Tom Rider, president of the Poplar River Management Board (PRMB) sent out a note to the members of his board and a list of interested parties on Tuesday, September 7, announcing that a grant for erosion-control projects within the Poplar River watershed had been received from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). According to Gary Overmier of the GLRI, Cook County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) will receive $687,034 for the Poplar River.
TheSWCD and PRMB had identified a number of projects when the two entities sought another Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant earlier this year. That grant request, for $1,000,000 was denied in June, but SWCD staff and the PRMB reapplied and this time were successful. The grant is one of nine grants totaling $4.3 million that are to be used to reduce sediment pollution in “priority watersheds.”
Projects that SWCD and PRMB would like to see completed are construction of a “tightline” that would collect stormwater to dissipate its energy before it enters the Poplar River; armoring of ditches and constructing rock check dams on roads; construction of stormwater controls on the “flow path” near Caribou Highlands; and stream bank restoration.
Rider said the projects to be funded should reduce sediment delivery to the Poplar River by over 300 tons per year. “A significant reduction,” said Rider, “that, combined with past work will move us well along the road to meeting water quality standards.”
“This award resulted from the steady, purposeful, and productive partnership among the SWCD, MPCA [Minnesota Pollution Control Agency], and the PRMB,” said Rider. “Thanks to all who contributed to this outstanding result, especially Cindy Gentz and the staff and board of SWCD; Curt Sparks, PRMB engineer; and Karen Evens, MPCA.”
Thegrant was awarded to the Cook County Soil & Water Conservation District, which will administer the grant. PRMB will work with SWCD and other stakeholders to finalize engineering plans and coordinate bidding and construction.
Funding for the grants is provided by the Great Lakes Commission and the National Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). NRCS is a division of the US Department of Agriculture. The Great Lakes Commission is an interstate agency established under state and U.S. federal law dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents.
“Every year, millions of tons of sediments from soil erosion enter the Great Lakes basin, causing significant economic and environmental losses and damages in Lake Erie and basin wide,” said Sean Logan, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Great Lakes Commissioner. “This program strategically addresses this problem with a unique, targeted grass-roots approach, which awards grants to nonfederal agencies and nonprofit organizations in priority sedimentproducing watersheds throughout the Great Lakes region to implement sediment control practices in cooperation with local entities and landowners.”
Leave a Reply