U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Thursday (September 4, 2014) a $45 million program available to Vermont farmers who adopt conservation practices intended to prevent nutrient runoff into the state’s waterways.  According to the USDA news release, blue-green algae blooms on Lake Champlain are the result of degraded water quality primarily due to phosphorus pollution.  A number of factors contribute to algae blooms. Warm water, lack of agitation, rainfall and runoff from farms, lawns, and other sources can all contribute to the problem.

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will administer the money over the next five years for projects in Missisquoi Bay, St. Albans Bay and South Lake Watersheds — areas surrounding Lake Champlain where blue-green algae blooms are most frequent.  The money will be used to provide farmers with the technical assistance to develop new farming practices, including cover cropping, different tillage systems, planting vegetative buffers between fields and waterways, and other fertilizer management practices designed to keep nutrients on fields.  Additional efforts spearheaded by NRCS in Vermont include edge of field monitoring to demonstrate the effectiveness of key conservation practices, and a cooperative conservation effort with key partners to provide coordinated assistance to Lake Champlain producers.  (Source:  http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/releases/?cid=STELPRDB1260116)

EPA is currently drafting a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to reduce phosphorus loading into Lake Champlain by 36 percent.  The state is required to meet phosphorus reduction standards set by the TMDL under the federal Clean Water Act.  An outline of the plan will reportedly be available this fall.  The state of Vermont has not yet announced a funding proposal for the TMDL plan but is expected to do so before the end of 2014.  According to Chuck Ross, Vermont’s Agriculture Secretary, the USDA funding will help the state comply with EPA regulations.