Sherrod Brown announces $600,000 in new federal funds to improve water quality in Clermont County
Clermont County Received Funding Through USDA Program Brown Helped Establish in the 2014 Farm Bill to Help Address Runoff, Reduce Phosphorous, Improve Conservation Efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced $600,000 in new federal funds to improve water quality in Clermont County. The funding is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) – which Brown helped establish in the 2014 Farm Bill.
“EQIP draws on farmers and producers’ local knowledge and networks in order to preserve water quality,” Brown said. “This fundin
g will help farmers throughout Clermont County improve conservation efforts to stop runoff before it starts.”
The Clermont Soil and Water Conservation District will receive funding to help farmers implement conservation practices that reduce the flow of phosphorus, which contributes to harmful algal blooms that comprise water quality. The funds will help farmers enroll in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which provides resources for producers to implement conservation practices to protect water quality.
Brown, the first Ohioan on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 40 years, has worked to secure federal funding to reduce phosphorus runoff and has introduced a series of proposals to improve water quality. Brown has worked to secure more than $3 million for EQIP funding in Ohio. In September, Brown reintroduced the Clean Water Affordability Act, which would direct additional funding to communities in Ohio to eliminate combined sewer overflows, which are a contributing factor in harmful algal blooms. Brown first introduced this legislation with former Senator George V. Voinovich in 2008 and worked with local officials across Ohio to fine-tune the bill.
