NDEQ Invites Nonpoint Source Management Proposals

Invitation for Nonpoint Source Management Proposals

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INVITATION

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is inviting proposals for funding under the Nebraska Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program authorized through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act as administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Funding eligibility, criteria for prioritization, application format, and special conditions are outlined in these procedures. Proposals must be on the FORM PROVIDED HERE and be received in the Lincoln office of the NDEQ no later than 4:00 p.m., Central time, Tuesday, September 6, 2011, to be considered for funding. 

Please direct any questions you may have to:

Elbert Traylor, Coordinator Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality P.O. Box 98922 Lincoln, NE 68509-8922 Telephone: (402) 471-2585 E-mail: Elbert.Traylor@nebraska.gov

Questions must be received by 4:00 p.m., Central time, August 24, 2011. Responses to those questions will be posted on NDEQ’s website,http://www.deq.state.ne.us, by August 30, 2011.

Proposals are to be submitted via e-mail in Word (.doc) or Adobe PDF (.pdf) format, with a subject of: NPS Proposal to:ndeq.nonpointsource@nebraska.gov

What is Agriculture Community Doing to Prevent Non-point Source Pollution

I've given countless presentations about the importance of urban stormwater and construction stormwater runoff protection.  I would have to try very hard to think of the number of times nobody raised the question, "what is the agriculture community doing to prevent non-point source pollution."  It is almost automatic.  I can see the twinkle in their eye when they raise their hand to ask the question.  It is a valid question, but it is also a little bit of a cop-out.  One one hand, it does water-down the message that controlling erosion at developments on the city edge is important when the farm field across the road doesn't appear to be doing their fair share.  I hear that argument.  I do.  That farmer is certainly not held to the same NPDES permit requirement as the commercial land developer is.  On the other hand though, we can only control what we control and defer to others to control what they can control.

So to everyone that has ever asked, "what about all that sediment and pollutants leaving the farmer's field up the road", I share a link to a video that starts to answer that question.  The Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative or MRBI produced This Video to highlight how the USDA-NRCS is working with producers to implement the most cost-effective pollution prevention practices through research.  The effort is strikingly comparable to the International Stormwater BMP Database being populated with independent scientific research about he pollution removal effectiveness of urban stormwater BMPs.

At the 2011, State-wide Stormwater Round Table, we heard that professionals need to stop diluting the message to the public by distinguishing between agricultural and urban non-stormwater pollution and just call it stormwater pollution.  What do you think? Do the research and practice cost-share measures taken by USDA-NRCS help reduce the concern that the agricultural community is not doing their fair share?  Feel free to leave your comments and observations about the topic here.

Educators Invited to "Discover a Watershed: The Missouri"

Click on the image below to open the registration form for a unique event sponsored by Nebraska Forrest Service and Project WET.  This is for traditional educators and those natural resource professionals (MS4 Coordinators???) that engage youth about water resources.  Ponca State Park is also one of Nebraska's gems.  If you can't go, please make sure to forward this information to any educational contact you may have locally.

Education Committee Soliciting Topics for 2012 Workshops

To all the NeFSMA members and those interested in what educational workshops NeFSMA provides, the Education Committee is asking for your feedback on topics/speakers that we should target for 2012. Your Board has worked hard to provide workshops that are engaging and relevant to our profession, but NeFSMA is a member-driven organization.  Please submit your floodplain and stormwater ideas about what we should provide next year.

Seriously, this is your chance.  Send an email to nefsma@hotmail.com and we will add it to the list of possible topics and speakers.

 

NDOR Erosion and Sediment Control Courses

Starting in 2011, many of you may need to be re-certified in the NDOR Erosion and Sediment Control Inspector Class or you may know of folks that need to receive the initial training in the full-day certification course.  If you are unsure when your certification expires, there is a database available on LTAP’s website that lists the certification number and expiration date of everyone certified through this program.

Below is the current schedule of upcoming classes as of today.  More classes will be held throughout the year as needed.  If you have a large number of people interested in a class, contact Ron Poe or Dennis Smith and we’ll try to set up a class in your area to cut down on travel expenses.

DATE	CLASS	LOCATION		AVAILABILITY
Sept 27th	Full Day – Inspector Certification	Hampton Inn & Suites	Lincoln	Open
Sept 28th & 29th	Full Day – Erosion Control Design Class	Mahoney State Park	Ashland	Open
Week of Sept 18th	Half Day – Inspector Recertification	TBD	Scottsbluff	Open

Contact Information:
Ron Poe – (402) 479-4499
Dennis Smith; UNL-LTAP – (402) 472-0976
Course information is also available on the LTAP website at: 
http://www.ne-ltap.unl.edu/erosion_control.html