Baltimore’s Middle Branch receives $47.7M in grants for wetlands project to kick off larger redevelopment

Baltimore-area leaders on Friday unveiled grants totaling $47.7 million to help build a series of wetlands in the Middle Branch waterways as the first part of a massive overhaul that has the potential to remake South Baltimore’s shoreline. The Middle Branch Resiliency initiative includes $32 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to help build natural bulkheads in the Patapsco River to help prevent flooding as water levels rise due to climate change. The FEMA grant is part of a $1 billion federal infrastructure law passed this year by Congress. “The funds are another example of the work we are doing to protect the Chesapeake Bay and make our communities more resilient to the effects of climate change,” said U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, in a statement.