FLOOD MONEY

[sandstone]

Here's an opportunity for Tyrone and Snyder Township to get money to solve flood problems:


To all,

Here is some new information about an NRCS program just announced Monday with a very short three week signup. These monies are part of the economic stimulus package under the American Recovery and Re-investment Act (ARRA). USDA has been authorized $145 million to acquire new floodplain easements nationwide through the EWP Program. These funds will be used to restore an estimated 60,000 acres of frequently flooded land to its natural state and create jobs. Along with the easement purchase on floodplains that qualify this money may also pay up to 100% of the restoration costs associated to returning these floodplains to their natural state. There is no obligation should someone or an entity wish to apply.

I learned this week that removal of old mill dams or possibly removal of legacy sediment may qualify for restoration costs as part of the easement purchase.

Please share this information as you see fit. You can also go online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov for more information. Below is information taken from that website and I have attached the application to this email.
Thanks,

Emergency Watershed Protection - Floodplain Easement

Updated 03/03/2009

Background

Section 382 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, Public Law 104-127, amended the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWPP) to provide for the purchase of floodplain easements as an emergency measure. Since 1996, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has purchased floodplain easements on lands that qualify for EWPP assistance. Floodplain easements restore, protect, maintain, and enhance the functions of the floodplain; conserve natural values including fish and wildlife habitat, water quality, flood water retention, ground water recharge, and open space; reduce long-term federal disaster assistance; and safeguard lives and property from floods, drought, and the products of erosion.


Land Eligibility

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).

Easement Payments

Under the floodplain easement option, a landowner voluntarily offers to sell to the NRCS a permanent conservation easement that provides the NRCS with the full authority to restore and enhance the floodplain’s functions and values. In exchange, a landowner receives the lowest of the three values established for WRP as an easement payment, a value based on a market analysis, a geographic rate established by the NRCS State Conservationist or the landowner offer.

Restoration of the Floodplain

The easement provides NRCS with the authority to fully restore and enhance the floodplain’s functions and values to natural conditions to the greatest extent practicable. NRCS may pay up to 100 percent of the restoration costs. NRCS actively restores the natural features and characteristics of the floodplain through re-creating the topographic diversity, increasing the duration of inundation and saturation, and providing for the re-establishment of native vegetation. .

Landowner Use

Landowners retain several rights to the property, including:

quiet enjoyment
the right to control public access and
the right to undeveloped recreational use such as hunting and fishing.

At any time, a landowner may obtain authorization from NRCS to engage in other activities, provided that NRCS determines it will further the protection and enhancement of the easement’s floodplain functions and values. These compatible uses may include managed timber harvest, periodic haying, or grazing. NRCS determines the amount, method, timing, intensity, and duration of any compatible use that might be authorized. While a landowner can realize economic returns from an activity allowed for on the easement area, a landowner is not assured of any specific level or frequency of such use, and the authorization does not vest any right of any kind to the landowner.

Program Signup Information
These documents are available in Adobe Acrobat format.

Form AD-1153 - Application for Long-Term Contracted Assistance (PDF, 90KB)

Form AD-1159 - Notification of Intent to Continue (PDF, 90KB)

Form AD-1161 - Application for Payment (PDF, 90KB)

Form NRCS-CPA38 - Request for a Certified Wetland Determination (PDF, 90KB)

For other Forms, please contact your local USDA Service Center.


Additional Information
Excerpt from Section 216, P.L. 81-516 - further clarification of the EWP Program.

Final Rule, 7 CFR Part 624 (April 2005)



Program Contact
Tony Puga, National EWP Floodplain Easement Program Manager,
202-720-1067

[sandstone]

USDA Will Restore, Protect Flood-Prone Lands With Federal Stimulus Funding, Short Deadline

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide up to $145 million to eligible landowners nationwide through the floodplain easement component of its Emergency Watershed Protection Program.

The funds will be used to restore an estimated 60,000 acres of frequently flooded land to its natural state and create jobs.

The deadline for applications is March 27


"We will be working with landowners who voluntarily agree to restore the floodplains to their natural condition by placing their land into easements," said Gary Smith, Pennsylvania Natural Resources Conservation Service Assistant State Conservationist. "Eligible landowners throughout Pennsylvania can sign up for these easements now through March 27 at their local NRCS field office."

Eligible lands are those in all watersheds that meet the following criteria:

-- Lands must have been damaged by flooding at least twice in theprevious ten years, or at least once in the last 12 months, or lands thatwould be inundated or adversely impacted as a result of a dam breach; and

-- Lands must be privately owned, or owned by state or local units ofgovernment. Federally owned lands are not eligible for enrollment.

Landowners who are interested in having mill dams removed, or who are in the emergency action plan area for land and buildings downstream of any dam, may be eligible to apply. Land does not have to have buildings or structures on it to be eligible.

The funding, obtained from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, includes both technical and financial assistance to restore the easements. All funds will be spent on targeted projects that can be completed with economic stimulus monies. The goal is to have all floodplain easements acquired and restored within 12-18 months. No more than $30 million can be spent in any one state.

The restored floodplains will generate many public benefits, such as increased flood protection, enhanced fish and wildlife habitat, improved water quality, and a reduced need for future public disaster assistance. Other benefits include reduced energy consumption when certain agricultural activities and practices are eliminated and increased carbon sequestration as permanent vegetative cover is re-established.

Landowners interested in submitting applications can get additional information by contacting a local USDA NRCS Service Center.

For more information, visit the EWP Program floodplain easements webpage http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ewp/F ... index.html