This Federal Formula Grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 provides $151,000.00 to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) to fund the state's Water Quality Management Planning program under CFDA 66.454. The grant will support activities to improve impaired waters and protect unimpaired waters across South Dakota, including:
Conducting assessments of selected lakes and streams in the West River region as part of DANR's Rotating Basins project, collecting water quality data for use in TMDL development, BMP effectiveness assessments, trend monitoring, and source water monitoring, and providing salaries for DANR staff, a grant manager, and summer interns. DANR will also subaward a portion of the funding to support local watershed planning projects focused on improving water quality through activities such as cyanotoxin sampling and expanded water quality monitoring. The key expected outcomes include water quality trend analyses and data to inform TMDL development and water management decisions to benefit the citizens of South Dakota.