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Health & Fitness

MINNESOTA, FEDERAL GOV. ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY

Pilot Program Provides Farmers Incentives To Reduce Water Pollution

ST. PAUL, MN – Tuesday , Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul) joined U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Gov. Mark Dayton, and other officials at the University of Minnesota announcing the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program. The pilot program provides farmers incentives to reduce water pollution.

“This program is a great example of how the Federal Government, the State of Minnesota, and farmers can work together“, said Rep. Hansen. “The Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program encourages farmers to reduce water pollution voluntarily – protecting Minnesota's waters and ensuring agricultural productivity.”

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Rep. Hansen serves on the Minnesota House of Representatives Environment and Natural Resources Policy and the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance Committees. 

The goal of the Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program is to enhance our state’s water quality by accelerating the voluntary adoption of on-farm conservation practices. The pilot program will be taking place in the Whitewater River watershed in southeastern Minnesota, the Middle Sauk River watershed in central Minnesota, the Elm Creek watershed in south-central Minnesota and the Whiskey Creek watershed in northwestern Minnesota.

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The program is the product of a state-federal partnership that includes the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

More information can be found on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture website: www.mda.state.mn.us/protecting/waterprotection/awqcprogram.aspx

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