USDA offering money to farmers in selected areas to help slow water pollution from storm runoff

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide $33 million in grants and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to help them "stop polluted storm runoff from gushing into 157 watersheds, including a small portion of the Chesapeake Bay," reports Darryl Fears of The Washington Post. Secretary Tom Vilsack said the program will improve "impaired watersheds in every U.S. state and territory." For a map of the watersheds, click here.

Farmers, ranchers and forest-land owners living in "eligible watersheds" can apply for grants beginning May 18. Applications must be submitted by June 15. Eligible watersheds were decided by state water quality agencies from an Environmental Protection Agency list of impaired watersheds.

Some of the selected watersheds are Catoctin Creek in Maryland, part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed; the Little Fisher River in North Carolina; the lower South Fork of the Chariton River in Iowa; Eagle Creek (upper White River watershed) in Indiana; upper Hinkston Creek (Licking River watershed) in Kentucky; the Chippewa River in Minnesota; the Upper Cohansey River in New Jersey; the Sakonnet River in Rhode Island; the upper Little Saluda River in South Carolina; Wolf Creek (South Fork of the Holston River) in Tennessee; seven tributaries of Chambers Creek in northeast Texas; the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Palouse River in Washington; and Knapps Creek on the Greenbrier River in West Virginia.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service is providing grant funding and will work with state and federal agencies, including EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey, to track the program's results. (Read more) The NRSC web page for the program, including a list of the watersheds by name, is here.