Lycoming County's initiative to launch its own nutrient credit trading program received a boost Friday in the form of a $600,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The grant was awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, which provides up to $1 million for innovative projects designed to reduce the flow of pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment entering the bay.

About half of the fresh water that enters the bay comes from the Susquehanna River watershed region, which includes Lycoming County.

County officials have been looking for ways to offset expensive upgrades to wastewater treatment plants associated with the multi-state initiative to reduce pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay.

The main focus of those efforts has been the development of nutrient credit trading program.

The credits, generated through pollution-reducing practices such as switching to no-till farming, planting cover crops and streamside forest buffers, can be sold to treatment plants as a less expensive alternative to "brick and mortar" upgrades, according to Commissioner Jeff C. Wheeland.

"It will drive down the cost of treating sewage," Wheeland said. "The rate payer will ultimately pay less with a nutrient credit trading program in place."

Officials said the program will not only provide treatment plants with an alternative to becoming compliant with state and federal clean water regulations, it will provide those who generate the credits, primarily farmers, with revenue.

The program will help clean up local waterways as well as the bay, they said.

According to Wheeland, the county's effort can serve as a pilot program used by communities throughout the state.

"These innovative projects will have lasting benefits for the Chesapeake Bay and its network of rivers and streams, especially when you consider that they can be duplicated in communities throughout the entire watershed," said William C. Early, acting regional administrator of the EPA's mid-Atlantic Region.

"Pollution from our yards, streets and roofs is a major concern, not just in the Chesapeake Bay region, but for almost every major river and estuary in the United States," said Tom Kelsch, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation director of conservation programs. "These projects take seriously the charge every landowner must be watershed stewards if we are going to realize a restored Chesapeake Bay."

The funds will be used to buy no-till planters that county farmers can borrow to try no-till planting, perform flood plain restoration and help put the actual credit trading program in place, Wheeland said.

According to county environmental planner Megan Lehman, John Shuman, of Lititz-based consulting firm Land Studies Inc., provided assistance in preparing the application for the grant.

Wheeland said the grant "is a feather in the county's cap" because it shows the county is a leader in the initiative to develop a nutrient credit trading program statewide.

"I think it is really neat that we have gained this recognition on this level," he said.