Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Great Lakes Commission announced today that it has awarded a total of nearly $2 million to 14 projects to reduce runoff of phosphorus and sediment into the Great Lakes basin. The projects were selected by the Commission’s Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program. Funding is provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative under a cooperative agreement between the Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Every year, tons of polluting phosphorus and sediments enter the Great Lakes Basin, causing massive economic and environmental losses and damages and contributing to the formation of Harmful Algal Blooms and dead zones. The Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program strategically addresses this problem with a unique, targeted grass roots approach which awards grants to nonfederal agencies and nonprofit organizations in priority watersheds to install on-the-land practices.
“Congratulations to the all of the organizations involved for receiving this funding to protect water quality in the Great Lakes by reducing the runoff of sediment and phosphorus in critical watersheds,” said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. “These projects are yet another example of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative generating important economic and environmental improvements in communities across the region, and highlight the need for Congress to reauthorize and fully fund the initiative.”
The Great Lakes Commission has a long history of working with local, state, and federal partners to reduce nonpoint source pollution through innovative and collaborative programs. Over its nearly thirty-year history, this program has supported 438 projects to reduce the input of unwanted sediment, nutrients, and other sediment-borne pollutants into Great Lakes, reducing soil erosion by an estimated 2 million tons and phosphorus loadings by 2 million pounds.
To learn more about the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program and the projects it is funding, please visit http://keepingitontheland.net/.
| Grant amount | State | Title of project | Recipient organization |
| $200,000 | IN | North Branch Elkhart River Phosphorus and Sediment Reduction | LaGrange County Soil & Water Conservation District |
| $30,000 | IN | St. Marys Small Scale Streambank Stabilization | City of Fort Wayne, IN |
| $199,998 | MI | Michigan Phosphorus Reduction of the Tiffin River/Western Lake Erie Basin | Hillsdale Conservation District |
| $200,000 | MI | Strip-till within the River Raisin Watershed | Lenawee Conservation District |
| $75,276 | MN | Michaelson Stream Restoration Construction | Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District |
| $101,767 | NY | Upper Genesee River Streambank Stabilization – Caneadea, NY | Center for Environmental Initiatives, Inc. |
| $179,680 | NY | Cayuga Creek Sediment & Nutrient Reduction Project | Erie County Soil & Water Conservation District |
| $199,356 | OH | Sediment & Phosphorus Reduction in the Brights Ditch Watershed | Hancock Soil & Water Conservation District |
| $197,652 | OH | Sediment and Phosphorus Reduction in the Cranberry Creek and Bear Creek | Putnam Soil and Water Conservation District |
| $198,680 | OH | Tiffin River and Bear Creek Watershed Improvement Plan – 19 | Fulton Soil and Water Conservation District |
| $30,000 | WI | Mequon-Milwaukee Farmland to Pollution Control Project | Mequon Nature Preserve, Inc. |
| $30,000 | WI | Applying TEK to Reduce Phosphorus in the Lower Fox Area of Concern | Intertribal Agriculture Council (Oneida Tribe Wisconsin) |
| $164,876 | WI | Lower Fox Perennial Forage Project | Alliance for the Great Lakes |
| $175,728 | WI | The Pipe “P” Trap: A Collaboration for Cleaner Waters | Fond du Lac County Land and Water Conservation Dist. |
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The Great Lakes Commission, led by chairman Jon Allan, director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes, is an interstate compact agency established under state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of governors’ appointees, state legislators, and agency officials from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a “Declaration of Partnership.” The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more at www.glc.org.