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

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a $4,887,547 Formula Grant under the Clean Water Act Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source Implementation Grants program to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to implement the state's nonpoint source management program. The funding supports watershed protection and restoration projects in Texas focused on reducing water quality impairments caused by polluted runoff from nonpoint sources. Key activities include installing best management practices for animal waste, sediment, pesticide, and fertilizer control, watershed planning and monitoring, technology demonstrations, and education/outreach programs. Several sub-awards were made to entities like the Houston-Galveston Area Council, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service, and the City of San Marcos to carry out specific watershed protection and restoration initiatives across the state. The grant performance period is from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2029.

This agreement provides support to the state of texas to implement its nonpoint source management program, focusing on watersheds with water quality impairments caused by polluted run-off from nonpoint sources. Nonpoint source implementation projects include best management practice installations for animal wastes, sediment, pesticide and fertilizer control, a variety of other structural and nonstructural practices, watershed planning, monitoring, technology demonstrations, and a variety of education/outreach programs. The intended beneficiaries of the fiscal year 2023 clean water act section 319(h) funding are the citizens of texas. This grant has 12 subawards listed in a.23.d.activities:(1.01) texas stream team program - texas stream team is a statewide network of community scientists and supportive partners working together to provide water quality monitoring to protect water resources from the impacts of nonpoint source pollution. Community scientists contribute their time and passion to monitoring, clean UPS, watershed protection planning, and other community projects. Texas stream team will work statewide to expand its network to areas with an accepted watershed protection plan (WPP), while continuing to offer services to all impaired and priority watersheds. Expansion will consist of forming new groups and growing existing groups and providing them with translated program materials. (1.02) urban stream processes and restoration training program / streamside management zone evaluation (FY24-27) - this project will promote healthy watersheds and improve water quality through reduced erosion and stream restoration with the delivery of urban stream processes and restoration training programs in priority watersheds and one 3-day advanced stream restoration design training. The project will also develop and monitor a streamside management zone (SMZ) restoration and demonstration site, illustrating erosion reducing methods. The SMZ will be compared to a degraded upstream site with no erosion reducing efforts. Such efforts would display to the public WPP implementation strategies that reduce erosion and improve riparian and stream functional processes via the planting of native flora, routine monitoring, and adaptive management of the SMZ. The training programs will be delivered statewide in areas with the environmental protection agency (EPA)-accepted wpps, and the SMZ work will be conducted in wolf pen creek, a tributary to carters creek (segment ID 1209C), which has a total maximum daily load (tmdl) implementation plan, and is within the target watershed of the navasota river below lake limestone WPP. (1.03) big ELM creek watershed protection plan implementation mdash; outreach and education phase 2 - texas water resource institution (twri) will continue to facilitate implementation of the big ELM creek watershed protection plan through coordination with local stakeholders. Twri will also facilitate education and outreach activities in the watershed. (1.04) hickory creek watershed: management of structural best management practices - this project aims to implement an adaptive management strategy for an existing bioretention area, installed as a structural best management practice (BMP) and low impact development (lid) management measure in the hickory creek watershed protection plan. First, we will assess the effectiveness and current status of the structural BMP at 3 sites in cross timbers park via water quality monitoring. Then, we will apply adaptive actions to the BMP if needed and monitor for changes in water quality treatment. Finally, educational manuals will be developed based on lessons learned from the project, and educational outreach will be conducted to inform the public about the bmps. (1.05) watershed education through experimentation stations in texas (we-test) - the goal of the project is to demonstrate the importance of sustaining healthy watersheds to youth and to cultivate a SEN