Emergency Watershed
Protection
North Carolina
New North Carolina EWP Fact Sheet and Sample Request Letter.
The following documents require
Adobe Acrobat
EWP Fact Sheet 2011 (PDF; 86.81KB )
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EWP Background
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
administers the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program, which responds to
emergencies created by natural disasters. It is not necessary for a national
emergency to be declared for an area to be eligible for assistance.
The program is designed to help people and conserve natural resources by
relieving imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires,
windstorms, and other natural occurrences. EWP is an emergency recovery
program. All projects undertaken, with the exception of the purchase of
floodplain easements, must have a project sponsor.
NRCS may bear up to 75 percent of the construction cost of emergency
measures. The remaining 25 percent must come from local sources and can be in
the form of cash or in-kind services. Funding is subject to Congressional
approval.
Type of Work Authorized
NRCS may purchase EWPP easements on any floodplain lands that have been
impaired within the last 12 months or that have a history of repeated flooding
(i.e., flooded at least two times during the past 10 years).
EWP is designed for installation of recovery measures. Activities include
providing financial and technical assistance to:
- remove debris from stream channels, road culverts, and bridges
- reshape and protect eroded banks
- correct damaged drainage facilities
- establish cover on critically eroding lands
- repair levees and structures and
- repair conservation practices.
NRCS may purchase EWPP easements on any floodplain lands that have been
impaired within the last 12 months or that have a history of repeated flooding
(i.e., flooded at least two times during the past 10 years).
It can include purchasing floodplain easements. These easements can restore,
protect, maintain, and enhance the functions of wetlands and riparian areas.
They also conserve natural values including fish and wildlife habitat, water
quality, flood water retention, ground water recharge, and safeguard lives and
property from floods, drought, and the products of erosion. EWP work is not
limited to any one set of prescribed measures. A case-by-case investigation of
the work is made by NRCS.
Eligibility
Public and private landowners are eligible for assistance but must be
represented by a project sponsor. Sponsors include legal subdivisions of the
State, such as a city, county, general improvement district, conservation
district, or any Native American tribe or tribal organization as defined in
section 4 of the Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
Sponsor's Obligations
Sponsors are responsible for:
- providing land rights to do repair work
- securing the necessary permits
- furnishing the local cost share
- accomplishing the installation of work
- Work can be done either through Federal or local contracts.
How Do I Get Assistance?
If you have suffered severe damage that may qualify for the EWP program, you
should contact your local authorities and request assistance.
City and county governments, flood and water control districts, and soil and
water conservation districts are the most common sponsors of EWP projects.
Contact them directly to see if they are aware of the program or have contacted
NRCS for help. More information is available from NRCS offices
throughout the United
States and the Caribbean and Pacific Basin Areas.
Program Contact
Mike Hinton, Assistant State
Conservationist for Easements & Water Resources, 919-873-2103
Last Modified 01/05/2010
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