Ranchers and farmers in Idaho are taking advantage of a Section 319 clause in the federal Clean Water Act to partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in reducing pollution in the state’s streams, rivers, wetlands, lakes and aquifer.
It’s proving to be a successful, mutually-beneficial program as best management practices are implemented.
Steven Smith, a watershed protection specialist with the Pocatello office of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), told the Western Livestock Journal that the EPA most recently provided $1.3 million to help Idaho implement the Section 319 water quality improvement program.
Last year the agriculture-friendly Idaho Legislature, consisting of a large contingent of farmers and ranchers, gave IDEQ $500,000 to participate in it. The state added $200,000 to the program this year. “It ebbs and flows in the legislature,” Smith said.
Under Section 319, landowners put up 40 percent of a project’s cost, and grant money—which IDEQ administers—covers the 60 percent balance. Projects have included stream bank restoration to keep sediments out, developing springs, livestock watering systems and corral relocations if cattle are encroaching on waterways.
Farmers, ranchers and IDEQ officials work closely with local soil conservation districts, Trout Unlimited and other organizations to ensure success. “In our area, there are many conservation districts. … There are quite a few projects,” Smith said, adding IDEQ also is engaged in drinking water protection plans.
The Pocatello region extends from American Falls east to the Wyoming border and from Blackfoot south to the Utah border. The Bear Lake Soil Conservation District recently conducted a tour in Idaho’s most southeastern corner.
1987 Amendments to the Clean Water Act established the Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program, addressing the need for greater federal leadership to help focus state and local non-point source efforts.
Under Section 319, states, territories and tribes receive grant money that supports a wide variety of activities, including technical assistance, financial assistance, education, training, technology transfer, demonstration projects and monitoring to assess the success of specific non-point source implementation projects.
Non-point source pollution generally results from land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage or hydrologic modification. Unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, it comes from many different sources.
It is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters.
Before Section 319, many needed projects went unfunded, Smith noted. “We’ve had three projects in Marsh Creek,” he said, referring to a rural area south of Pocatello. One totaled $500,000 in cost; the other two, $250,000 each, including near Inkom, Downetta and Lava Hot Springs.
A U.S. Geological Survey water flow gauge station on the verge of washing out due to erosion was salvaged when a stream bank was stabilized, Smith mentioned, pointing out that Idaho’s six major water basins typically get Section 319 funding for specific projects each year.
IDEQ also was involved in installing containment barriers north of a Malad rest area south of Pocatello and working on Whiskey Creek downstream of a fish hatchery.
Each state administers its Section 319 programs differently, Smith said. Utah will select a particular watershed such as Bear River and concentrate on it each year. “We’re more of a shotgun approach. They’re more a targeted approach,” said Smith, who lives in Preston and operates a 70-acre farm.
EPA allocates money to each state based on the success of the previous year’s projects to fund new approved water quality projects. A project can request up to $250,000 in grant monies, which would require a $166,667 local match. — Mark Mendiola, WLJ correspondent
