The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program partners with local, eligible sponsors to help communities recover from a natural disaster and help mitigate future threats of flooding. Sponsors can include state, county, or local units of government with legal interest in or responsibility for the values threatened by the watershed emergency. 

The EWP program was initiated in Pennsylvania in August 2024, after Tropical Storm Debby hit the northern tier of the Commonwealth , causing record breaking rainfall that ravaged banks along streams and creeks. 

After this storm, 10 different sponsors requested EWP assistance and worked closely with PA-NRCS staff to complete 80 projects for primarily private homes and businesses that were at risk.

The sponsors were able to receive financial (75 percent of construction costs) and technical (engineering and site inspection) assistance through NRCS. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency were able to provide the remaining 25 percent of construction costs. 

The final project, in Clearfield County, was completed in March 2026 with the assistance of the local municipality, Lawrence Township. 

Construction on this project started at the beginning of March and the final touches were completed within just a few weeks. A stacked rock wall nearly six feet tall, was installed along a significantly eroded section of Moose Creek that threatened the adjacent residence. 

By Lawrence Township allocating their time and resources in support of this project, the federal and state funding allocated to the project helped secure homes from future flood events.