WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary
Tom Vilsack today announced $26 million in Conservation Innovation Grants awarded
by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to entities across the
nation for projects that test and prove innovative approaches to conserving
America's private lands. Grant recipients will pay 50 percent of all project
costs.
"We're announcing 59 grants today in 47 states
that will help some of America's top agricultural and conservation
institutions, foundations and businesses develop unique approaches to enhancing
and protecting natural resources on agricultural lands," Vilsack said.
"The grants will help spur creativity and problem-solving to benefit
conservation-minded farmers and ranchers. Everyone who relies on our nation's
natural resources for clean water, food and fiber, for their way of life, will
benefit from these grants."
Twelve
of the awarded grants are for development of water quality
trading markets to demonstrate how farmers and ranchers can help
municipalities, utilities and others overcome high pollution control costs.
"We believe there are states around the nation
that are on the cusp of having thriving water quality trading markets,"
Vilsack said. "These grant awards will help develop projects that create
new revenue streams for farmers and ranchers while they are helping to improve
water quality."
This is the first time USDA's Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) has offered a separate request for proposals that
specified support for water quality trading markets. In a water quality trading
program, point sources buy environmental benefits or "credits" from
landowners who install specific conservation practices.
Water quality trading is a market-based approach
that enables facilities to achieve needed pollution controls through the
purchase of credits for a particular pollutant. Farmers can produce water
quality credits by implementing conservation practices that reduce nutrients or
sediment losses, and generally at a much lower cost than a municipal treatment
facility. The goal is to achieve water quality improvements more
cost-effectively by bringing together participating buyers and sellers.
In early August, one of the grant awardees, the
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), announced the signing of the first
interstate water quality trading compact in the U.S. The states of Indiana,
Kentucky and Ohio signed onto a plan to launch interstate water quality pilot
trades in the Ohio River Basin in 2012. The grant award will help EPRI develop
the trading registry to operate the Ohio River Basin program.
Another grantee, the Willamette Partnership, has
successfully facilitated trades of water temperature credits to improve salmon
habitat in Oregon. This award will help the partnership develop a multistate agreement
and rules for trading water quality and temperature credits in Oregon,
Washington and Idaho.
In the Chesapeake Bay, five awardees will be
facilitating and building infrastructure for water quality trading markets: the
Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Inc.; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Borough of
Chambersburg; Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Conservation &
Recreation; and Maryland Department of Agriculture. NRCS will work with the
grantees to form a water quality trading network, a forum to share ideas,
coordinate program development and evaluate program components.
NRCS administers CIG as part of the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Grants are awarded to state and local
governments, federally recognized Indian tribes, non-governmental organizations
and individuals. NRCS uses CIG to invest in innovative, on-the-ground
conservation technologies and approaches with the goal of wide-scale adoption
to address water quality and quantity, air quality, energy conservation and
environmental markets, among other natural resource issues.
For a complete list of CIG awardees click: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1048723.pdf
For more information about NRCS conservation
programs online, visit: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov.
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