USDA Seeks Project Proposals to Improve Water Quality in Mississippi River Basin

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2010 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking project proposals that will improve water quality and the overall health of the Mississippi River in 41 eligible watersheds in 12 states, including Arkansas.

The watersheds in Arkansas are Lake Conway-Point Remove, L’Anguille, Cache, Lower St. Francis, Bayou Macon, Boeuf River and Little River Ditches watersheds.

“USDA is committed to improving the overall water quality in the Mississippi River Basin and this initiative is a significant step toward achieving that goal,” Vilsack said. “We need the help of agricultural producers, organizations, Indian tribes, and state and local agencies to achieve maximum results from this initiative. 

The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative, through which up to $75 million will be available for partnership projects, was published in the Federal Register this week. Proposals are due by May 1. The RFP explains the procedures for potential partners to sign agreements with USDA for projects that meet with the initiative’s objectives.

“This initiative is designed to improve the health of the Mississippi River Basin by working with partners to help producers voluntarily implement conservation practices which can avoid, control, and trap nutrient run off,” said Mike Sullivan, Arkansas state conservationist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. “This is an excellent opportunity for conservation organizations to develop projects that can be implemented on the watershed level. This partnership approach allows diverse organizations to work together to address water quality issues.”

“The proposals should use a systems approach to achieve conservation goals,” Sullivan said.

 A systems approach addresses nutrient runoff from multiple perspectives: avoid excess application of nutrients on fields; control the amount of nutrient runoff from fields into the watershed; and trap nutrients before they leave the field.

“Once a project is funded, applications from landowners that achieve conservation goals through a systems approach will be given higher consideration in the ranking process,” Sullivan said.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will administer this initiative, first announced on September 24, 2009. Forty-one eligible watersheds or focus areas in the following 12 states—Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin—were selected to participate in this initiative.  Smaller watersheds within the initial 41 will be selected for approved partnership projects based on their potential for managing nitrogen and phosphorus—nutrients associated with impaired water quality in the Mississippi River Basin—while maintaining agricultural productivity and benefiting wildlife. Individual producers can only participate in this initiative in approved partnership projects. 

USDA will use a competitive process to distribute up to $75 million using two conservation programs in fiscal year 2010, the initiative’s first year. Up to $50 million will come from the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) and an additional $25 million from the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP). USDA expects to provide about $320 million in financial assistance over four years for voluntary conservation projects in these watersheds.

USDA uses CCPI to enter into multi-year agreements with eligible partner organizations to address conservation priorities related to agriculture and non-industrial private forest land. CCPI uses the funding and policies from three conservation programs—Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.

WREP, administered under the Wetlands Reserve Program, is designed to foster coordination with partners and to encourage non-federal investment in natural resource conservation through the use of matching funds and in-kind services. 

Producers interested in participating in conservation programs detailed in approved projects must meet the eligibility and funding requirements for the program or programs for which they are applying.  Eligible partners must submit separate proposals for CCPI and WREP. Higher priority will be given to projects that integrate both CCPI and WREP.

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