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Collins announces nearly $180,000 in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding

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Tue, Jun 28th 2016 03:50 pm

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced the Erie County Soil & Water Conservation District has been awarded nearly $180,000 in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding by the Great Lakes Commission. The grant was awarded for a project to reduce phosphorus and sediment in the Cayuga Creek watershed.

"The Great Lakes are one of the prized natural resources of North America, and it is our responsibility to preserve and protect them for future generations to enjoy," Collins said. "I congratulate the Erie County Soil & Water Conservation District on this significant recognition of their important work to protect the health of our waterways and communities. This grant highlights the need to fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to continue protecting the Great Lakes, which are a vital economic and environmental asset for Western New York."

"Congratulations to the Erie County Soil & Water Conservation District for receiving this funding to protect water quality in the Great Lakes," said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission. "This project is yet another example of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative generating important economic and environmental improvements in communities across the region. Thank you to Rep. Collins for your continued support of this important initiative."

Every year, tons of polluting phosphorus and sediments enter the Great Lakes Basin, causing massive economic and environmental losses and damages and contributing to the formation of harmful algal blooms and dead zones. The Great Lakes Commission's Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program (http://keepingitontheland.net/) strategically addresses this problem with a unique, targeted grass roots approach, which awards grants to nonfederal agencies and nonprofit organizations in priority watersheds throughout the region.

This year, 15 projects totaling nearly $2 million were funded by the Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program to install on-the-land practices to reduce phosphorus runoff and sedimentation into the Great Lakes.

Funding for this program is provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative under a cooperative agreement between the Great Lakes Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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