The Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District has been awarded $1,267,275 to work with two farms in the Conewango Creek Watershed.
The funding is part of $25 million being awarded to help farmers support agricultural water quality conservation projects in New York State. This is a record level of funding awarded in any one round of the State’s Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Abatement and Control Program (Ag Nonpoint), which is being provided through the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and, for the first time, the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.
Chautauqua Soil and Water will use $453,493 to address one farm’s resource concerns with the installation of a Waste Storage and Transfer System with 5-month storage capacity, eliminating the need for adverse condition manure spreading and temporary manure stockpiles. They will also install a Livestock Heavy Use Area Runoff Management System, removing the existing outdoor barnyard and livestock stream access, effectively eliminating numerous water resource concerns.
Soil and Water will use $813,782 for the second farm to eliminate the need for daily manure spreading in adverse winter weather and resource concerns that go along with it through the installation of Waste Storage and Transfer Systems. They also will install a Silage Leachate and Control System to provide a greater level of collection. The project also will directly tie into the county Agricultural Environmental Management Strategic Plan by addressing agricultural nutrient runoff through controlling leachate and construction of manure storages.
In total, 50 projects were funded in 25 counties across the State through Round 30 of the Ag Nonpoint Program.
Leave a Reply