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The project will utilize innovative nutrient reduction practices and technologies in the Upper Big Walnut Creek Watershed (UBWC) to help avoid, trap, and control nutrients from agricultural operations. Nutrients from cropland runoff and agricultural drainage systems that enter waterways can degrade drinking water quality in the Hoover Reservoir and prevent streams from attaining water quality standards.
A diverse collaboration of project partners is comprised of governmental and private sector conservationists and include the Delaware Soil and Water Conservation (SWCD), District, Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District, Iowa Soybean Association, Environmental Defense Fund, Ohio Farm Service Agency, Ohio Natural Resources Conservation Service, and USDA-Agriculture Research Service, Soil Drainage Research Unit as well as local farmers in the watersheds.
Project work will focus on two subwatersheds within the Upper Big Walnut Creek watershed, including the mainstem and headwaters of Upper Big Walnut Creek in Morrow, Knox and Delaware counties and Big Walnut Creek below Little Walnut Creek to Hoover Reservoir in Delaware County.
The Upper Big Walnut Creek (UBWC) watershed drains 190 square miles of predominately agricultural land across parts of five central Ohio counties. The watershed is comprised of perennial and intermittent streams that drain into Hoover Reservoir, which serves as a drinking water supply for approximately 800,000 residents in the capital city of Columbus and surrounding communities. The UBWC was identified as a priority impaired watershed by Ohio EPA (OEPA) and is included on the state’s 303(d) list (waterbodies that do not meet an established water quality standard). The majority of headwater streams in the watershed are impaired by nutrient enrichment, siltation from sediment, and habitat degradation stemming from current agricultural management practices (Ohio EPA 2003, 2004).
The objective of this MRBI-CCPI project is to leverage existing planning and studies that partners have undertaken in the UBWC and move toward implementation and engagement with landowners and producers. The UBWC Watershed Project Office, based at the Delaware County SWCD, will serve as the Project Director/Manager for the project.
Engagement with producers will be accomplished through targeted outreach and quality technical assistance to generate higher levels of key conservation practice implementation in the two target subwatersheds. The outreach and technical assistance will also aim to involve farmers in a nutrient efficiency network called the On-Farm Network®, which advances an adaptive management approach to nutrient management that delivers a higher level of farmer engagement, more sustained improvements in nutrient use efficiency, and increased accountability and validation of impact.
Partners will work with producers to promote and install, in key locations, conservation practices and agronomic best management practices identified by watershed partners and assessments as being most effective in delivering water quality benefits in these areas - primarily cover crops, reduced tillage and agriculture drainage water management. The project will also advance improved implementation of buffer practices (filter strips, grassed waterways, critical area plantings) offered through the USDA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. The overall objective of the project is to achieve meaningful and documentable water quality improvements in local streams that both supply drinking water to citizens and ultimately drain into the Mississippi River basin.
To date, most of the work in the UBWC has focused on gathering information and formulating plans, and partners are now developing a strong best management practice implementation program aimed specifically at producers in the watershed that this project will support. The extensive research and work already underway in the watershed, the UBWC Watershed Project Coordinator Grant, and the strong interest Columbus has in protecting and improving the Hoover Reservoir has made the UBWC an ideal location for partners to promote greater adoption of conservation in strategic locations to address identified water quality problems.
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 July 2010 13:32 |
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USDA Announces Projects to Protect Natural Resources in the Mississippi River Basin - Two Ohio Projects Approved
Contact: Mike Laughrey, 614-255-2528
COLUMBUS, June 16, 2010 - USDA announced the selection of 76 projects in 12 States that will help landowners and producers within the Mississippi River Basin voluntarily implement conservation and management practices that prevent, control, and trap nutrient runoff from agricultural land.
"USDA is working aggressively to improve the health of the Mississippi River Basin," said USDA Secretary Vilsack. "The funding announced today will help producers implement a system of conservation practices that will control soil erosion, improve soil quality, and provide wildlife habitat."
Under the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI), USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide technical assistance and a total of $30 million of financial assistance during federal fiscal year 2010 for projects in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
More than $22 million in Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) funds will be administered through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). Nearly $8 million will be provided in Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP) funds. Partner organizations will contribute additional financial resources. These multiyear watershed projects were selected through a competitive process. A listing of the projects by state, and additional information about the MRBI, are available at: www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/mrbi/mrbi_overview.html.
Two Ohio projects were approved for funding, the Upper Big Walnut Watershed and Upper Wabash River Watershed. The Delaware SWCD will receive approximately $1.3 million over 4 years to improve the water quality of the Upper Big Walnut Creek which drains into the Hoover Reservoir, the largest drinking water source for the City of Columbus. The Mercer SWCD will receive $1.5 million to implement practices in the Upper Wabash River Watershed which will avoid, control, and trap nutrient runoff and restore and enhance wildlife habitat. The funding will allow producers to improve their water quality while they maintain agricultural productivity.
The MRBI will help NRCS and its partners expand their capacity to improve water quality throughout the basin. CCPI will use a conservation systems approach to manage nitrogen and phosphorous, which will minimize runoff and reduce downstream nutrient loading. WREP will encourage strategic placement of wetland restoration projects.
NRCS is celebrating 75 years of helping people help the land in 2010. Since 1935, the NRCS conservation delivery system has advanced a unique partnership with State and local governments and private landowners delivering conservation based on specific, local conservation needs, while accommodating State and national interests.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202-720-6382 (TDD). |
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The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Act authorizes the Secretary of Interior to provide direct technical and financial assistance to private landowners interested in restoring, enhancing, and managing fish and wildlife habitats on their own lands. This announcement is not a solicitation for grant proposals. It is a goal of the program to secure at least 50 percent of project costs from non-Service sources, but this goal applies to the national program as a whole, and does not have to be achieved on a project-by-project basis. Funding above $25,000 for an individual project must be approved at the Washington Office level. If you are interested in pursuing a project under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program you must contact your local coordinator. A listing of coordinators by state is available at http://www.fws.gov/partners/
For more information about this opportunity see this announcement from Grants.gov
DOI
Department of the Interior
Fish and Wildlife Service
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Grant http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=50991 |
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 July 2010 13:33 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 23, 2009
EPA Issues Rule to Reduce Water Pollution from Construction Sites
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued a final rule to help reduce water pollution from construction sites. The agency believes this rule, which takes effect in February 2010 and will be phased in over four years, will significantly improve the quality of water nationwide.
Construction activities like clearing, excavating and grading significantly disturb soil and sediment. If that soil is not managed properly it can easily be washed off of the construction site during storms and pollute nearby water bodies.
The final rule requires construction site owners and operators that disturb one or more acres to use best management practices to ensure that soil disturbed during construction activity does not pollute nearby water bodies.
In addition, owners and operators of sites that impact 10 or more acres of land at one time will be required to monitor discharges and ensure they comply with specific limits on discharges to minimize the impact on nearby water bodies. This is the first time that EPA has imposed national monitoring requirements and enforceable numeric limitations on construction site stormwater discharges.
Soil and sediment runoff is one of the leading causes of water quality problems nationwide. Soil runoff from construction has also reduced the depth of small streams, lakes and reservoirs, leading to the need for dredging.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/construction |
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OHIO WATERSHEDS INCLUDED IN MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN INITIATIVE
(The Upper Big Walnut Creek Watershed is included in the greater Upper Scioto selection)
Initiative Will Provide Approximately $320 Million in USDA Assistance In Basin Area
Contact: Christina Coulon, 614-255-2471
COLUMBUS, Dec. 1, 2009 The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Terry Cosby announced that three Ohio watersheds have been selected to participate in a new initiative to improve water quality and the overall health of the Mississippi River Basin, including the Upper Scioto Watershed, the Upper Great Miami Watershed, and the Upper Wabash Watershed (shared with Indiana). A total of 41 watersheds in 12 States are included in the initiative, covering over 42 million acres, or more than 5 percent of the Basin's land area.
The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI), which was announced on September 24, 2009, will provide approximately $320 million in USDA financial assistance over the next four years for voluntary projects in priority watersheds in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. MRBI will help producers implement conservation and management practices that prevent, control, and trap nutrient runoff from agricultural land.
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) manages the initiative. NRCS State Conservationists from the 12 watershed States selected the watersheds with guidance from State Technical Committees and State water quality agencies. Selections were based on the potential for managing nitrogen and phosphorus -- nutrients associated with water quality problems in the Basin -- while maintaining agricultural productivity and benefiting wildlife.
Next, smaller watershed projects will be selected through a competitive process under NRCS's Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI). NRCS assistance will be leveraged with contributions from partners, expanding the capacity available to improve water quality throughout the Basin.
Three requests for project proposals will be announced in the next several weeks, including one for CCPI. Funding for CCPI projects will come from NRCS's Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.
Two other requests for proposals will fund projects through the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program and Conservation Innovation Grants. For information about these programs, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs.
For information about the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative, please visit the MRBI web page at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/mrbi/mrbi_overview.html or your USDA Service Center.
USDA Commits $320 Million to Mississippi River Basin Cleanup
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2009-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new initiative to improve water quality and the overall health of the Mississippi River Basin in taped remarks to the Gulf Hypoxia Task Force Meeting in Des Moines, Iowa. The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) will provide approximately $320 million over the next four years for voluntary projects in priority watersheds located in 12 key states. Participation in this initiative, which will be managed by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), will be made available through a competitive process for potential partners at the local, State and national levels. For full details click here |
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 July 2010 13:01 |
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Copyright © 2010 Upper Big Walnut Creek Watershed Project. All Rights Reserved.
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