Peterson Announces Red River Basin Commission Awarded Agricultural Water Enhancement Funds

(Detroit Lakes , Minn) - Congressman Collin Peterson announced that the Red River Basin Commission has been awarded $1.38 million in Agricultural Water Enhancement Program funds to provide financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to conserve ground and surface water and improve water quality on agricultural lands.

“We created AWEP in the 2008 Farm Bill to encourage these locally-led partnerships with USDA to improve water quality and quantity, and it is good to see these policies in action in the Red River Valley,” Peterson said. “I’m pleased that AWEP funds will be available to help the RRBC and local landowners address important water quality concerns related to flooding and wind erosion in western Minnesota.”

AWEP is implemented through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

The RRBC’s proposal will target the following strategies: 1) Sugar Beet Cover Crop Strategy, 2) Beach Ridge Erosion Reduction Strategy, 3) Restricted Flow Sediment Pool Strategy, 4) Water Flow Retardation Strategy, 5) Stream Bank Erosion Reduction Strategy, 6) Other Activities Strategy, and 7) Basin Coordination Strategy.

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