The Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program allows communities to quickly address serious and long-lasting damages to infrastructure and to the land. EWP’s Program authorities offer USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) the flexibility to act quickly to help local communities cope with adverse impacts resulting from natural disasters. All projects must have a sponsor, such as a division of local or tribal government, and demonstrate that they reduce threats to life and property; be economically, environmentally and socially sound; and must be designed to acceptable engineering standards.
NRCS partners with diverse sponsors to complete EWP Program projects. Sponsors include cities, counties, towns, conservation districts, or any federally-recognized Native American tribe or tribal organization.
Sponsors can apply for EWP Program assistance directly to NRCS while public and private landowners can apply for this assistance through a local sponsor. Landowners do not need a sponsor to apply for assistance through EWP-floodplain easements.
Sponsor Responsibilities
Sponsors are responsible for the following:
obtaining land rights for repairs;
securing the necessary permits;
furnishing the local cost share (Sponsors must come up with 25 percent of the construction costs for recovery measures in the form of cash or in-kind services);
accomplishing the installation of work. (Work can be done through federal or local contracts); and
conducting operation and maintenance on completed projects.
