Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Department of Conservation and Recreation
Media inquiries: Please contact Dave Neudeck, dave.neudeck@dcr.virginia.gov, 804-786-5053.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: November 21, 2019
Contact: Julie Buchanan, Senior Public Relations and Marketing Specialist, 804-786-2292, julie.buchanan@dcr.virginia.gov
Grant to help fund animal-waste storage facilities in Upper and Middle James watersheds
(Editors: Follow this link to download an image. Photo caption: A newly constructed animal-waste storage facility.)
RICHMOND — A $500,000 grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment will help farmers in the Upper and Middle James River watersheds install new animal-waste storage facilities with the goal of reducing excess nutrient and bacteria loads into the area’s freshwater streams and the James River.
The grant was awarded to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation through VEE’s James River Water Quality Improvement Program. DCR, the state’s lead agency for addressing agricultural nonpoint source pollution, will disperse the funds to four soil and water conservation districts that serve the area. The funds will be available to qualifying farmers who sign up to build the facilities through the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program.
“This partnership will enable more producers to build animal-waste storage facilities that are properly designed and constructed,” DCR Director Clyde Cristman said. “Animal waste storage is often the most expensive water quality conservation practice on a livestock operation, typically costing $150,000 or more per site, but it is a practice that achieves significant nutrient and bacteria reductions.”
The facilities are designed to manage liquid or solid waste in areas where livestock or poultry are concentrated. They help curb surface runoff and erosion, and enable farmers to recycle waste as fertilizer.
“Partnering with DCR allows VEE to leverage its James River grant dollars by up to four times, dramatically increasing the amount of pollution reduction this $500,000 can accomplish,” VEE Executive Director Joseph H. Maroon said. “That leveraging will help local farmers and will make an impactful improvement in the water quality of local streams, the James River, and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.”
The VEE grant will reduce, or in some cases eliminate, the farmer’s share of expenses for construction of the facility through the state cost-share program. Grant payments up to $25,000 could be covered for as many as 20 facilities. State specifications require the facilities to have a lifespan of 15 years.
In order to qualify for the funds, farms must be in specified sub-watersheds of the James River watershed in these counties: Alleghany, Bath, Botetourt, Buckingham, Craig, Cumberland, Highland and Rockbridge. Participating soil and water conservation districts are Mountain, Mountain Castles, Natural Bridge and Peter Francisco.
“Often times, due to the financial investment necessary to install an animal-waste storage facility, this is the last significant water quality practice needed for a farmer to complete his or her conservation plan,” said Kelly Snoddy, a conservation specialist with the Peter Francisco Soil and Water Conservation District. “Additional funding sources, such as the VEE grant, that can be offered as a supplement to the Virginia agricultural cost-share program create opportunities for districts to support our local producers on another level. We are hopeful that this grant will be an asset to our producers.”
The grant is expected to help the four districts meet goals outlined in Virginia’s new Chesapeake Bay restoration plan, referred to as the Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan.
Districts will announce a local signup period for the funds.
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