LENEXA, KANSAS (September 12, 2019) — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $3,598,000 to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to manage nonpoint source pollution in impaired watersheds throughout the state.
“Improving water quality is a priority for EPA,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Jim Gulliford. “This funding will allow Iowa to continue the hard work they’ve been doing to protect the state’s waterways and reduce nonpoint runoff.”
Congress enacted Section 319 of the Clean Water Act in 1987, establishing a national program to control non-point sources of water pollution. Through Section 319, EPA provides states, territories, and tribes with guidance and grant-funding to implement their non-point source programs and to support local watershed projects to improve water quality. Collectively, this work has restored over 6,000 miles of streams and over 164,000 acres of lakes since 2006. Hundreds of additional projects are underway across the country.
Since 1990, IDNR’s Watershed Improvement Program has funded 610 local, regional, and statewide clean-water projects through the EPA 319 grant program, totaling $102 million. In addition, through the 319 program, IDNR has supported efforts to create 21 watershed management-authorities since 2011. These authorities bring together Iowans across cities and counties for the common good of improving a shared lake, stream, or river.
For more about EPA’s Nonpoint Pollution Grant Program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/nps/319-grant-program-states-and-territories.
For more about nonpoint source pollution, visit: https://www.epa.gov/nps.
