NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION
SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AUTHORIZATION:
Food Security Act of 1985, Title XII, Public Law 99-198,
as amended; Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, Title XIV,
Section 1237, Public Law 101-624, 104 Stat. 3584, 7 U.S.C. 3837, as amended;
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993; Federal Agriculture Improvement and
Reform Act of 1996; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998 and
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001.
To restore and protect farmed wetlands, prior converted
wetlands, wetlands farmed under natural condition, certain riparian areas, and
eligible buffer areas for landowners who have eligible land on which they
agree to enter into a permanent or long-term easement or restoration agreement
contract with the Secretary. The goal of WRP to maximize wetland functions and
values and wildlife habitat on every acre enrolled in the program. Total
acreage enrollment limitation is 1,075,000 acres.
TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:
Direct Payments for Specified Use. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Eligible landowners may offer farmed wetlands, prior
converted wetlands, wetlands farmed under natural condition, intensively
managed pasture and hayland riparian areas, along with eligible buffer areas
to be placed under a permanent or 30-year easement or restoration agreement. A
deed restriction covering the land approved under easement must be recorded in
the local land deeds office. The landowner will receive financial and
technical assistance to install necessary restoration practices on the land
under easement or the practice will be installed by the Secretary. Subject to
the acceptance of an offer by the Federal Government, the landowner will
receive in cash an amount specified in the WRP contract based on the fair
agricultural market value of the land or 75% of such value for a 30-year
easement. The landowner shall ensure that the easement granted to Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is superior to the rights of all others
and shall agree to implement a wetland restoration plan designed to restore
and maintain the easement area. The plan will include a designated access
route to be used as necessary for easement management and monitoring. The
landowner shall agree to a permanent retirement of crop acreage bases,
allotments, and quotas to the extent that the sum of the crop acreage bases
and allotments will not exceed the remaining cropland of the present farm or
subsequently reconstituted farm. In cases involving restoration participates
receive restoration cost-share and assistance and no easement payment.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: An
individual landowner, partnership, association, corporation, estate, trust,
other business or other legal entities and, whenever applicable, a State, a
political subdivision of a State, or any agency thereof owning eligible lands.
Beneficiary Eligibility: An
individual landowner, partnership, association, corporation, estate, trust,
other business enterprises or other legal entities and, whenever applicable, a
State, a political subdivision of a State, or any agency thereof owning
private croplands will benefit.
Credentials/Documentation:
The landowner must have owned the land offered for at least the preceding 12
months prior to the end of the period in which the intent to participate in an
easement is declared unless the land was acquired by will or succession as a
result of the death of the previous owner; or the Department determines that
the new owner did not acquire such land for the purpose of placing it in the
WRP. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A- 87. The
12 month requirement is not applicable to restoration agreement.
Pre-application Coordination:
An environmental impact assessment has been prepared for this program. This
program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure:
Submit an intention to enroll to the local NRCS office that serves the area in
which the farm or ranch is located during the designated sign-up period. This
program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular Nos. A-102 and A-110.
Award Procedure: The States
will provide a list of potential acceptable offers and request for allocation
of funds. The Department will allocate funding in a manner designed to achieve
cost effectiveness and maximum wetland restoration based wildlife benefits.
The States will notify the landowners of the status of their intention. This
process will be completed as soon as practical after funding becomes
available. For all tentatively accepted intentions a market analysis or
appraisal of agriculture value will be conducted. The market analysis will be
conducted by NRCS personnel with the assistance of other Federal, State and
private entities having knowledge of market conditions. Appraisals will be
done by certified appraiser.
Deadlines: None. The
program operates under a continuous sign-up process. The intention to
participate must be filed at the local NRCS office.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:
From 60 to 180 days after the application is filed with the NRCS. Landowner
application may remain on sign-up list for subsequent funding consideration.
Appeals: Landowner may
appeal any determination to the National Appeals Division.
Renewals: The land offered
may be re-offered in a future sign-up unless land or landowner is ineligible.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching Requirements:
Lump sum payments or annual payments (e.g., five to thirty) are made for
easements. Cost-share payments 100 percent of the cost of implementing the
Wetland Restoration Plan will be paid for a permanent easement with 75 percent
of permanent easement amounts being paid for 30-year easements and cost-share
agreements.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:
Cash easement payments will be made in a lump sum amount, or in annual
installments beginning at closing. Cost share payments for implementation of
easement practices will be made when a specific practice has been implemented
by either the landowner or contractor.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports: None.
Audits: Recipients are
subject to audit by the Office of Inspector General, USDA.
Records: Records will be
maintained in the county NRCS office, State NRCS office and Federal Record
Centers for the length of the agreement. The easement (deed restriction) and
applicable documents will be filed in the local land records office for the
duration of the easement. Agreements are filed with the Agency.
Fiscal year 2001 funds will provide for the enrollment
of an estimated 140,000 acres and the program will continue to be implemented
nationwide.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
The program is announced through news media and in
letters to agricultural landowners in the county. Regulations published in the
Federal Register and 7 CFR XIV.
INFORMATION CONTACTS:
Regional or Local Office:
Consult the local telephone directory for location of the NRCS office. If no
listing, contact the appropriate State NRCS office listed in the NRCS Section
of Appendix IV of the Catalog.
Headquarters Office:
Watersheds and Wetlands Division, Natural Resources Conservation Service,
Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 2890, Washington, DC 20013. Telephone:
(202) 690-0848. Use the same number for FTS.
Web Site Address: http://www.nrsc.usda.gov
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Not applicable.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
All offers are screened at both the local and State
level to determine the acceptability of the intention to ensure that offers
will not be accepted in excess of the value of agricultural land in its
"as is" condition; and long-term costs for providing easement access
route. Offers will be evaluated based on the environmental benefits and
government expenditures on restoration and easement purchase and the
requirement that wildlife benefits be maximized.
