Funds available for demo field projects using dredge material

The Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District is seeking proposals to conduct a demonstration project for the field application of Toledo Harbor dredge material from the Dredged Material Center of Innovation on a working farm in northwest Ohio.
Organizers of the project say the objectives include improving soil health in northwest Ohio and identifying long-term end uses for the harbor dredge material.
The applicant will be responsible for the excavation, transportation, and application of the dredge material to the farm field. The project will also require monitoring of agricultural parameters as well as a determination of dredge material application amounts/ percentages when used as a soil amendment.
Eligible applicants include farmers, researchers, consultants, and other entities interested in dredge material beneficial use.
Projects of up to $75,000 will be considered for funding. It is expected that the grant will be awarded in August 2021, with funding available through Dec. 30, 2022. Completed proposals must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on July 1 to Joey Sink-Oiler at jsink@co.lucas.oh.us to be considered for the project.
Proposals should be submitted in PDF format via email and be no more than five pages. To review the request for proposals and application online, please visit the Lucas SWCD website at https://www.lucasswcd.org/RFP.
In 2017, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, using Healthy Lake Erie Funds, finished construction of the Dredged Material Center of Innovation located on the western bank of the Maumee River. The 10-acre site was filled with 70,000 cubic yards of dredged material from the Toledo Harbor, all of which has since been dewatered and tested to show that it meets health screening levels, is suitable for agriculture, and contains nutrient levels sufficient for most northwest Ohio crops.
A pre-application meeting and/or tour of the Center of Innovation can be arranged.