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ECP/EWP

  • Emergency Conservation Program (EWP)

The EWP Program offers technical and financial assistance to help local communities relieve imminent threats to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms and other natural disasters that impair a watershed. EWP does not require a disaster declaration by federal or state government officials for program assistance to begin. The NRCS State Conservationist can declare a local watershed emergency and initiate EWP program assistance in cooperation with an eligible sponsor (see the Eligibility section below). NRCS will not provide funding for activities undertaken by a sponsor prior to the signing of a cooperative agreement between NRCS and the sponsor.

NRCS offers financial and technical assistance for various activities under the EWP Program, including: 

  • Remove debris from stream channels, road culverts and bridges;

  • reshape and protect eroded streambanks;

  • correct damaged or destroyed drainage facilities;

  • establish vegetative cover on critically eroding lands;

  • repair levees and structures;       

  • repair certain conservation practices, and

  • purchase of EWP Buyouts

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Click here for more information. 

  • Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) 

The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) helps farmers and ranchers repair damage to farmlands caused by natural disasters and put in place methods for water conservation during severe drought. The ECP does this through funding and technical assistance.​

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The FSA County Committee inspects the damage to determine if land is eligible for ECP. For land to qualify for ECP funds, the damage from the natural disaster or severe drought must create new conservation problems that if not dealt with would:

  • Further damage the land

  • Significantly affect the land’s productive capacity

  • Represent damage from a natural disaster unusual for the area (an exception to this is damage from wind erosion)

  • Be too costly to repair without Federal assistance in order to return the land to agricultural production

Technical assistance to fix the conservation problem may also be provided by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Conservation problems that existed before the disaster or severe drought are ineligible for ECP assistance.

More information can be found here. 

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