Commodity Credit Corporation April 2, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 2510 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Act) established the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) by amending section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985. The Secretary of Agriculture delegated the authority for AWEP to the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), who is Vice President of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). NRCS is an agency of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Effective upon publication of this notice, NRCS announces the availability of approximately $20.7 million in AWEP financial assistance during fiscal year (FY) 2010 to support new AWEP projects. The 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 purpose of this notice is to inform agricultural producers of the potential availability of program funds and to solicit proposals from potential partners seeking partnership agreements with the Chief to promote the conservation of ground and surface water and the improvement of water quality. This is not a grant program to partners, and all Federal funding offered through this authority will be paid directly to agricultural producers through individual contract agreements.