Farmers need help with pollution mitigation solutions
CHENANGO COUNTY – Keeping clean water clean and safely redirecting dirty water from the barnyard is becoming less practical for farmers as government funding streams begin to dry up.
The Chenango County Soil & Water Conservation District is urging the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets to release “hundreds of thousands” of Environmental Protection Funds (EPF) to local farmers for their pollution mitigation programs.
EPF funds are generally distributed about this time of year. Reimbursement has never been so delayed, according to Robert DeClue, the district’s director.
“There’s a log jam of requests for reimbursement from existing state grants funded through EPF. There’s been slow downs before, but it is extremely bad at this point in time,” he said.
DeClue did not have the exact amount due Chenango County for the projects farmers may already have implemented or for those planned. Some projects are in various stages of completion and are designed to continue over a period of years, he said.
However, it could cost between $25,000 to $30,000 to complete a barnyard project, which includes keeping the surface hard so animals don’t sink up to their arms in manure. Farmers generally make a 25 percent match to receive the funds. But with low prices for milk, finding that match is a major cause for concern.
“If they have a private contractor undertake work, cash flow is too tight to pay them and wait for state grants,” DeClue said.
Legislation in 2007 increased EPF revenues from $250 million in the 2008-09 fiscal year to $300 million in fiscal year 2009-10 and thereafter. The EPF is primarily financed by the real estate transfer tax. Established in 1993, it has gradually increased over time and provides money for recycling, landfill closure, urban parks, farmland preservation, smart growth, open space, water quality, pollution prevention and a range of other environmental programs administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Department of Agriculture and Markets.
The Chenango County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in August calling on local representatives to encourage New York to release the funds in a timely fashion. Withholding the funding jeopardizes “not only the planned water quality improvement projects slated to be completed under the program, but also ... the Chenango County Soil and Water Conservation District’s operating aid,” the resolution stated.
The Chenango County Soil & Water Conservation District is urging the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets to release “hundreds of thousands” of Environmental Protection Funds (EPF) to local farmers for their pollution mitigation programs.
EPF funds are generally distributed about this time of year. Reimbursement has never been so delayed, according to Robert DeClue, the district’s director.
“There’s a log jam of requests for reimbursement from existing state grants funded through EPF. There’s been slow downs before, but it is extremely bad at this point in time,” he said.
DeClue did not have the exact amount due Chenango County for the projects farmers may already have implemented or for those planned. Some projects are in various stages of completion and are designed to continue over a period of years, he said.
However, it could cost between $25,000 to $30,000 to complete a barnyard project, which includes keeping the surface hard so animals don’t sink up to their arms in manure. Farmers generally make a 25 percent match to receive the funds. But with low prices for milk, finding that match is a major cause for concern.
“If they have a private contractor undertake work, cash flow is too tight to pay them and wait for state grants,” DeClue said.
Legislation in 2007 increased EPF revenues from $250 million in the 2008-09 fiscal year to $300 million in fiscal year 2009-10 and thereafter. The EPF is primarily financed by the real estate transfer tax. Established in 1993, it has gradually increased over time and provides money for recycling, landfill closure, urban parks, farmland preservation, smart growth, open space, water quality, pollution prevention and a range of other environmental programs administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Department of Agriculture and Markets.
The Chenango County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in August calling on local representatives to encourage New York to release the funds in a timely fashion. Withholding the funding jeopardizes “not only the planned water quality improvement projects slated to be completed under the program, but also ... the Chenango County Soil and Water Conservation District’s operating aid,” the resolution stated.
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