New Federal Funding for Land Acquisition and Conservation Easements
| United States |
Office of Water |
EPA 816-F-97-010
|
Environmental Protection
Agency |
4606 |
October 1997 |
__________________________________________________________________________
Overview
New funds from the Safe Drinking Water Act promote EPA's mission to
protect public
health by
ensuring safe drinking water. Land trusts and other local organizations
can further this mission by
working
with state agencies and water suppliers to identify and acquire critical
lands and conservation
easements.
A Focus on Drinking Water Protection
Safe drinking water is precious to communities, and its quality can
be threatened by
contamination of
the lakes, reservoirs, streams, and ground water that serve as sources of
drinking water.
Communities of all
sizes across the United States that have experienced contaminated water
supplies or that foresee
potential
threats to the quality of their drinking water are considering various
options for protecting their
sources of
drinking water. Some communities have found that an effective way to
protect water quality is to
own or
control land that is located in upstream watershed or ground water
recharge areas where
development
activities could impair the quality of the drinking water source. While
land acquisition and
easement efforts
can protect a water supply by preventing pollution-generating activities
in critical areas, the
efforts can also
provide other community benefits such as preserving wildlife areas,
enhancing recreational
opportunities, and
reducing flood damage.
Safe Drinking Water Act Funding
The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act make it easier for
communities to
purchase
land or conservation easements for the purpose of protecting public
drinking water supplies. The
new law
provides for annual grants to each state through the year 2003 to fund
drinking water programs
and projects
that protect public health and ensure compliance with the requirements of
the Act. In 1997,
grants to
individual states from the U.S. Congress' $1.275 billion appropriation
ranged from $12.6 million
to $75.7
million. Each state will place most of this money into a Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund
(DWSRF) to
use for loans to community public water systems for building or upgrading
water treatment plants
and other
water supply construction projects. However, a state also has the option
of designating up to
10% of its
federal grant specifically for the acquisition of land and conservation
easements, as well as for
other source
water protection activities. The conditions for this land acquisition
set-aside are described in the
Drinking
Water SRF Program Guidelines (page 22):
Working with States to Influence Funding Decisions
Each year, states must explain how they intend to use the federal
funding under the Safe
Drinking
Water Act in a document that is submitted to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
called the
Intended Use Plan (IUP). Funds set aside for specific purposes such as
land acquisition,
assistance to small
communities, wellhead protection, and other uses must be specifically
described in the Intended
Use Plan.
Before the IUP is submitted to the EPA for approval, states must provide
the public with
adequate
opportunity to review and comment on the Plan. Each state must also
respond to all substantial
comments
received from the public.
For further information on your state's decisions to designate funds
for easements and land
acquisition and how to become involved, contact the agency in your state
that is managing the
drinking water
program. Call the EPA Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 for
the phone
number and
address of
your state's contact.
Partnerships with Water Suppliers on Land Acquisition Activities
Loans for land acquisition and conservation easements can only be
given to public water
systems.
Therefore, local land trusts, community groups, or others that are
interested in easements and land
acquisition
opportunities for protecting drinking water quality should work
cooperatively with local water
suppliers to
request funds from the DWSRF. Local groups that have expertise in
identifying properties that
qualify for
the funding or that have experience in negotiating acquisitions from
willing sellers can offer their
assistance
to water suppliers. Such partnerships may complement the ongoing work of
organizations to
preserve parts
of a watershed or ground water area for other purposes. Contact your
state agency, community
leaders,
and/or local public water provider to find out about opportunities for
local involvement, or to
explore
partnership opportunities.
To Find Out More
For additional information on state responsibilities for source water
assessment activities, opportunities for local involvement, public participation, and other
issues, call the EPA Hotline and request a copy of the "State Source Water Assessment and Protection Programs Guidance." In addition, more details on state use of federal funds for drinking water programs are contained in EPA's "Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program Guidelines" that can also be requested through the Hotline.
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