To improve our communities and the environment, it takes each of us to do our part! Today, we look at the impact of residents of Prince George’s County, Maryland, who are doing their part to keep their communities clean, healthy, and beautiful.
Since 2012, County residents have had the opportunity to receive a rebate, or reimbursement, for installing practices that reduce stormwater runoff, reduce pollution, and improve local river health through the County’s Rain Check Rebate Program. The practices include rain barrels, cisterns, urban tree canopy, rain gardens, pavement removal, permeable pavement, and green roofs. These practices beautify the property and have additional benefits, such as:
- installing rain barrels and cisterns reduces water use from the tap and reduces watering costs
- planting native plants provide food and habitat for important bird and pollinator species
- planting native trees cleans our air and provides shade, as well as food and habitat for birds and pollinators
- removing pavement and replacing it with permeable pavement can reduce standing water on the walkway or driveway
Fiscal Year 2023 By The Numbers
The Prince George’s County Department of the Environment partners with the Chesapeake Bay Trust to administer this program. We are excited to announce that Fiscal Year 2023 (July 2022 to June 2023) for the Rain Check Rebate Program was another successful year with 181 approved applications, representing 571 projects, for a total rebate amount of $269,155. These projects help treat 150,309 square feet of impervious surface, a little over the size of two and a half football fields!
The projects installed through the Rain Check Rebate Program play an important role in keeping our communities and local waterways clean and healthy by tackling the issue of stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff occurs when rainwater flows across impervious surfaces such as roofs, parking lots, and roads, that do not allow the water to soak into the ground. As it flows across these surfaces, it can pick up harmful pollutants such as bacteria from pet waste and motor oil from cars. This polluted runoff makes its way into nearby rivers and is harmful to aquatic life and can be a health hazard for people. Fast-moving and high volumes of stormwater runoff can also cause erosion of riverbanks.
Since the program’s inception, we’ve had 1,212 approved applications, representing over 2,700 projects, for a total rebate amount of over $1.25 million!
Thank you to everyone that has participated in the Rain Check Rebate Program throughout the years! Your efforts help keep Prince George’s County beautiful and healthy!
The Prince George’s County Rain Check Rebate Program is currently open and accepting applications on a rolling basis.
To improve our communities and the environment, it will take each of us to do our part! Today, we look at the impact of residents of Prince George’s County, Maryland, who are doing their part to keep their communities clean, healthy, and beautiful.
On August 17, 2021, the Chesapeake Bay Trust welcomed the newest cohort of 
The Chesapeake Bay Trust (Trust) has awarded over $130 million through more than 14,000 awards to ensure cleaner, greener, healthier Chesapeake, Coastal Bays, and Youghiogheny watersheds since 1985. The Trust has a rigorous grant review process: every proposal submitted over $5,000 is sent to members of a Technical Review Committee (TRC) and is reviewed and scored quantitatively by at least three external individuals who are experts in their fields. The Board of Trustees meets 4 times per year to review and approve all TRC recommended proposals. Proposals for $5,000 or less are reviewed by two or more technical experts on the Chesapeake Bay Trust program team. The award list will be updated after each board meeting. Reach out to the designated program officer for more details.
In 2015, the 
This project focused on working with Latino community members predominantly from the Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative (TNI) designated area of Langley Park. The TNI is a county effort that aims at uplifting neighborhoods with significant needs. Chispa began by consulting with several Latino community leaders, Prince George’s County agencies, and other Latino-serving organizations to develop a curriculum and delivery plan that best served the needs of the community. The resulting curriculum comprised of both in-class and hands-on learning experiences. The in-class learning consisted of an introduction to the 
The outdoor active learning sessions were designed to allow participants to experience firsthand and put into practice some of the concepts covered during the in-class session. A partnership with 
The Trust recently also welcomed Emma Cwalinski (pictured left), the summer programmatic intern who will be working as part of the Rain Check Rebate team. Emma is currently majoring in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), where she is entering into her junior year. Beyond her position as an intern for the Trust, Emma utilizes her passion for the environment as her sorority’s Sustainability Chair and as a Sustainable Transportation Assistant for 
