Law360, New York ( June 21, 2016, 1:10 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced[1] that it had awarded 28 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grants totaling more than $12.5 million. Portions of this federal funding will provide financial assistance to owners of farmland who voluntarily act to reduce nutrient runoff from their land. This provision of federal funding to address nonpoint pollution sources in the Great Lakes basin represents a strikingly different approach than the one presented in the EPA's 2010 total maximum daily load (TMDL)[2] plan for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the litigation over which has only recently concluded. The funds provided through the GLRI grants may help to curb water quality decline in the Great Lakes basin and may ultimately alleviate concerns that the region will be subject to federal intervention similar to the Chesapeake Bay TMDL plan....