State Agency Cancels Grant for Hercules Project

The California Natural Resources Agency rescinded a $1.8 million grant for the Hercules restoration project, the Contra Costa Times reported Thursday.

The agency canceled the grant after State Controller John Chiang’s of Hercules’ bookkeeping and management of state money, the Times reported.

"In light of the recent audit by the state, we are exercising our option to terminate the grant," agency spokeswoman Clark Blanchard told the Times. The grant money, which was to go toward restoring wetlands near the San Pablo Bay, had not been spent.

"The rescinded grant was intended for the restoration of the Chelsea Wetlands, which in the big picture, is expendable in the short-term," wrote Jeffrey Wisniewski, on his Waterfront Watch blog. "What is much more disconcerting however is if this action will lead to a potential loss of grants for the long-planned-for and recently-rescued Intermodal Transit Center project," he said.