Top officials from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) were on hand at the September 26th meeting of the Clarke County Reservoir Commission in a show of support for the project.
NRCS State Conservationist Jon Hubbert and Assistant State Conservationist Scott Cagle made the trip to Osceola for this month’s meeting in a demonstration of their commitment to making this reservoir a reality. Currently, the Clarke County Reservoir is the only watershed project they are working on and they have a team dedicated to ensuring the continued progress of the plan.
Hubbert and Cagle provided information, support, and strong encouragement to national NRCS officials in support of the CCRC who met with Congress this summer in order to secure additional federal funding necessary to complete the watershed plan-environmental impact statement. An additional $700,000 in federal funding was secured to cover required work including endangered bat habitat surveys and wetland and stream mitigation actions.
“We understand the severity of the water situation in Clarke County and here in Osceola,” said Cagle. “The project is in good shape right now and we will continue to do whatever we can to keep the plan moving forward.”
The first draft of the reservoir plan is well on its way to the National Water Management Center for review and approval, and should be delivered to the agency by mid-December. Following that review, the plan-EIS will go out for inter-agency and public review early in 2025. Then the plan will be ready for final approval and signature by the NRCS. At that point, NRCS should be able to move right into the final design phase of the project.
“We really appreciate that Scott and Jon carved time out of their busy schedules to attend the meeting and personally express the NRCS’s commitment to our reservoir,” said Dave Beck, CCRC Project Coordinator. “Their encouragement and advocacy have been essential to reaching our goals.”
If you have questions or would like additional information about the Clarke County Reservoir Commission or the development of the Clarke County Reservoir, please visit: www.ClarkeCountyReservoir.info or contact CCRC Project Coordinator, Dave Beck at dave.beck@southerniowarcd.org
*This article was originally published at www.ClarkeCounrtyreservoir.info on 10/3/24*