00A01265

Description:
Funding this award will help to implement the Lake Champlain Management Plan in the Vermont portion of the Lake Champlain Basin as identified in Clean Water Act Section 120. These projects will help improve and/or evaluate the water quality and ecological health of the Lake Champlain Basin by conducting Lake Champlain's long-term water quality and cyanotoxin monitoring program, coordinating with the Lake Champlain Basin Program, acquiring priority wetlands for restoration and conservation, and water chestnut mapping and removal. Work to support implementation of the 2016 Lake Champlain Total Maximum Daily Load for phosphorus will also address loading through best management practice implementation, continued support of priority wetland restoration and conservation, enhanced agricultural practice implementation, and the planning, design, and construction of green stormwater infrastructure at public schools and Vermont State Colleges in the Lake Champlain Basin.

Activities:
Activities to be performed with this award include continuation of Vermont's participation in the Lake Champlain's long-term water quality and cyanotoxin monitoring program, Lake Champlain Basin Program coordination, priority wetland acquisition, and water chestnut mapping and removal. Subrecipient deliverables, which will also benefit all residents of the Lake Champlain Basin, include addressing phosphorus loading through BMP implementation, continued support of priority wetland restoration and conservation, enhanced agricultural practice implementation, and the planning, design, and construction of green stormwater infrastructure at public schools and Vermont State Colleges in the Lake Champlain Basin.

Subrecipient:
Activities to be implemented through subawards include rent for the Gordon House, the home office location of the Lake Champlain Basin Program in Grand Isle, Vermont; organizational capacity grant requests for assistance program; grants to MS4 communities for stormwater projects; memorandum of agreements with Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets to implement subaward programs; and Department of Environmental Conservation pollution control grants and/or clean water funded projects.

Outcomes:
Anticipated deliverables include data collected to analyze long-term water quality trends for Lake Champlain data to evaluate successes of the Lake Champlain Management Plan, opportunities for action, strategies/goals, progress towards the Lake Champlain phosphorus TMDL implementation plan, and management activities around the basin; reduction in water chestnut presence to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species; assessment of private, non-municipal roads with associated maps to prioritize BMP implementation that will reduce phosphorus loading; support watershed groups and partners in the Lake Champlain Basin to increase technical expertise, capacity, and workforce development to support clean water project implementation and funding initiatives; design and/or implementation of stormwater treatment practices to support municipal separate storm sewer systems communities and reduce stormwater runoff, phosphorus, and pollutant loading to the Lake Champlain Basin; research and development of tools for onsite wastewater treatment systems' site evaluation and design in fine-textured soils leading to increased knowledge of best practices for onsite wastewater system design and installation; continued support of Vermont's Lake Wise evaluator training, natural shoreland erosion control trainings, and best management practice installation site identification to improve lake water quality and shoreland habitat; acquisition of 3-5 wetland sites for restoration to reduce phosphorus loading to the watershed and improve natural function; support for Vermont's farm agronomic practices program, engineering services, technical assistance, and farmstead best management practices program.

Vermont Department Of Environmental Conservation

66.481 - Lake Champlain Basin Program

EPA Region 1: Boston [EPA - RO]

Vermont United States

State-Wide

None