Clearwater River watershed project nominated for federal grant funding

By Brad Swenson

Pioneer Staff Writer

      A Clearwater River watershed project is one of three nominated last week by Gov. Tim Pawlenty for federal grant funding.

      If successful, the three major watershed projects would share $2.3 million in new funds for Minnesota water restoration projects.

      The Clearwater River project is a joint effort with the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, Pawlenty said in announcing the nominations.

      The Clearwater River is in the Red River Basin of northwest Minnesota and contributes a significant amount of nutrients and sediments which flow north to the Hudson Bay in Canada.

      A major component of the project is an effort by the Red Lake Band to manage wild rice operations in the watershed to enhance water quality, Pawlenty said.

      “While agriculture and food processing are the engines that drive much of the economy of the basin, they and their accompanying drainage and urbanization are also often regarded as the primary sources of non-point and point-source water pollution, and the cause of the loss of native prairie and wetlands in the basin,” according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

      “Concerns also exist that the quality and quantity of ground-water are being threatened by irrigation, landfills, failing septic systems, abandoned wells, and leaking underground storage tanks,” it said.

      The Clearwater River covers a large drainage area, says Rep. Doug Lindgren, R-Bagley, who represents that area.

      “It goes from the fringe of the district through my backyard,” he said. “We want to help the farmers get this cleaned up, and it is a priority.”

      The Clearwater River project, along with the Root River Watershed and Hawk Creek projects, were nominated by Pawlenty to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Watershed Initiative.

      The federal program will award about $20 million in grants to as many as 20 watershed projects around the nation, Pawlenty said. States nominate projects to their regional EPA office with each of the EPA’s 10 regions selecting four projects to forward to Washington, D.C.

      From the total of 40 nationwide projects, EPA will select 20 for funding. If Minnesota’s three projects are in the final 20, it could mean $2.3 million to the state.

      “Our administration’s Clean Water Initiative places water as a top priority for Minnesota,” the Republican governor said. “It includes a ‘watershed approach’ to address unique challenges from one part of the state to another. Working together with local partners and combining federal and state resources, we have an opportunity to achieve our clean water goals and significant environmental results.”

      A watershed is a geographic area in which rainfall, streams and rivers flow to a single point. Minnesota contains all or parts of 10 major river basins and 84 major watersheds. In many of the watersheds, local projects have been organized to improve water quality, he said.

      The Root River projects lies in southeast Minnesota, where a goal is to create swimmable streams by 2013 and decrease soil erosion by 2 million tons annually. Hawk Creek, in the Minnesota River headwaters of southwest Minnesota, is a significant contributor of nutrients and sediments to the Mississippi River.

      “The nomination of these three projects gives Minnesota the chance to again demonstrate its success in optimizing funds and resources on a regional level to achieve important national clean water goals,” said state Pollution Control Commissioner Sheryl Corrigan.