A grant of $975,000 has been awarded to Benton Harbor for the cleanup of Ox Creek. This latest piece of funding comes from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through its Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grant for Underserved Communities program. The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission has received it on the city’s behalf and will use it to hire an administrator to manage an effort to revitalize the area surrounding Ox Creek. The new project administrator will help build a coalition of residents, conduct community outreach, develop a habitat restoration plan with public input, and implement two pilot habitat restoration projects. This is just the latest infusion of cash for the cleanup of Ox Creek, with a $3 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant previously announced.
