Morton announces clean water grants to Okanogan Conservation District

February 3, 2009

Olympia…Sen. Bob Morton, R-Kettle Falls, received word recently that the Okanogan Conservation District has been awarded nearly $500,000 in grants from the state’s Centennial Clean Water Fund. 

The district will use $249,985 in grant funding to implement best-management practices and provide technical assistance to landowners through its Backyard Conservation and Small Farm Implementation Project. Priority targets will be areas of high animal density and critical surface water sources.  

The second grant, totaling $250,000, will be used to work with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service to implement agricultural best-management practices to protect, enhance and restore water quality such as riparian plantings, livestock fencing, and irrigation system improvements. 

“These types of grants encourage and support local efforts to protect the quality of water in rural areas,” Morton said. 

The Centennial Clean Water Fund is one of three sources for grants and loans administered by the state Department of Ecology for water quality improvement and protection. 

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Additional contact: Penny Drost (360) 786-7522 or drost.penny@leg.wa.gov