Tag Archives: Blue-Green Algae

$16 million in USDA funding to benefit Lake Champlain

USDA funding for Lake Champlain

Vermont and New York will receive $16 million in funding to benefit Lake Champlain for a new project through the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which brings together partners to improve water quality and promote a sustainable working landscape. The project is one of many high-impact projects across the country to receive more than $370 million in this new effort.

 

$16 million in USDA funding to benefit Lake Champlain

 

The USDA has approved 115 proposals in the initial funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which was authorized under farm legislation enacted by Congress last year. The projects selected for funding under the new initiative are designed to cut down on fertilizer runoff, expand bird nesting areas and restore native grasslands, and will encourage conservation partnerships between government and private organizations.

 “This is a new approach to conservation. We’re giving private companies, local communities and other non-government partners a way to invest in a new era in conservation that ultimately benefits us all.” ~ Tom Vilsack, U. S. Secretary of Agriculture.

$16 million in USDA funding to benefit Lake Champlain

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack with Vermont US Senator Patrick Leahy and Vermont Secretary of Agricluture Chuck Ross announcing $45 million in Lake Champlain cleanup funds August 28, 2014.
(Photo by Taylor Dobbs, VPR) 

The projects will share $340 million in federal funds, to be matched by $400 million from participating groups. Over five years, the USDA expects to spend $1.2 billion and raise at least that much from participating businesses, universities, nonprofits, local governments and Native American tribes.

The department solicited applications for funding of locally designed ventures designed to improve soil health and water quality while promoting efficient use of water and creating more wildlife habitat. Typically a project has eleven participating groups and agencies, but some have dozens. According to Vilsack, this will boost support at the community level.

“It’s the local folks who know the landscape. It’s the local folks who will be able to encourage landowners to participate. I learned as governor that if I went out and encouraged a farmer to create a buffer strip between their land and a river or stream, I might not be as successful as a neighboring farmer or someone from Pheasants Forever would be.” ~ Tom Vilsack

$16 million in funding to benefit Lake Champlain

40% of the federal money will go to multi-state and national projects, including $16 million to Vermont and New York for improve farming practices that benefit the Lake Champlain watershed and $10 million to help rice producers in six Southern and Midwestern states improve water and habitat stewardship.

 

$16 million in USDA funding to benefit Lake Champlain

Another 35% went to projects in “critical conservation areas,” including the Great Lakes region, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the California Bay Delta, prairie grasslands, the South’s Longleaf Pine Range and the Columbia, Mississippi and Colorado river basins. State-level projects received the remaining 25%.

USDA received more than 600 grant proposals. Groups that weren’t selected, may try again in the next round of funding.

USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) – Vermont

‘Lake Champlain’ is a new pictoral history of Lake Champlain compiled by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and a part of the Images of America series from Arcadia Press.

More Articles About Lake Champlain Ecology and  Algae:

‘The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep’ is a casebook and field guide to the world’s mysterious sea creatures offers insight into pop culture and scientific beliefs, as well as advice on how to investigate such phenomena firsthand.

Federal Funding for Lake Champlain

Federal Budget Includes Funding For Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain stands to benefit from the $1 trillion spending plan recently signed into law by President Obama.

Almost $4.4 million is targeted for water quality restoration and monitoring efforts on Lake Champlain; the funds will be administered by the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP). LCBP Director, Bill Howland, said the money could support about 100 projects around the lake. LCBP received only $1.4 million last year.

Federal Funding for Lake Champlain Cleanup

Runoff of manure used as fertilizer rain storms is one of the leading causes of phosphorus overload in Lake Champlain

One example of such a project might be hiring technicians to provide engineering plans that prevent manure runoff to farmers. The farmers could then apply for USDA money to help with implementing the plan. Last summer the USDA awarded Vermont $45 million to improve agricultural practices.

“It’s kind of a behind-the-scenes support program that really makes our dollars leverage a lot of other federal dollars,”  ~ Bill Howland, Director of the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

Howland said the money will help LCBP continue water quality and biological monitoring programs. This is the single largest expense -about $500,000 per year, according to Howland. Other uses of the money will include preventing the spread of invasive water chestnuts, inspecting boats for invasive species, planting winter rye to prevent topsoil erosion, and other water quality improvement efforts.

Vermont’s Senator Patrick Leahy supported the expansion of the EPA budget to administer the national water quality program. Leahy played a key role in the negotiation of the budget as the senior member on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“We have invested far too much and for far too long in the restoration and preservation of Lake Champlain to walk back on that commitment. With new federal requirements forcing Vermont, New York and all of our Lake partners to make difficult decisions about how to maintain our ‘Great Lake,’ this federal support will go a long way toward preserving one of Vermont’s greatest natural resources for generations to come.”  ~ U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

Leahy helped secure Federal Funding for Lake Champlain cleanup

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont

The EPA is requiring Vermont to reduce the amount of phosphorus loading into Lake Champlain through a plan that establishes a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of phosphorus. Vermont proposed a plan last summer, and is now pursuing funding sources to implement the plan.

In April, David Mears, Vermont’s Commissioner for Environmental Conservation, went to Washington, D.C., seeking federal funding for Lake Champlain. He described his efforts to find federal money as sobering when he returned to Vermont. Now, he said it looks like it has been a good year. Mears said, “We’re off to an awfully good start.”

According to Mears, Vermont applied for a $20 million Regional Conservation Partnership Program Grant, as authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The state has also applied for an AmeriCorps program to work on water quality issues in Vermont communities.

According to Leahy’s office, the state has also received $3.5 million from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to protect aquatic wildlife in Lake Champlain, about $450,000 from the State Department to monitor flooding along the lake, $300,000 from the National Park Service, and $4 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Aquatic Plant Control Program to control the spread of invasive water chestnuts in southern sections of the lake.

 

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Friends of Northern Lake Champlain Awarded CIG Grant

Friends of Northern Lake Champlain Wins $50,000 Grant

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) awarded the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain (FNLC) a Conservation Innovations Grant (CIG) to develop and monitor a phosphorous removal system at the end of a subsurface drain on a Franklin, VT farm. The $50,000 grant will be used to design, monitor and evaluate two treatment systems using two different phosphorous filtering media for the next two years. Phosphorous loads will be calculated before and after treatment.

 

Friends of Northern Lake Champlain Wins $50,000 Grant

 

NRCS developed a new interim practice called Phosphorus Removal System for subsurface drainage to treat water coming out of tile drains. New research conducted in the Midwest shows that between 60-96% of the water that falls on a tile-drained field discharges from the tiles and at present there is no treatment for that water.

“Subsurface drains, otherwise known as tile drains, are nothing new. Farmers have been installing tiles for centuries. We used to support this practice because it was effective in reducing soil wetness and increasing crop production. Most of the tiles drain into ditches or streams off the farm fields without any treatment… Although the water looks clean from tile drains, we now know that dissolved phosphorous is coming out of the end. This project will allow us to monitor the water from 2 tile drains before and after treatment, providing us with more information about the water quality from tiles and how to best remove phosphorus from that water.” ~ Kip Potter, Water Quality Specialist for VT NRCS.

These will be the first of these systems in Vermont. Research in other parts of the country has focused on bioreactors for nitrogen removal on subsurface drainage, but no one has developed a system for phosphorous removal. According to Potter, “We have already started studying the effectiveness of different media at removing phosphorous with a group of students from UVM and some locally sourced materials are showing promising results. It is important that the material we used can be recycled into a crop management system, so there is incentive to install these systems. Flow data has already been collected and the project is underway”.

The systems will be installed in early spring of 2015.

 

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Conservation Law Foundation Takes Vermont To Court Over Best Management Practices Ruling

Vermont’s Environmental Court will decide whether farmers will be required to adopt best management practices for water quality controls in an effort to reduce manure runoff in the Missisquoi Bay watershed.

Conservation Law Foundation Takes Vermont To Court Over Best Management Practices Ruling

Runoff from farms using manure as fertilizer is one of the biggest causes of blue-green algae blooms in Lake Champlain. The Conservation Law Foundation takes Vermont to Court to establish BMP’s and reduce phosphorus runoff

Last week the Conservation Law Foundation appealed the Vermont Agency of Agriculture’s November decision not to require farms to use best management practices to prevent manure from flowing into waterways. Earlier this year, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) petitioned the state to enforce the new federal regulations.

Chris Kilian, vice president and Vermont director of the Conservation Law Foundation, speaking at a symposium at the ECHO Center in Burlington said farmers need to do their part to help clean up the lake.

“The time has come for mandatory best management practices on agricultural operations in Missisquoi watershed. The condition of the lake is horrific. This past summer was among the worst ever. The condition of Lake Carmi, also in that basin, is beyond description: it’s terrible. And that pollution is coming from farms.” ~ Chris Kilian, vice president and Vermont director of the Conservation Law Foundation

 

Vermont’s Plan for Lake Champlain Cleanup

Chuck Ross, the Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, rejected CLF’s petition because he said it conflicts with a process underway to work with the EPA to improve the lake’s water quality. Ross said the state is still committed to this plan, but added that the state does not have enough financial resources to help farmers implement the new best management practices.

The Environmental Protection Agency has required Vermont to develop a plan to restore Lake Champlain’s water quality. The state presented its plan in May, and a final ruling from the EPA is expected next spring. Part of the Vermont plan calls for new regulations on agricultural operations to reduce nutrient runoff.

Manure runoff from farms is the leading cause of phosphorus pollution in Lake Champlain. Missisquoi and St. Albans bays were among the sections of the lake hardest hit by last summer’s toxic algae blooms. Vermont is increasing enforcement in Franklin County. The state recently fined one farmer for washing equipment in a nearby brook.

Conservation Law Foundation Takes Vermont To Court Over Best Management Practices Ruling

Conservation Law Foundation Takes Vermont To Court In Attempt To Establish Farming Best Management Practices (BMP’s).
BMP’s Can Help Control Phosphorus Loading into Lake Champlain Due to Manure Runoff

“It is clear… that the state, CLF and many other stakeholders share the same goal for Lake Champlain and the waters of the state,” ~ Chuck Ross, the Vermont Secretary of Agriculture

Many farmers support improving water quality, but afraid that new regulations could be too costly without state financial assistance. Currently, all farmers are required to follow accepted agricultural practices, or AAP’s. Best Management Practices are required to address water quality problems on the farms. The state’s plan would require that small farms file a certificate of compliance with the AAPs; this is currently required for medium and large farms. The plan also increases the size of vegetative buffers and livestock exclusion, along with other water quality improvement efforts.

Kilian argues that farming is a private, for-profit industry that must do its part to help clean up the pollution caused by agricultural practices.

“The Clean Water Act is very clear: best management practices are required. And they are not required with a public bailout for farmers. There is no need for more resources. This isn’t about money.” ~ Chris Kilian, vice president and Vermont director of the Conservation Law Foundation

The CLF’s Position on Lake Cleanup

The CLF petition requires farmers to plant cover crops, prevent livestock from entering streams, plant grassed waterways and use other techniques to keep nutrients on farms and out of the waterways. The petition would require enforcement of best practices in places identified as “critical source areas,” in which phosphorus loading in streams is greatest.

Vermont Environmental Conservation Commissioner David Mears, said the state agrees with much of what CLF is requesting, but has a different procedure in mind. “It’s good news for the state of Vermont that most of us agree that these are problems that need to be addressed,” he said. “The questions start to arise when we dig deeper into what authorities and what timelines.”

The CLF has also petitioned the DEC to require commercial, industrial and institutional property owners to get permits that limit the amount of stormwater pollution flowing from their properties. Vermont has twice asked for an extension to respond to the petition.

 

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EPA Head in VT to Discuss Lake Champlain Clean-up Plans

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in Vermont

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is in Vermont today to talk about plans for cleaning up Lake Champlain.

McCarthy, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is meeting Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and other officials to begin a ‘Call To Action’ meeting with representatives of other federal agencies. The group will develop action plans to reduce pollution and harmful algae blooms in Lake Champlain.

Blue Green Algae & Lake Champlain clean-up

EPA Assistance for Lake Champlain Clean-up

McCarthy is expected to offer technical assistance from the EPA to help the city of Burlington take a more “integrated approach to stormwater and wastewater” projects.

“EPA is committed to helping communities meet their requirements and goals for water projects that benefit public health, the environment, and the local economy, Integrated planning provides the important flexibility that cities and towns need to address water challenges in an efficient and effective manner.” ~ Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator

Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator & Lake Champlain clean-up

Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator

Integrated planning lets communities sequence projects so they can begin the highest priority  ones first. EPA technical assistance will help recipients meet Clean Water Act requirements for water management in a cost-effective and environmentally beneficial way. In the past, EPA, states and municipalities focused on meeting each Clean Water Act requirement separately, an approach that might have kept communities from addressing the most serious water issues first.

Burlington, Vermont Selected for EPA Program

Burlington was one of five communities selected from around the country to participate in the project. The award to Burlington was based on its proposal to evaluate the financial capability to fund an integrated stormwater and wastewater program; to develop criteria for prioritizing community wastewater and stormwater needs based on social, economic and environmental factors; to develop a list of example projects that rank highly based on these criteria; and to evaluate innovative methods for pollutant reduction.

After a meeting at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington, McCarthy is going to visit St. Albans Bay, which was particularly hard-struck by blue-green algae this past summer.

Read more info about the EPA technical assistance program.  

Further Reading:

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