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Programs to protect Tulsa's drinking water to be extendedMore than $25 million will be spent to clean up northeast Oklahoma water over projects lifespan Oklahoma A series of projects designed to address water quality issues in northeast Oklahoma will be expanded due to the success they have shown and the overwhelming support of local landowners, said Scotty Herriman, President of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts. "We are so excited about the success of the water quality protection efforts Conservation officials have been able to get off the ground in northeast Oklahoma," Herriman said. "With this expansion of existing programs the Conservation Commission and local Conservation Districts will be able to do even more to reach landowners and help protect the water in northeast Oklahoma." According to Herriman, in 1998 the Oklahoma Conservation Commission in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency began working with local Conservation Districts and local landowners to institute Best Management Practices in northeast Oklahoma to address non-point source pollution concerns in the watersheds of lakes Eucha and Spavinaw, two primary sources of drinking water for the City of Tulsa. With funding from the State of Oklahoma, matched at a rate of 60 percent to 40 percent by the EPA's Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Program, over 200 local land owners were able to implement BMP's such as riparian buffer restoration next to streams, proper pasture management, better management of chicken litter and other animal waste, and septic tank repair. By taking these and other actions, landowners were able to help reduce the amount of phosphorus going into the lakes by over 30 percent in less than five years. Because of this success rate, the EPA and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission will inject an additional $1.5 million into the area and will extend the program for an additional two years. This new investment will result in over $5 million going on the ground in these two watersheds alone. In addition, the City of Tulsa, the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, the USDA Farm Services Agency, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the EPA, local Conservation Districts and the Conservation Commission are also all partnering on a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to do even more work in the Eucha-Spavinaw watershed and the Illinois River Watershed. CREP, which is a USDA program that matches state and local dollars at a rate of 4 to 1, will provide funds for even more water quality work in these critical watersheds. With an initial investment by the City of Tulsa of at least $1.25 million, assistance from Land Legacy, a non-profit land protection organization, and with an investment from the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission of over $400,000 along with federal matching funds, over $20 million will be spent in these two watersheds to address water quality issues, resulting in over $25 million to protect water in northeast Oklahoma. According to OACD's Herriman, this funding amount represents a record breaking investment in Oklahoma's water quality. "Over the last four years we have seen an increased effort on the behalf of our policy makers in Oklahoma City and at the local level to find funds to help landowners address non-point water quality issues through voluntary, locally led means," Herriman said. "We in Conservation are extremely proud that we have never instituted a non-point water quality project where we did not run out of money before we ran out of landowners who wanted to do what was needed to protect our water. This is a great testament both to the Farmers, Ranchers and other landowners of Oklahoma and to those folks in the Conservation Partnership-local District Directors and Employees, Oklahoma Conservation Commission Employees and our Federal Partners at NRCS-who help those landowners address natural resource concerns on their property. Working together we are making a difference in protecting our water. We have much more to do, but this investment shows we are moving in the right direction. We are extremely excited about this expansion and look forward to doing even more to help landowners address water quality concerns." 10/13/08 Date: 10/10/08 Advertisement
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