Baltimore sewage plants get grants for upgrading

On Wednesday, the Board of Public Works approved $15 million in grants to Baltimore City for the upgrading of two major sewage treatment plants that will cut nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay by 4 million pounds a year, more than halfway to a state goal for reducing nutrients.

“Today is a report card on where we are” under the Bay Restoration Program, said Gov. Robert Ehrlich. The grants are financed by the so-called flush tax on sewage use and septic systems, which has raised $76 million to improve 66 plants in Maryland.