Van Hollen, Cardin Secure Over $9.5 Million in Direct Investments for Eastern Shore Community Projects in FY2022 Funding Bill

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) announced that over $9.5 million in direct federal funding for local projects across the Eastern Shore region was included within the fiscal year 2022 omnibus funding legislation, which the Senators voted to pass Thursday evening. The projects encompass a wide array of local and regional priorities, ranging from infrastructure improvements to economic development to supporting local schools and universities. Overall, the Senators secured over $104 million in federal dollars directly for Maryland in the omnibus. The bill now goes to President Biden to be signed into law. 

“Bringing direct federal investments to our communities helps spur opportunity, create jobs, and grow our economy. Working together with local leaders across the Eastern Shore, we have identified these projects that will strengthen our communities by driving job growth, modernizing our infrastructure, improving public safety, bolstering educational and small business resources, and more,” said Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “We look forward to getting these funds across the finish line and delivering these investments to the Eastern Shore.”

“We have worked with local officials and organizations across the Eastern Shore to identify the projects that could benefit from a strong federal partner. Congressionally Directed Spending is one of the best tools to maximize how we use taxpayer dollars in the places it can make a real difference for Maryland and the region,” said Senator Cardin.

Funding secured by the Senators includes:

• Nearly $4 million for infrastructure & economic development projects, including for Cecil County’s Belvidere Road expansion, the Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional Airport runway extension, Cecil County’s New Wastewater Infrastructure, The Good Stuff Packing House to support food entrepreneurs, and Cambridge Historic West End sewer line replacements
• $1.3 million for educational initiatives, including Caroline County Public School’s development of the Greensboro Judy Center Early Learning Hub Facility, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Interdisciplinary Research Center, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Historical Digitalization Project
• Over $4 million to support our communities’ health care through the Choptank Community Health's Federalsburg Health Center and Ashley Addiction Treatment’s Mental Health Initiative in Cecil County
• Nearly $300,000 for the Chesapeake Bay and the environment, including for surveying the Pocomoke River’s federally authorized navigation channel for future dredging, expanding the Nature Conservancy’s Supporting Aquaculture and Restoration (SOAR) in Maryland initiative, and equipment and research at the NCCOS Cooperative Oxford Laboratory
• $116,000 for public safety through the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office Body Worn Camera System

INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Project Name: Cecil County Belvidere Road Expansion
Project location: Cecil County, MD
Applicant: Cecil County Government
Amount received: $500,000
Description: Funds will be used for planning and engineering of the expansion of Belvidere Road as part of the approved new Interstate 95 interchange, improving local traffic and commuting.

Project Name: Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional Airport Runway Extension
Project location: Wicomico County, MD
Applicant: Wicomico County
Amount received: $500,000
Description: Funds will be used to extend a runway and taxiway to meet the needs of the local air carrier, secure air service and airline jobs in the region, and support future demand and growth of the airport. The FAA has approved the runway extension on the Airport Layout Plan.

Project Name: Cecil County New Wastewater Infrastructure
Project location: Cecil County, MD
Applicant: Cecil County
Amount received: $1,000,000
Description: Funds will be used for Phase II of the Route 40 West Sanitary Sewer Subdistrict, which includes installation of a sanitary sewer collection line. This will help connect existing homes and businesses with failing on-site septic systems to the County sewer system and promote economic development within a County-designated growth area.

Project Name: 411 Kitchen
Project location: Cambridge, Maryland
Applicant: Cross Street Partners
Amount received: $1,400,000
Description: Funding will finish the physical build out of the 411 Kitchen project and purchase equipment necessary for a fully functioning commercial kitchen. The 411 Kitchen will be a shared-use commercial kitchen designed to empower, elevate and establish a thriving food entrepreneur community in Cambridge and the greater Mid-shore Region.

Project Name: Cambridge Historic West End Sewer Line Replacements
Project location: Cambridge, Maryland
Applicant: The City of Cambridge, Maryland
Amount received: $504,000
Description: Funding will allow the City of Cambridge to replace its 100-year-old sewer lines on Willis Street.

EDUCATION

Project Name: Greensboro Judy Center Early Learning Hub Facility
Project location: Greensboro, MD
Applicant: Caroline County Public Schools
Amount received: $500,000
Description: Funds will be used to complete the development of the Greensboro Judy Center Early Learning Hub on the Greensboro Elementary School campus in order to provide full-day/full-year quality child care and services for parents in the community.

Project Name: Establishment of an Interdisciplinary Research Center at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Project location: Princess Anne, Maryland
Applicant: The University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Amount received: $350,000
Description: The new center will support the research and learning environment for the Historically Black College and University faculty and graduate students in an effort to increase the graduation rates of graduate students and lead to increased research productivity and maintenance of the Carnegie Classification (High Research Activity

Project Name: University of Maryland Eastern Shore Historical Digitalization Project
Project location: Princess Anne, Maryland
Applicant: University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Amount received: $500,000
Description: These funds will be used to digitize historical documents that pertain to the State of Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to make these educational resources more accessible to Marylanders and the academic community.

HEALTH CARE

Project Name: Federalsburg Health Center Construction for Choptank Community Health System
Project location: Federalsburg, Maryland
Applicant: Choptank Community Health System
Amount received: $2,889,000
Description: The new health center will better support the medically underserved residents of Caroline County. The facility will host training and classroom space for Choptank Community Health System’s Rural Residency Program and Teaching Health Center Development.

Project Name: Cecil County Mental Health Initiative, Ashley Addiction Treatment
Project location: Cecil County, Maryland
Applicant: Ashley Addiction Treatment
Amount received: $1,150,000
Description: Funding will increase access to mental health services for patients in need by filling mental health staffing shortages in Cecil County.

CHESAPEAKE BAY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Project Name: Pocomoke River, Maryland
Project location: Somerset County, Maryland
Applicant: Army Corps of Engineers
Amount received: $8,000
Description: The funding will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to survey the Pocomoke River’s federally authorized navigation channel that was last dredged nearly 20 years ago and serves heavy industry, commercial fishermen and recreational boaters, to provide a definitive cost estimate for future dredging efforts.

Project Name: Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration (SOAR) in Maryland
Project location: Maryland
Applicant: The Nature Conservancy
Amount received: $150,000
Description: Expansion of this program will support oyster growers by purchasing mature oysters and using them in local oyster rehabilitation projects. This will help replace the commercial oyster market that was significantly reduced as a result of the COVID-19 related closure of restaurants.

Project Name: NCCOS Cooperative Oxford Laboratory Equipment and Research Funding
Project location: Oxford, Maryland
Applicant: NCCOS Cooperative Oxford Laboratory
Amount received: $120,000
Description: Funds will support the purchase of equipment and better support research regarding the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay and the health of aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic Coast.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Project Name: Wicomico County Body Worn Camera System
Project location: Salisbury, MD
Applicant: Wicomico County
Amount received: $116,000
Description: Funds will be used to deploy Body Worn Cameras to all sworn deputies of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office