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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Approving Agreement with AgOutcomes, Inc., to purchase Watershed Nutrient Reducation Credits for the Water Plant RESOLUTION NO. 21-295 RESOLUTION APPROVING AGREEMENT WITH AG OUTCOMES,INC., TO PURCHASE WATERSHED NUTRIENT REDUCTION CREDITS FOR THE WATER PLANT FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS, the Water Pollution Control (WPC) Facility is being converted to a nutrient removal treatment technology over a period of 20 years; and, WHEREAS, separate from the work that will occur inside the treatment plant, watershed- based improvements performed by the City can be "banked" as a credit toward any future, more stringent nutrient reduction requirements imposed on the WPC Facility; and, WHEREAS,on February 24,2021,staff executed a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to allow these off-site nutrient reductions to be banked with the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Exchange; and, WHEREAS, in anticipation of the MOU being executed, the City partnered with AgOutcomes, a subsidiary of the Iowa Soybean Association, to reduce nutrient runoff in the watershed north of Ames; and, WHEREAS, AgOutcomes has recruited private landowners to install Best Management Practices(BMPs)on corn and soybean fields upstream from Ames located within the South Skunk Watershed; and, WHEREAS,the BMPs utilized are no-till tillage and the planting of cover crops;the growth of cover crops provides living groundcover over the winter; and, WHEREAS,the living crop on the land provides uptake of nitrogen and reduces soil erosion that contributes to phosphorus loss;these nutrients,without the protection of cover crops, leach or run off into waterways during the many months when there is not a crop growing; and, WHEREAS,AgOutcomes has tracked the fields where cover crops are planted,documented the planting times,collected photographs and provided all other data required to register the nutrient savings outcomes in units of annual pounds in the Nutrient Reduction Exchange located on the United States Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory In-lieu Fee and Bank Information Tracking System (RIBITS)program; and, WHEREAS, staff has negotiated an Agreement with AgOutcomes for the City to purchase the nutrient credits and the obligation of AgOutcomes to register them with the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Exchange; and, WHEREAS, the City will pay AgOutcomes a lump sum fee of$50,000 as reimbursement for nutrient reduction; this is a one-time payment for nutrient reductions achieved during the 2020 crop year; and, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that the Agreement with AgOutcomes, Inc., of Ankeny, Iowa to purchase watershed nutrient reduction credits in an amount not to exceed$50,000 for the Water Plant is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 25`'' day of May, 2021. �a Diane R. Voss, City Clerk John A. Haila, Mayor Introduced by: Gartin Seconded by: Betcher Voting aye: Beatty-Hansen, Betcher, Corrieri, Gartin, Junck, Martin Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 25t'day of May, 2021.