Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP)

The Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) is a voluntary conservation initiative that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to implement agricultural water enhancement activities on agricultural land for the purposes of conserving surface and ground water and improving water quality. As part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), AWEP operates through program contracts with producers to plan and implement conservation practices in project areas established through partnership agreements. The Secretary of Agriculture has delegated the authority for AWEP to the Chief of NRCS.

Under AWEP, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) enters into partnership agreements with eligible entities that want to promote ground and surface water conservation or improve water quality on agricultural lands. After the Chief has announced approved AWEP project areas, eligible producers may submit a program application.

2010 AWEP Program Information

The fiscal year 2010 AWEP program will be announced when the notice of Request for Proposals (RFP) has clear all legal and and departmental reviews. The RFP will be published in the Federal Register and this Website.

Additional fund requests for fiscal year 2010 to support FY2009 projects will be announced after project progress is evaluated and fund availability finalized.

2009 AWEP Project Area Announcements

Legal Authority

Section 2510 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) establishes the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) and EQIP (16 U.S.C. 3839aa and 7 CFR 1466).

Program Description

During each fiscal year, NRCS will make AWEP financial and technical assistance available to eligible owners and operators of agricultural lands who participate in approved AWEP project areas.

As authorized by Congress, this is not a grant program to eligible partners. This is a program whereby approved, eligible partners will enter into multi-year agreements with NRCS to promote ground and surface water conservation, or improve water quality on eligible agricultural lands.

The intent of AWEP is for the Federal government to leverage investment in natural resources conservation along with services and non-Federal resources of other eligible partners. Individual producers are not eligible to submit a partnership proposal.

Eligible Partners

Producers

Owners and operators engaged in livestock or agricultural production may be eligible for the program. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland, pasture, private non-industrial forestland, and other farm or ranch lands.

Producers must submit a program application to be considered for financial assistance through AWEP. See the NRCS EQIP program website for information how and when to apply. For more detail regarding eligibility and application requirements contact your local NRCS field office.

Funding

The 2008 Farm Bill provides $73 million for fiscal year 2009, $73 million for fiscal year 2010, $74 million for fiscal year 2011, and $60 million for fiscal year 2012 and each year thereafter for AWEP.

Please note that the amount of financial assistance provided to approved projects will change every fiscal year depending upon appropriations and agency priorities. Agricultural producers in selected project areas may apply for available AWEP financial and technical assistance at their local United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Service Center. Once an application is selected, an eligible agricultural producer will enter into a contract with NRCS to receive technical assistance and to implement approved conservation practices.

Partner Application

Notices and Additional Information

The following documents require Adobe Reader:

AWEP Project Proposals Approved for Fiscal Year 2009 (PDF, 44KB)

Approved AWEP Priority Areas (PDF, 141KB) details which parts of the country may receive higher rankings on AWEP proposals.

2009 AWEP Notice of Request for Proposals (PDF, 68KB) — The Federal Register Notice announcing the availability of EQIP fiscal year 2009 program funding through AWEP. It is also available from the Federal Register website.

AWEP At a Glance (PDF, 57KB) - This document on the NRCS 2008 Farm Bill website, provides basic information about AWEP.

AWEP D4 Criteria 03-02-09 (PDF, 311KB) - This document provides an explanation, map and list of Counties which qualify for the AWEP exemption for irrigation history eligibility requirements. D4 Counties are those areas meeting the RFP requirements related to Exceptional Drought criteria.

Programs

Introduction