2009 Annual Report

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:: 2009: The Year In Review
:: Facts and Figures
:: Basin Program Projects and Maps
:: Around the Basin
:: Upcoming Events

2009: The Year in Review

The Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control (GLBP) had a very successful year. The program's 2009 Request for Proposals was developed by the Great Lakes Commission’s Sediment Task Force and included small scale soil erosion and sediment control implementation projects up to $30,000 and information and education projects up to $10,000. After screening and evaluating submitted applications, eleven locally lead projects were selected for funding in 2009. Many more applications were submitted for consideration than could be funded with the program's annual appropriation from Congress.

Gary Overmier, Project Manager
Great Lakes Commission

However, the GLBP had a high profile place in the plans to implement the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI.) After years of working with Congress and several administrations, the Great Lakes will be receiving 475 million dollars in funding to implement restoration efforts. The GLBP (II) will be part of that effort.

The program is administered by the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) for the United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service. Millions of dollars are spent each year in the Great Lakes to dredge sediments from harbors, remove it from our drinking water and reduce it in waters of the lakes. Preventative programs such as the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control, which promotes proper land use practices, can substantially reduce these economic and environmental costs at a fraction of the these annual costs.

The program provides grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to control erosion and sedimentation and to limit the input of associated nutrients and toxic contaminants to the Great Lakes. It also informs citizens of the damages caused to the Great Lakes by these pollutants. Since the program’s inception in 1991, 417 local projects have been funded. These projects have prevented an estimated 1.6 million tons of soil and 6 million pounds of phosphorus from polluting the Great Lakes and tributaries.

2009 funding was level with 2008 and about $300,000 was available for grants. Eleven small scale grants of $30,000 or less were funded in 2009, amounting to one or two grants per state. The program continued to administer prior grant cycles, during the 2009 program year with the Great Lakes Basin Program staff managing 46 active grants.

Tasks involved in managing the 46 projects include answering questions from grantees, sending out award letters for new projects, approving project progress and final reports, assuring each report has met the appropriate goals, processing payments, updating databases and summarizing each completed project to be highlighted in the Basin Program’s searchable online project files.

Other highlights from this year’s efforts include:

• As the only Great Lakes-specific program authorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the Farm Bill,) the program was chosen by the USDA to be a vehicle to implement a portion of the nonpoint source pollution recommendations in the GLRI. This program is in addition to the annual program. It is expected the GLBP (II) will receive several million dollars in 2010 to be re-granted to local entities to install sediment reduction practices in priority watersheds.
• The Sediment Task Force conducted several meetings including in-person and webcast sessions, a first for the committee. The Task Force’s role in managing the Basin Program is critical. It is only one of two standing task forces at the GLC. The Task Force provides direction to the Basin Program, sets the guidelines for the annual grant program, selects the grants to be funded, insures the grantees have met the requirements of their grants, and approves the progress and final reports of grantees in their individual states.
• Keeping It On The Land, the GLBP newsletter, published three issues in 2009. The digital version allows for more content, more pictures and faster updates. The 2000+ newsletter recipients were sent the newsletter via e-mail.