The Sulphur River Basin Authority (SRBA) Board reviewed a presentation on Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Nonpoint Source Pollution (NSP) grant funding opportunities at their monthly meeting Tuesday [at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center].
The grant funding is funneled through TCEQ by the Environmental Protection Agency annually. The state receives millions of dollars for the NSP grant projects, and the Ark-Tex Council of Governments is encouraging area agencies to apply for some of the money.
"This is an informative presentation," said Ark-Tex COG Environmental Resource Planner Diane Atkinson. "We are trying to get applications from this area, which traditionally has not applied for funding."
Congress amended the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1987 to establish the Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program to help focus State and local nonpoint source efforts. The grant money 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 nonpoint source implementation projects.
Nonpoint source pollution management in Texas is a cooperative effort jointly administered by the TCEQ and Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB). TCEQ administers non-agricultural NPS grants, and TSSWCB administers agricultural and silvicultural grants.
Atkinson said that the grants are awarded annually on a competitive basis, with a 60 percent grant and 40 percent match. "The match can be in-kind, meaning volunteer labor or other non-cash donations," she said.
Eligible applicants for the grants are cities, counties, river authorities, school districts, universities, councils of government and other state agencies. An audience member asked if an individual with a river or creek on his property could apply. "You would be eligible, but someone would have to apply for you," Atkinson said.
Mike Huddleston, SRBA board president, asked if the grant could be used for a "study of the logjam situation with the runoff and silt problem." Atkinson indicated the project might qualify for funding, but the agency would need to ask the state.
Huddleston was referring to a massive logjam near the point where the Sulphur River crosses U.S. Highway 37 between Mount Vernon and Bogata, which is causing flooding, erosion and frequent road closings. The logjam was created from cut timber moving down from Talco over the last several years. In addition, the silt buildup has led to flooding episodes during heavy rain.
"We have a five-year plan to monitor the basin, and our biggest problem is the logjam," Huddleston said. "We'd like to study the problem it's creating and find solutions."
The board gave the go-ahead to SRBA Administrator Michael Burke to work with Atkinson to "find a worthwhile project that will work".
In other business, the board approved contracts for its 2004-05 Clean Rivers Program. The board approved a two-year contract with TCEQ for $196,121. The contract will allow SRBA to continue with monitoring and receive reimbursement from TCEQ.
The board also approved a two-year contract with Paul Price and Associates for $33,450 for services on reporting and web maintenance. Finally, the board approved a one-year contract with Texarkana College for $33,504 for monitoring, data collection and assimilation. The board also approved hiring Baker and Johnson for the fiscal year 2003 audit for $3,800.
The Sulphur River Basin Authority Board members were educated about the funding options available to them through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Diana Atkinson with the Ark-Tex Council of Governments gave a presentation at the board's monthly meeting Tuesday morning and said there were a number of nonpoint source pollution grants available through the TCEQ and Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.
"It's an informational deal," said Atkinson. "They want to get applications from this area and they are trying to make people aware this is available. Atkinson said the grants were awarded annually and to a very competitive market. About 60 percent of the money comes from the grant, which 40 percent has to be matched, whether with money, or in-kind, which Atkinson said meant the match doesn't have to be cash. "A volunteer's labor can count toward the matching funds," Atkinson said.
Some of the applicants eligible for such funding include cities, counties, river authorities, school districts, universities and other state agencies. The money can be used for a number of projects, such as technical and financial assistance, education, water quality monitoring, public outreach projects and monitoring activities to determine effectiveness of pollution prevention methods, said Atkinson.
Some of the environmental concerns that could be helped by the grants include correcting runoff from fields into streams, having cows drink from an alternate water source instead of streams and promoting conservation tillage, contour strips, cattle crossings, storm drain stenciling, shoreline stabilization and revegetation, vegetated buffers and urban stormwater ponds.
But there is something the board is more concerned with that Atkinson said could probably be addressed with the grants. "Log jams are a big problem," said Board President Mike Huddleston. Huddleston said he was interested in looking into the grants to get a study to see what kind of pollution the log jams cause and then come up with a solution.
Another problem Atkinson identified in the immediate area was septic tanks and their effects on area lakes, such as Cooper Lake. "There have been high fecal contamination and high bacteria counts," said Atkinson.
For more information on these grants, contact Atkinson at 903-832-8636 or Datkinson@atcog.org.
In other business, the board voted to approve to continue three contracts for its Clean Rivers Program. The first was the contract with the TCEQ that will begin on Sept. 1. The contract award is worth $196,121, which Board Administrator Michael Burke said was down from last year's $200,000 amount because of a cutback in funding. "It allows us to go forward with monitoring for the next two years," said Burke.
The board also approved its contract with Paul Price and Associates, whom it has worked with for the past two contract periods, for conducting certain deliverables for the next two years. That contract is worth $33,450. The other contract is with Texarkana College for monitoring purposes. The contract is for one year and is worth $33,504. Burke said since it is a state institution, they did not have to advertise for bids. Plus the money they pay to the college is in turn used for scholarships. "They use students to do the work," said Burke.
The board also voted to retain Baker and Johnson to do the fiscal year 2003 audit. Burke said the firm has completed the board's audits for the past several years. Last year the firm was paid $3,600 for its services; this year it will be $3,800.
The next meeting of the SRBA will be at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 16 [at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center].