USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program Pays More Than $1.77 Billion to America’s Producers in Support of Conservation and Climate-Smart Agriculture
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued more than $1.77 billion this year to agricultural producers and landowners through its Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a critical piece of the Department’s efforts to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry on working lands. Right now, CRP’s more than 667,000 participants received payments from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) for their voluntary conservation efforts on more than 23 million acres of private land.
QB 24-311 2024 Specialty Sugar Period 2 Results
Commodity:
Specialty Sugar
The tariff rate quota for Specialty Sugar Period 2 opened on Tuesday October 10, 2023 and over-subscribed at opening moment. The pro rata percentage of 33.96060% or .3396060 was calculated via ACE, a UC message was…
Specialty Sugar
The tariff rate quota for Specialty Sugar Period 2 opened on Tuesday October 10, 2023 and over-subscribed at opening moment. The pro rata percentage of 33.96060% or .3396060 was calculated via ACE, a UC message was…
USDA Highlights Progress in Partnering with Farmers to Increase Innovative Domestic Fertilizer Production, Expand Double Cropping through Investing in America Agenda
Kankakee, Ill., Oct. 16, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today highlighted progress made in partnering with farmers and American businesses to increase innovative domestic fertilizer production and in making it easier for U.S. farmers to grow food through the practice of double cropping.
EPA and NFWF Investing $9.6 million for Projects to Improve Chesapeake Bay
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz announced a nearly $10 million investment into restoring the Chesapeake Bay with projects to be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
“These projects represent a portion of the generational investments that the Biden Administration is making in the Chesapeake Bay watershed” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “Each one of them will improve not just the local environment where the projects are located, but the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem downstream by removing runoff pollution, cleaning up streams and rivers, and planting native trees and grasses. Four decades ago, visionary leaders set us on a course to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Today, thanks to partnerships like the ones for these projects, we will kickstart the next 40 years of conservation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
Projects will be funded through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Program with grants awarded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Since 2006, the INSR Program has provided more than $133 million to 229 projects that have reduced 23 million pounds of nitrogen, 4 million pounds of phosphorus, and 500,000 tons of sediment across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A complete list of the 2023 Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction grants recipients is available here.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing $238 million over five years. Funding will be directed to programs like INSR as well as Small Watershed Grants and the Most Effective Basins program, all intended to contribute to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.
“Since coming into office, the Biden Administration has renewed the effort to engage with stakeholders in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and invest in on-the-ground projects and practices,” said Ortiz. “We will continue to work with state and local governments to better manage stormwater, improve our built infrastructure, and find nature-based solutions to improving water quality throughout the watershed, as well ensuring that polluters are being held accountable.”
The Chesapeake Bay Program has invested $30 million in infrastructure funding towards restoration efforts in the watershed’s most effective basins since 2022. More than half of that funding has gone towards agriculture conservation practices to help reduce harmful farm runoff from impacting local rivers and streams, and the bay. Computer modeling shows that nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment levels have been decreasing annually from the 2009 baseline, thanks in part to projects like those funded through the INSR Program. EPA has also increased inspections and compliance assurance activities throughout the watershed to prevent polluted storm and wastewater from entering the Chesapeake Bay
“These projects represent a portion of the generational investments that the Biden Administration is making in the Chesapeake Bay watershed” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “Each one of them will improve not just the local environment where the projects are located, but the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem downstream by removing runoff pollution, cleaning up streams and rivers, and planting native trees and grasses. Four decades ago, visionary leaders set us on a course to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Today, thanks to partnerships like the ones for these projects, we will kickstart the next 40 years of conservation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
Projects will be funded through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction (INSR) Program with grants awarded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Since 2006, the INSR Program has provided more than $133 million to 229 projects that have reduced 23 million pounds of nitrogen, 4 million pounds of phosphorus, and 500,000 tons of sediment across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A complete list of the 2023 Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction grants recipients is available here.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing $238 million over five years. Funding will be directed to programs like INSR as well as Small Watershed Grants and the Most Effective Basins program, all intended to contribute to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.
“Since coming into office, the Biden Administration has renewed the effort to engage with stakeholders in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and invest in on-the-ground projects and practices,” said Ortiz. “We will continue to work with state and local governments to better manage stormwater, improve our built infrastructure, and find nature-based solutions to improving water quality throughout the watershed, as well ensuring that polluters are being held accountable.”
The Chesapeake Bay Program has invested $30 million in infrastructure funding towards restoration efforts in the watershed’s most effective basins since 2022. More than half of that funding has gone towards agriculture conservation practices to help reduce harmful farm runoff from impacting local rivers and streams, and the bay. Computer modeling shows that nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment levels have been decreasing annually from the 2009 baseline, thanks in part to projects like those funded through the INSR Program. EPA has also increased inspections and compliance assurance activities throughout the watershed to prevent polluted storm and wastewater from entering the Chesapeake Bay
EPA Awards $1.8M in Research Grants to the University of Oklahoma for Children’s Health
DALLAS, TEXAS (October 16th, 2023) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $1,898,738 in grant funding to the University of Oklahoma to establish research centers to address children’s cumulative health impacts from agricultural and non-chemical exposures.
Children in underserved, rural agricultural communities face increased health risks due to the combination of agricultural pollutants in air, water, and soil, as well as non-chemical stressors such as poverty and limited access to services. There is an urgent need to investigate the cumulative health impacts of chemical and non-chemical exposures for children in these communities to help inform better health outcomes for them as they grow.
“Children are especially vulnerable to pollutants due to how fast they grow and how they play and interact with their environment,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “EPA is funding these research centers to identify effective, science-based options aimed at reducing early childhood health disparities in agricultural communities, and as part of our broader commitment to developing the science needed to protect children where they live and play.”
“Protecting children’s health is a critical aspect of EPA’s mission and we could not fulfill this mission without the instrumental innovations of state universities,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “Research centers that prioritize children’s health reduce illness, address disparities and provide data that improves regulation. I would like to thank the University of Oklahoma for using science-based solutions to improve children’s health in our region.”
The research centers will investigate the cumulative health impacts of early lifestage (prenatal and from childhood up to adolescence) exposures to pollutants and the added effect of non-chemical stressors among children in these communities across the United States. The research announced today is part of EPA’s larger effort to advance children’s environmental health and environmental justice by effectively reducing early childhood and lifetime health disparities in these communities.
This research center’s main objective is mitigating the chemical and non-chemical stressors that affect school absenteeism caused by gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. This objective will be met by identifying health impacts of infectious aerosol sampling data and health related social factors; exploring connections between environmental engineering hazard controls (i.e., air purifiers) and administrative environmental health interventions. Additionally, the center aims to establish a Stakeholder-Driven & Data-Driven Children’s Health & Social Vulnerability Index (CHS) to better assess children’s health disparities in rural school systems.
Learn more about the funded recipients.
Learn more about EPA research grants.
Connect with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 on Facebook, Twitter, or visit our homepage.
Children in underserved, rural agricultural communities face increased health risks due to the combination of agricultural pollutants in air, water, and soil, as well as non-chemical stressors such as poverty and limited access to services. There is an urgent need to investigate the cumulative health impacts of chemical and non-chemical exposures for children in these communities to help inform better health outcomes for them as they grow.
“Children are especially vulnerable to pollutants due to how fast they grow and how they play and interact with their environment,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “EPA is funding these research centers to identify effective, science-based options aimed at reducing early childhood health disparities in agricultural communities, and as part of our broader commitment to developing the science needed to protect children where they live and play.”
“Protecting children’s health is a critical aspect of EPA’s mission and we could not fulfill this mission without the instrumental innovations of state universities,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “Research centers that prioritize children’s health reduce illness, address disparities and provide data that improves regulation. I would like to thank the University of Oklahoma for using science-based solutions to improve children’s health in our region.”
The research centers will investigate the cumulative health impacts of early lifestage (prenatal and from childhood up to adolescence) exposures to pollutants and the added effect of non-chemical stressors among children in these communities across the United States. The research announced today is part of EPA’s larger effort to advance children’s environmental health and environmental justice by effectively reducing early childhood and lifetime health disparities in these communities.
This research center’s main objective is mitigating the chemical and non-chemical stressors that affect school absenteeism caused by gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. This objective will be met by identifying health impacts of infectious aerosol sampling data and health related social factors; exploring connections between environmental engineering hazard controls (i.e., air purifiers) and administrative environmental health interventions. Additionally, the center aims to establish a Stakeholder-Driven & Data-Driven Children’s Health & Social Vulnerability Index (CHS) to better assess children’s health disparities in rural school systems.
Learn more about the funded recipients.
Learn more about EPA research grants.
Connect with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 on Facebook, Twitter, or visit our homepage.
EPA Announces $2.1 Million in Environmental Projects and $200,000 Civil Penalty in Clean Air Act Violations Against Evergreen Packaging LLC
DALLAS, TEXAS (October 16, 2023) – On September 27, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a consent agreement and final order (CAFO) with Evergreen Packaging LLC (“Evergreen”) for alleged Clean Air Act (CAA) violations. The CAFO alleges that Evergreen failed to control hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) at their facility, did not meet fuel specifications for boilers, and failed to close washer windows/hoods during operation. Evergreen Packaging LLC must pay a civil penalty of $256,973.
“This settlement demonstrates EPA holding companies accountable for failing to meet crucial Clean Air Act standards,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “Hazardous air pollutants not only pose a threat to the environment, but they also affect nearby communities as well. With the corrective actions of the settlement and the supplemental environmental project, Pine Bluff residents will have cleaner air quality in their area.”
Pursuant to the settlement and to maintain compliance with the CAA, Evergreen must perform several corrective actions at its facility. Evergreen must maintain a digester capping valve repair and replace program, hire an independent inspector to conduct an inspection of the bleach plant and all pieces of bleaching equipment, prepare and submit a report to EPA identifying each instance that a hood opening or enclosure is found to be open, and must submit a Notification of Compliance status update.
Additionally, Evergreen has agreed to implement a $2,100,000 supplemental environment project (SEP) to reduce the HAPs found in the wastewater treatment system. Evergreen will install 10 new mechanical aerators into the wastewater treatment system and relocate the outfall location. By adding the aerators and relocating the outfall location, Evergreen will see a more accurate and reliable flow monitoring, decrease in total suspended solids at the outfall, and the wastewater flow will be more stabilized. The SEP is expected to be completed within a thirty-month time frame.
Evergreen Packaging LLC will have 30 days to pay the civil penalty to the United States, the proposed CAFO can be viewed on EPA’s public website.
Connect with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 on Facebook, Twitter, or visit our homepage.
“This settlement demonstrates EPA holding companies accountable for failing to meet crucial Clean Air Act standards,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “Hazardous air pollutants not only pose a threat to the environment, but they also affect nearby communities as well. With the corrective actions of the settlement and the supplemental environmental project, Pine Bluff residents will have cleaner air quality in their area.”
Pursuant to the settlement and to maintain compliance with the CAA, Evergreen must perform several corrective actions at its facility. Evergreen must maintain a digester capping valve repair and replace program, hire an independent inspector to conduct an inspection of the bleach plant and all pieces of bleaching equipment, prepare and submit a report to EPA identifying each instance that a hood opening or enclosure is found to be open, and must submit a Notification of Compliance status update.
Additionally, Evergreen has agreed to implement a $2,100,000 supplemental environment project (SEP) to reduce the HAPs found in the wastewater treatment system. Evergreen will install 10 new mechanical aerators into the wastewater treatment system and relocate the outfall location. By adding the aerators and relocating the outfall location, Evergreen will see a more accurate and reliable flow monitoring, decrease in total suspended solids at the outfall, and the wastewater flow will be more stabilized. The SEP is expected to be completed within a thirty-month time frame.
Evergreen Packaging LLC will have 30 days to pay the civil penalty to the United States, the proposed CAFO can be viewed on EPA’s public website.
Connect with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 on Facebook, Twitter, or visit our homepage.
EPA Awards $3.8M in Research Grants to Establish Research Centers to Address Children’s Health in Underserved, Rural Agricultural Communities
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $3,798,738 in grant funding to two institutions to establish research centers to address children’s cumulative health impacts from agricultural and non-chemical exposures.
Children in underserved, rural agricultural communities face increased health risks due to the combination of agricultural pollutants in air, water, and soil, as well as non-chemical stressors such as poverty and limited access to services. There is an urgent need to investigate the cumulative health impacts of chemical and non-chemical exposures for children in these communities to help inform better health outcomes for them as they grow.
“Children are especially vulnerable to pollutants due to how fast they grow and how they play and interact with their environment,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “EPA is funding these research centers to identify effective, science-based options aimed at reducing early childhood health disparities in agricultural communities, and as part of our broader commitment to developing the science needed to protect children where they live and play.”
The research centers will investigate the cumulative health impacts of early lifestage (prenatal and from childhood up to adolescence) exposures to pollutants and the added effect of non-chemical stressors among children in these communities across the United States. The research announced today is part of EPA’s larger effort to advance children’s environmental health and environmental justice by effectively reducing early childhood and lifetime health disparities in these communities.
The following institutions are receiving awards:
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla., to use multi-disciplinary approaches to evaluate chemical and psychosocial stressors and promote children’s cumulative health in rural and agricultural communities such as Immokalee, Fla.
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Okla., to mitigate the chemical and non-chemical stressors that affect school absenteeism caused by gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in Texas and Oklahoma.
Learn more about the funded recipients.
Learn more about EPA research grants.
Children in underserved, rural agricultural communities face increased health risks due to the combination of agricultural pollutants in air, water, and soil, as well as non-chemical stressors such as poverty and limited access to services. There is an urgent need to investigate the cumulative health impacts of chemical and non-chemical exposures for children in these communities to help inform better health outcomes for them as they grow.
“Children are especially vulnerable to pollutants due to how fast they grow and how they play and interact with their environment,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “EPA is funding these research centers to identify effective, science-based options aimed at reducing early childhood health disparities in agricultural communities, and as part of our broader commitment to developing the science needed to protect children where they live and play.”
The research centers will investigate the cumulative health impacts of early lifestage (prenatal and from childhood up to adolescence) exposures to pollutants and the added effect of non-chemical stressors among children in these communities across the United States. The research announced today is part of EPA’s larger effort to advance children’s environmental health and environmental justice by effectively reducing early childhood and lifetime health disparities in these communities.
The following institutions are receiving awards:
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla., to use multi-disciplinary approaches to evaluate chemical and psychosocial stressors and promote children’s cumulative health in rural and agricultural communities such as Immokalee, Fla.
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Okla., to mitigate the chemical and non-chemical stressors that affect school absenteeism caused by gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in Texas and Oklahoma.
Learn more about the funded recipients.
Learn more about EPA research grants.
EPA Region 7 Invites Great Bend, Kansas, Community Members to Attend Presentation About Plating Inc. Superfund Site on Nov. 6
LENEXA, KAN. (OCT. 16, 2023) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representatives from EPA Region 7 will present at the Great Bend, Kansas, City Council Meeting on Nov. 6, to provide community members with information about the Plating Inc. Superfund Site.
Over the next several months, EPA will be conducting cleanup work under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund. In April 2023, Plating Inc. was one of three Superfund sites in Kansas on the National Priorities List (NPL) to receive funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to begin or expedite cleanup projects.
“In April, EPA Region 7 representatives traveled to Wichita to celebrate the second round of funding for Superfund sites from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “That funding is now being put to work to clean up contamination in communities across our nation’s heartland.”
The presentation will be held during the City Council Meeting:
Monday, Nov. 6, 2023
6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Great Bend City Hall
1209 Williams St.
Great Bend, KS 67530
Following the presentation, representatives from EPA and state partner agencies will be available to talk with community members to address their questions and concerns regarding the Plating Inc. Superfund Site.
Background
The Plating Inc. Superfund Site sits within the airport industrial area in Barton County, Kansas, 1½ miles west of Great Bend. An inspection by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) determined that 6,400 gallons of chromic acid was on-site in 2007, along with other acids and hydroxides. The secondary containment was inadequate and chromic acid was found to have discharged into the soil. A 2-mile-long groundwater plume of hexavalent chromium has impacted domestic water wells and is moving toward Great Bend’s public water supply wells.
EPA has selected remedial designs for addressing the soil and groundwater contamination. The Agency anticipates that remedial actions – the construction or implementation phase of site cleanup – will begin in fall 2023.
Learn more about the Plating Inc. Superfund Site.
Learn more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for Superfund sites.
# # #
Learn more about EPA Region 7
View all Region 7 news releases
Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter: @EPARegion7
Over the next several months, EPA will be conducting cleanup work under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund. In April 2023, Plating Inc. was one of three Superfund sites in Kansas on the National Priorities List (NPL) to receive funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to begin or expedite cleanup projects.
“In April, EPA Region 7 representatives traveled to Wichita to celebrate the second round of funding for Superfund sites from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “That funding is now being put to work to clean up contamination in communities across our nation’s heartland.”
The presentation will be held during the City Council Meeting:
Monday, Nov. 6, 2023
6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Great Bend City Hall
1209 Williams St.
Great Bend, KS 67530
Following the presentation, representatives from EPA and state partner agencies will be available to talk with community members to address their questions and concerns regarding the Plating Inc. Superfund Site.
Background
The Plating Inc. Superfund Site sits within the airport industrial area in Barton County, Kansas, 1½ miles west of Great Bend. An inspection by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) determined that 6,400 gallons of chromic acid was on-site in 2007, along with other acids and hydroxides. The secondary containment was inadequate and chromic acid was found to have discharged into the soil. A 2-mile-long groundwater plume of hexavalent chromium has impacted domestic water wells and is moving toward Great Bend’s public water supply wells.
EPA has selected remedial designs for addressing the soil and groundwater contamination. The Agency anticipates that remedial actions – the construction or implementation phase of site cleanup – will begin in fall 2023.
Learn more about the Plating Inc. Superfund Site.
Learn more about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for Superfund sites.
# # #
Learn more about EPA Region 7
View all Region 7 news releases
Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter: @EPARegion7