Emergency Watershed Protection Program EWP

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• Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP)

Natural Resources Conservation Service www.co.nrc
s.usda.gov
Helping People Help the Land
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Program Authority
Public Law 81516, Section 216, 33 U.S.C. 701b,
as amended
The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to
undertake emergency measures, including the
purchase of floodplain easements, for runoff
retardation and soil-erosion prevention, in
cooperation with landowners and land users, as
the Secretary deems necessary to safeguard lives
and property from floods, drought, and the
products of erosion on any watershed whenever
fire, flood, or any other natural occurrence is
causing or has caused a sudden impairment of the
watershed.
7 CFR 624 EWP Final Rule, published April 4, 2005
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EWP is a Recovery Program

• Relieve hazards to life and property resulting
  from a natural disaster.
• NRCS funds 75 percent of cost
• Congressional appropriation
• Local sponsor funds 25 percent
• Cash
• In-kind services

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EWP . . .

• Is not for flood fighting/rescue
• Does not restore lost values
• Cannot restore to a better condition
• Has two in ten limitation on same site
• Cannot be used on federal lands

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EWP Applies When

• Natural disaster creates a watershed
  impairment that threatens life and property
• State/local government sponsor and
• Recovery measures are defensible
• Technically and economically
• Environmentally and socially

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Disaster Declarations

• EWP is activated with a
• Presidential declaration
• State Conservationist declaration
• Secretary drought declaration

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Disaster Declarations

• State Conservationist declared disasters
• Uses logical and defensible criteria
• Does not classify every rainstorm as an event

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Natural Watershed Impairments

• Floods
• Wildland Fires
• Tornadoes
• Landslides
• Drought
• Ice/Snow Storms
• Earthquakes
• Volcanic Activity
• Hurricanes/Typhoons

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Eligibility

• Eligible Sponsors are
• State government agencies
• Local units of government
• Other government entities
• Indian tribes and tribal organizations

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Eligibility

• A sponsor must be able to
• Provide the local share of costs
• Carryout operation and maintenance
• Obtain land rights
• Acquire permits

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Eligible Measures

• Debris Removal
• Bank Stabilization
• Levee Repair
• Erosion and Sediment Control
• Structure Removal
• Floodplain Easement

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Ineligible Measures

• Restore lost values
• Ag land productivity
• Reforestation
• Replace infrastructure
• Public or private roads
• Flood fighting/rescue
• Fix pre-existing problems

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EWP Time Frame

• Electronic disaster report within five days
• Sponsors requests help within 60 days
• Damage Survey Report (DSR) within 60 days of
  request
• Project complete within 220 days of funding (10
  days for exigency)

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EWP Events Funded
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EWP Funds Allocated (pre-Katrina)
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Colorado EWP Events Funded
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Pre-Disaster Planning

• Intra-agency coordination
• Who do I call and when?
• Who does what?
• Program Manager, Contracting Officer
• Area EWP Coordinator, Project Manager
• Technical Specialists
• Eng, Soils, Plants, Bio, CR, GIS, PAS, HR, FNM,
• Where do I find them?
• Program Manager, Contracting Officer
• Area EWP Coordinator, Project Manager

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Pre-Disaster Planning

• Inter-agency coordination
• Who are potential sponsors?
• Local units of government, conservation
  districts, etc.
• Who are our partners?
• City and county resources, watershed
  associations, etc.
• CD, FSA, CSFS, CDOW, CDOA, etc.

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Pre-Disaster Planning

• Inter-agency coordination (contd)
• How do we handle Permit/NEPA issues?
• USACOE, USFWS, CDOW, SHPO, etc.
• How do we get the word out about EWP?
• Local media, government and NGO, etc.
• Under represented groups
• Limited resource individuals

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NRCS Offices in Coloradohttp//www.co.nrcs.usda.
gov
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The EWP Process
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The EWP Process
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EWP Go / No Go Criteria
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The EWP Process
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Questions/Discussion