Public and private landowners have until May 20 to sign up for the Emergency Watershed Protection – Floodplain Easement (EWP-FPE) program. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in North Carolina has funding available through the EWP-FPE program to purchase easements on public or private North Carolina agricultural and residential properties damaged from natural flooding events. Eligible applicants may be awarded the fair market value of land and structures, and NRCS will cover the cost of restoration of the easement, including the demolition or removal of structures present on the property.
Those interested in participating now have until May 20, 2019,
to submit a letter of interest
outlining the project scope and map of the impacted areas.
To be considered, local sponsors are to submit letters of interests and maps by mail to:
USDA - NRCS
State Conservationist
4407 Bland Road, Ste 117
Raleigh, NC 27609
EWP-FPE allows NRCS to purchase easements on lands flooded in the past 12 months or at least twice in the previous 10 years. Under the floodplain easement option, a landowner voluntarily sells 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 least of one of the three following values as an easement payment: a geographic rate established by the NRCS state conservationist; a value based on a market appraisal analysis for agricultural uses or assessment for agricultural land; or the landowner offer.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: