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EPA Awards Over $2 Million to the State of Oklahoma to Fund Nonpoint Source Pollution Projects

Release Date: 09/13/2012
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Jennah Durant, 214 665-2200 or [email protected]

(DALLAS – September 13, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Oklahoma Office of the Secretary of Environment $2,059,773 to implement watershed based plans designed to control nonpoint source pollution and protect water quality. The funds will support the Oklahoma Nonpoint Source Management Plan in priority watersheds. Project activities will include the implementation of best management practices, construction of bioretention cells, the purchase of conservation easements in the Eucha/Spavinaw watershed and riparian protection and streambank stabilization in priority watersheds.

Unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, nonpoint source pollution comes from many different sources. Nonpoint source pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and man-made pollutants, depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and groundwater.

Nonpoint source pollution can include:

· Excess fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas

· Oil, grease and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production

· Sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and forest lands

· Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines

· Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes and faulty septic systems