News - Arizona
News - National
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USDA Announces Funding for Water Quality Markets: $10 Million Available for
Projects Nationally
Conservation
Innovation Grants Pre-Proposal Due January 31, 2012
WASHINGTON - Jan. 13, 2012 -
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today
announced a funding opportunity that will bring states, USDA and other
stakeholders together to enhance the effectiveness of water quality credit
trading. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is providing up to $10
million in Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for these projects, with up to
$5 million focused on water quality credit trading in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed. Pre-proposals for projects are due January 31, 2012.
“For the first time USDA has offered funding specifically for water quality
trading. We want to help states and other partners develop robust and meaningful
markets,” Vilsack said. “Our goal is to demonstrate that markets are a
cost-effective way to improve water quality in places like the Chesapeake Bay
watershed, and agricultural producers are critical to the function of these
markets.”
Water quality credit trading is a market-based approach to lowering the costs of
reducing pollution, and has the potential to engage more farmers and ranchers in
water quality improvement efforts through the implementation of more
conservation practices on agricultural lands. Through water quality credit
trading, a producer who implements conservation practices to reduce water
quality pollutants can also benefit by generating water quality market credits
that could be sold in an open market, which would reduce the costs of
implementing and maintaining the conservation practices.
NRCS requests CIG proposals for projects that:
• Support the completion of state water quality market rules and infrastructure
needed to carry out water quality trading between point and non-point sources;
• Deploy and test tools and metrics needed for crediting and verifying the
effectiveness of conservation practices on agricultural lands;
• Establish certification, registry and reporting systems; and
• Educate and reach out to agriculture and other sectors.
CIG funds will be awarded through a competitive grants process. At least 50
percent of the total cost of CIG projects must come from non-Federal matching
funds, including cash and in-kind contributions provided by the grant recipient.
Projects must involve producers who are eligible for the NRCS Environmental
Quality Incentives Program.
To apply electronically, visit www.Grants.gov
or contact a local NRCS office. View the complete Announcement of Program
Funding at www.nrcs.usda.gov.
NRCS will host a webinar at 3 p.m. EST on January 24th for prospective
applicants. USDA officials and staff will discuss the goals of the program and
answer questions about the request for proposals. For more webinar details
please go to the CIG page at
www.nrcs.usda.gov.
For information in
Arizona, contact Dennis Kimberlin: 602-280-8800
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Links:
Conservation
Innovation Grant Awards for Arizona
Conservation Innovation Grant Website
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