Project Grant 97796801

DESCRIPTION:THE PURPOSE OF THIS AGREEMENT IS TO SUPPORT AND ADVANCE THE GULF HYPOXIA ACTION PLAN THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF MISSOURI'S NUTRIENT REDUCTION STRATEGY. MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES' WATER PROTECTION PROGRAM, AS THE CURATOR OF THE MISSOURI NUTRIENT LOSS REDUCTION STRATEGY, WILL IMPLEMENT FIVE SEPARATE PROJECTS UNDER THIS GULF HYPOXIA PROGRAM WORKPLAN THAT ACHIEVE ACTIONS PROMISED UNDER THE STATE'S NUTRIENT STRATEGY. PROJECT DELIVERABLES INCLUDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATEWIDE NUTRIENT PROGRESS TRACKING DASHBOARD, EXPANSION OF WATER QUALITY MONITORING CAPABILITIES AT STATIONS ON THREE OF THE STATE'S LARGEST RIVERS, STUDYING MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER NUTRIENT REMOVAL OPTIMIZATION, INVESTMENT IN GULF HYPOXIA PUBLIC OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, AND THE FUNDING OF AN ACADEMIC STUDY TO EVALUATE NUTRIENT REDUCTION EFFECTIVENESS FOR A SELECTION OF COMMON AGRICULTURAL BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. THIS AGREEMENT IS SUPPORTED BY FUNDING PROVIDED UNDER THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT (IIJA) (PL 117-58). ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING PROJECT 1 - MISSOURI NUTRIENT REDUCTION PROGRESS TRACKING DASHBOARD A PUBLIC, WEB-BASED, INTERACTIVE DATA DASHBOARD FOR THE PURPOSE OF TRACKING AND PUBLICIZING DATA AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS RELEVANT TO VARIOUS NUTRIENT LOSS REDUCTION STRATEGY GOALS AND INITIATIVES. PROJECT 2 - EXPANSION OF MISSOURI'S AMBIENT NUTRIENT MONITORING EXPAND THE CAPABILITY OF (AT LEAST) FOUR EXISTING UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (USGS) WATER QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS TO INCLUDE CONTINUOUS NITRATE AND FLOW MONITORS. THE FOUR STATIONS WERE SELECTED IN ORDER TO BETTER CAPTURE AND CHARACTERIZE THE WATER QUALITY CONDITIONS OF KEY SUB-SECTIONS OF THE MISSOURI RIVER, MISSISSIPPI RIVER, AND GRAND RIVER. PROJECT 3 - MISSOURI MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER NUTRIENT OPTIMIZATION PILOT IMPLEMENT AND EVALUATE VOLUNTARY STRATEGIES AT SIX PARTICIPATING MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER FACILITIES TO OPTIMIZE OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE PRACTICES TO REDUCE NUTRIENT LOADS WITHOUT REQUIRING LARGE CAPITAL EXPENSES. FINDINGS WILL THEN BE DISSEMINATED TO ALL WASTEWATER SYSTEMS AND STAKEHOLDER IN THE STATE AND MADE PUBLIC FOR WIDER CONSUMPTION. PROJECT 4 - GULF HYPOXIA OUTREACH AND EDUCATION EXHIBIT PARTNER WITH AN EXISTING HIGH PROFILE SCIENCE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ORGANIZATION IN THE ST. LOUIS REGION TO DELIVER A HIGH-'REACH' PUBLIC EDUCATION EXHIBIT TO RAISE AWARENESS OF NUTRIENT POLLUTION IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN, THE MIDWEST'S ROLE IN GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA, AND ACTIONS THE PUBLIC CAN TAKE TO HELP REDUCE THEIR PERSONAL NUTRIENT POLLUTION FOOTPRINT. PROJECT 5 - REFINING NUTRIENT REDUCTION MODELS WITH SUBSURFACE NUTRIENT TRANSPORT MEASUREMENT PARTNERSHIP WITH LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, ONE OF MISSOURI'S LAND GRANT UNIVERSITIES (LGU), IN ADDITION TO ONE OF MISSOURI'S HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCU), TO PERFORM A STUDY AIMED AT FURTHER REFINING NUTRIENT LOSS REDUCTION ESTIMATES FOR COMMON AGRICULTURAL BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPS). SUBRECIPIENT:PROJECT 2 - EXPANSION OF MISSOURI'S AMBIENT NUTRIENT MONITORING EXPAND THE CAPABILITY OF (AT LEAST) FOUR EXISTING UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (USGS) WATER QUALITY MONITORING STATIONS TO INCLUDE CONTINUOUS NITRATE AND FLOW MONITORS. THE FOUR STATIONS WERE SELECTED IN ORDER TO BETTER CAPTURE AND CHARACTERIZE THE WATER QUALITY CONDITIONS OF KEY SUB-SECTIONS OF THE MISSOURI RIVER, MISSISSIPPI RIVER, AND GRAND RIVER. PROJECT 4 - GULF HYPOXIA OUTREACH AND EDUCATION EXHIBIT PARTNER WITH AN EXISTING HIGH PROFILE SCIENCE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ORGANIZATION IN THE ST. LOUIS REGION TO DELIVER A HIGH-'REACH' PUBLIC EDUCATION EXHIBIT TO RAISE AWARENESS OF NUTRIENT POLLUTION IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN, THE MIDWEST'S ROLE IN GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA, AND ACTIONS THE PUBLIC CAN TAKE TO HELP REDUCE THEIR PERSONAL NUTRIENT POLLUTION FOO