Shiawassee River Cleanup, $2,140
  To remove trash and debris from the Shiawassee River on eight miles of stream.
  
  
• Hamburg Township - 3rd Annual Hamburg Township Huron River Cleanup Day, $3,610
  To remove trash, garbage and debris in a three-mile section of the Huron River.