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EPA says Western Lake Erie Basin grants will build capacity

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced nearly $4 million will support farmer water quality efforts in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

Great Lakes Program Office Director Teresa Seidel tells Brownfield awarded projects are in response to feedback from the agricultural industry and farmers.

“What we heard loud and clear was capacity, folks really needed an opportunity to have more people on the ground to assist farmers to make good decisions on nutrient management, how they get their phosphorus on the ground, and how they manage it so that we’re not having phosphorus loss,” she shares.

She says the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Nature Conservancy, Lenawee County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Regents of the University of Michigan will carry out targeted work in the region through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

“The beauty is it sort of fills all the niches that are missing for the farmers, so nutrient management, development, education and research, and gaps that are happening out there, best management practices on the ground,” she explains.

Funding will support four conservation agronomists within Ohio’s Maumee River watershed as part of the H2Ohio program, a farmer-led network of conservation advocates across Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, technical training and engagement materials, two Lenawee County Soil and Water Conservation District staff members, and web-based tools to track nutrient management plans through five conservation districts in Michigan.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has received nearly $5 billion over the past 15 years since its creation, along with $800 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Brownfield interviewed Seidel during this week’s State of the Western Lake Erie Basin Conference in Michigan.