NEBRASKA ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST - 2010 APPLICATION SUMMARY Page 1 of 71 Sponsor Name: Bennington Public Schools Nearest Town: Bennington Project Name: Wetland Restoration and Education Project Project No: 10-204 Amount Requested: $28,000 Term of Project Request: 1 Review Group: Urban Habitat Wetlands, which provide vital wildlife habitats and are an integral part of the greater world ecosystem, are declining in America. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only 100 million of the 220 million acres of wetlands that once existed in America still exist today. Nebraska alone lost one third of its wetland acreage between 1780 and 1980. Bennington Public Schools has obtained a 46-acre area of land next to the high school and would like to convert part of the site to a 2-acre wetland and an outdoor learning environment. Currently this area is being farmed creating a monoculture that limits diversity. The land is a naturally low area adjacent to the main channel of the Papio Creek and experiences partial surface water after heavy rains in the spring and fall, making it an ideal location for a wetland. To maintain an adequate supply of water within the wetland area, we would implement features common to wetlands such as low-level berms and weirs. Creating this wetland will increase species diversity for wildlife and vegetation. In addition, it will create an outdoor learning environment where Bennington's 1,100 students can learn about the effects and benefits a wetland has on its surroundings. Our design also includes an area that demonstrates plant succession as well as an arboretum that will add to the educational value of the site. Currently, Bennington students have little opportunity to learn in an outdoor classroom. Implementing the wetland would benefit the biology, life science, environmental science, chemistry, art and language art curriculum at all grade levels. Finally, for the residents of Bennington, the wetlands will provide recreational opportunities such as bird watching, photography, and enjoyment of nature. Sponsor Name: Blair Curbside Recycling Services Nearest Town: Blair Project Name: Establishing and Expanding Recycling Pick-up Services in Washington Project No: 10-189 County, Nebraska Amount Requested: $24,380 Term of Project Request: 1 Review Group: Waste Management Blair Curbside Recycling Services (BCRS) was established to provide recycling pick up services to residents of Washington County, Nebraska. The business was started to increase incentive for Washington County residents to recycle by offering a reasonably-priced pick up and sorting service. Recycling helps reduce landfill waste and therefore increase landfill lifespan. Keeping the profits from the recyclable materials in the community (by dropping off all recyclables at the Washington County Recycling Center) creates and helps to maintain a sustainable, clean and environmentally conscious community. BCRS started recycling pick up services in July of 2009 and to date has signed up 47 customers. Most of its customers are in outlying rural areas, outside the town of Blair. With financial assistance from NET, BCRS wants to enlarge its customer base and request assistance in purchasing equipment. [App Summary] NEBRASKA ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST - 2010 APPLICATION SUMMARY Page 2 of 71 Sponsor Name: Center for Rural Affairs Nearest Town: Project Name: Eastern Redcedar Reduction on Grasslands - Phase 1 Project No: 10-169R Amount Requested: $15,000 Term of Project Request: 1 Review Group: Education Eastern redcedar, a native Nebraska tree, is expanding its territory in many counties from woody draws to open grasslands. Stands of these trees can grow so thick as to limit wildlife and livestock access and nearly eliminate understory cover and forage. Incidence of more than a few plants per acre can be detrimental to grassland-dependent species of wildlife. Integrated control methods of redcedar are starting to move beyond killing trees already established, yet additional biological, ecological and cultural management strategies may be available. With current redcedar control methods sometimes costing as much as the value of the land itself, often needing to be repeated on re-invading trees, and occasionally impacting soil erosion or nontarget species, additional scrutiny of redcedar management on grasslands is warranted. This project will convene stakeholders and experts to identify redcedar biological attributes and management strategies that could reduce its spread in undesired locations. Likely avenues for research, management strategies, public education or policies will be identified. Partnerships will be formed and funding streams identified to develop these high priority approaches. Funding for implementation of these activities could be requested of NETF in subsequent years. Sponsor Name: Central Fiber LLC Nearest Town: Omaha Project Name: Multipurpose Cellulose Production Facility Using Recycled Paper Project No: 10-137 Amount Requested: $775,000 Term of Project Request: 1 Review Group: Waste Management Central Fiber (CF) proposes to build a multipurpose cellulose production line located within the Omaha recycling center operated by Firstar Fiber (Firstar), Nebraska's leading material recovery and recycling operation. The Project will provide Nebraska with the capability of reusing recycled paper from in-state sources to produce environmentally important products such as cellulose insulation, widely used in weatherization programs, hydro-seeding mulch used to prevent erosion and insure compliance with EPA Phase 2 guidelines, and daily landfill cover that significantly increases landfill life. By taking in- state recycled paper, processing it in an operation closely aligned with Nebraska's largest recycling company, and producing environmentally important end-products, the Project provides a "cradle to grave" use of Nebraska's recycled paper flows. In addition to being an environmentally sound use for Nebraska's recycled paper, it is expected that the public visibility of this unique partnership between CF and Firstar will stimulate participation in statewide recycling programs. By co-locating the production line in the Firstar recycling center in Omaha, the Project will eliminate material handling and shipping costs, thereby allowing CF to provide insulation product to the various Nebraska entities involved in low-income weatherization programs at highly competitive prices. Furthermore, by warehousing the materials in Omaha, freight costs incurred by purchasers of these products will be reduced. Finally, keeping recycled paper within the state rather than selling it outside will result in a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of the overall recycling process. The grant proposal is for $775,000 (37.5% of the $2.1 million Project budget) and encompasses the acquisition of three components of the line: a) the paper feeding system ($157,000); b) the Hydrapac packaging system ($465,000); and c) the automatic palletizer ($153,000). The balance of the Project budget will be borne by CF. [App Summary] NEBRASKA ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST - 2010 APPLICATION SUMMARY Page 3 of 71 Sponsor Name: Central Platte Natural Resources District Nearest Town: Lexington Project Name: Aquifer Tests for Defining Aquifer Parameters in Support of Magnetic Project No: 08-130-3 Resonance Soundings for Groundwater Model Development Amount Requested: $243,600 Term of Project Request: 1 Review Group: Statement of Intent To better understand future and long-term effects related to Integrated Management including drought on the central Platte River riparian ecosystem and to effectively manage water resources, the COHYST ground-water flow model is being constructed to simulate current and/or future ground-water and surface-water conditions. The predictive accuracy of this model depends upon the quality and quantity of hydrogeologic data available in the study area. Input parameters are typically derived from test holes and aquifer pump tests, and the existence of this data is often sparse and additional drilling can be time-consuming and expensive. Magnetic Resonance Sounding (MRS) is a quick, non-intrusive surface geophysical technique that directly measures ground-water to gather information similar to that gained by aquifer pump tests, specifically hydraulic conductivity and water in storage. These are valuable parameters that can improve the accuracy of ground-water models, therefore enabling water-resource managers to make more informed decisions. A recent application of the MRS technique at Lexington, Nebraska showed excellent results. However, ground truth data in the form of long term aquifer tests is limited to only one site among the 11 sites surveyed to make an assessment of the accuracy of this data, or to assure that the proper calibration parameters are being used. Two additional sites have been selected for these aquifer tests. Additional MRS measurements are necessary in conjunction with timely, appropriately located ground truth data to realize the full potential of this technology as an alternative to extensive well drilling and pumping test. The data collected will be used in a sub regional groundwater model, based on the COHYST model, which is currently under construction by the CPNRD and NPPD. THIS PROJECT WAS SUBMITTED IN 2007 BUT NOT FUNDED DUE TO PLACEMENT ON THE RANK ORDER LIST. THIS PROJECT WAS FUNDED $152,900 IN 2008 WITH THE INTENT TO FUND UP TO $291,350 IN YEAR TWO AND $243,600 IN YEAR THREE PENDING AVAILABLE FUNDS AND SATISFACTORY PROGRESS.