New Grant Program Helps Champlain Valley Farmers Improve Operations, Further Limit Discharge Into Lake Champlain
ALBANY, NY (May 10, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office is dedicating $500,000 to create a new grant program to help local farmers fight water pollution in Lake Champlain. The funds, from a settlement that Cuomo secured in a court-ordered settlement with American Electric Power, will assist farmers in the southern Champlain Valley to further improve operations and reduce stormwater discharges of nutrients from their land. Reducing nutrient pollution, particularly phosphorous, is one of the highest priorities for protecting Lake Champlain. Areas of the Lake, especially its southern segments, suffer from impaired water quality due to excessive phosphorous. Area farmers have for years taken steps to reduce runoff, and Cuomo’s funding is designed to expand these important efforts.