This agreement provides support to the state of indiana to implement its nonpoint source management program, focusing on watersheds with water quality impairments caused by polluted runoff from…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 awarded the Indiana Department of Environmental Management $6,054,112 under the Nonpoint Source Implementation Grants program (CFDA 66.460) for the period October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2030. This formula grant supports Indiana's implementation of its EPA-approved Section 319 nonpoint source management program, targeting water quality impairments caused by polluted runoff. The award funds the development and implementation of watershed management plans, installation of structural and non-structural best management practices (BMPs), water quality monitoring and assessment activities, technology demonstrations, and comprehensive education and outreach initiatives designed to reduce contaminant loads including nutrients, bacteria (E. coli), and sediment across Indiana's impaired watersheds.

The primary deliverables include improved water quality through reduced pollutant loads; development of watershed management plan documents; implementation of BMPs such as riparian buffer creation, livestock stream exclusion, erosion reduction on cropland, and urban stormwater management; increased public awareness and behavior change regarding nonpoint source pollution; and biological community and habitat assessments. IDEM distributes funding through seven sub-awards to local implementing partners including soil and water conservation districts (Owen County, Knox County, Washington County, Shelby County, Vermillion County, and Orange County), nonprofit organizations (Wabash River Defenders Inc. and Friends of Lake Monroe Inc.), and Purdue University. These sub-recipients develop cost-share programs for BMP implementation, conduct water quality monitoring, and execute education and outreach programs including workshops, field days, Hoosier Riverwatch trainings, and community engagement activities to promote long-term land management changes and reduce nonpoint source pollution throughout Indiana's target watersheds.

This agreement provides support to the state of indiana to implement its nonpoint source management program, focusing on watersheds with water quality impairments caused by polluted runoff from nonpoint sources. Nonpoint source implementation projects include a variety of structural and non-structural best management practices (bmps), watershed planning, monitoring, technology demonstrations, and a variety of education/outreach programs.activities:the activities of the projects will provide the following: improved water quality and reduced contaminant loads (e.g., nutrients, bacteria (e. Coli), and sediment); development of watershed management plan documents; increase in education and outreach to local citizens concerning NPS issues; implementation of bmps addressing target loads and goals of wmps (e.g., create and enhance riparian buffers along stream channels to decrease nutrient and sediment inputs to surface waters); improve the accessibility and learning opportunities within the pathway to water quality; restricting livestock from streams and ponds that will help eliminate nutrients in the water; reduce erosion on cropland by increasing residue on crop fields within the watershed; increase in urban/suburban BMP implementation to reduce the water quality impact of excess storm water; increased water quality awareness and changes in behavior; assessments of biological communities and habitat; and reduction in litter and trash within watersheds.subrecipient:the various listed projects will consist of developing watershed management plans, developing, promoting, and implementing cost-share programs and developing education/outreach programs. Subrewards will also be used by various state agencies in order to establish a water quality monitoring/assessment program to collect baseline data, collect and analyze water samples from lakes ad reservoirs.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables and expected outcomes include pollutant reductions for the following: (phosphorus and nitrogen), total suspended solids (TSS), and e. Coli bacteria. Direct beneficiaries of this program include all state residents and occupants, both permanent and temporary.