Overview

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the Emergency Watershed 

Protection Program (EWPP) which responds to emergencies created 

by natural disasters. It is not necessary for a national emergency to 

be declared for an area to be eligible for assistance.

The EWP Program is a recovery effort aimed at relieving imminent 

hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and 

other natural disasters. All projects must have a project sponsor. 

NRCS may bear up to 75 percent of the eligible construction cost of 

emergency measures (90 percent within limited-resource areas as 

identified by the U.S. Census data). The remaining costs must come 

from local sources and can be in the form of cash or in-kind services. 

Type of Work Authorized

EWP is designed for installation of recovery measures to safeguard 

life and property as a result of a natural disaster. Threats that the 

EWP Program addresses are termed watershed impairments. These 

include, but are not limited to:

• debris-clogged waterways,

• unstable streambanks,

• severe erosion jeopardizing public infrastructure

• wind-borne debris removal, and

• damaged upland sites stripped of protective vegetation by fire 

or drought.

The program can include purchasing floodplain easements. These 

easements restore, protect, maintain, and enhance the functions 

and values of the floodplain, including associated wetlands and 

riparian areas. They also conserve natural values including fish and 

wildlife habitat, water quality, flood water retention and ground 

water recharge, as well as safeguard lives and property from floods, 

and the results of erosion. 

EWP work is not limited to any one set of prescribed measures. 

NRCS completes a Damage Survey Report which provides a site-bysite investigation of the work and measures necessary to protect life 

and property from additional flooding and soil erosion. NRCS will 

only provide funding for work that is necessary to reduce applicable 

threats. Should sponsors want to increase the level of protection, the 

sponsor will be responsible for paying 100 percent of the costs of the 

upgrade and additional work.

Eligibility

Public and private landowners are eligible 

for assistance but must be represented by 

a project sponsor.

Sponsors include legal subdivisions of 

the State, such as a city, county, general 

improvement district, conservation district, 

or any Native American tribe or tribal 

organization.

Sponsor’s Obligations

Sponsors are responsible for:

• providing land rights to implement 

repair work,

• securing all necessary permits,

• furnishing the local cost share, 

• accomplishing required works of 

improvement to remove the imminent 

threat to life and property,

• performing any necessary operation 

and maintenance.

United States

Department of

Agriculture

EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROTECTION 

PROGRAM

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

FACT SHEET - NOVEMBER 2021
EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM 2

Criteria for Assistance

All EWP works of improvement must reduce threat to 

life and property; be economically, environmentally, 

and socially defensible; and be technically sound. 

How Do I Obtain Assistance?

If your land has suffered severe damage that may qualify 

for the EWP Program, you should contact your local 

NRCS office and request assistance. City, county, state 

governments, flood and water control districts, and soil 

and water conservation districts are the most common 

sponsors of EWP projects. More information is available 

from NRCS offices throughout the United States and the 

Caribbean and Pacific Islands areas.

Emergency Watershed Protection Cost Share

The NRCS contribution toward the implementation of 

emergency measures may not exceed 75 percent of 

the construction cost, including work done to offset or 

mitigate adverse impacts as a result of the emergency 

measures.

However, if NRCS determines that an area qualifies as a 

limited resource area, the Federal contribution toward 

the implementation of emergency measures may not 

exceed 90 percent of the construction cost of such 

emergency measures.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

NRCS may provide technical assistance as services and/

or funds to plan, design, and contract the emergency 

measures, subject to an agreement between NRCS and 

the Sponsor.

Purpose Installation / 

Construction

Engineering / 

Technical 

Assistance

Real 

Property 

Rights

Emergency 

Watershed 

Protection

Not to exceed 

75 percent, 

or 90 percent 

for limited 

resource areas

Not to exceed 

100 percent

$0

More Information

This fact sheet is for informational purposes only; other 

restrictions may apply. For more information about or 

find your local USDA Service Center, visit farmers.gov.

Due to extreme rainfall on December 28, 2019, Tillatoba Creek in the Town of Charleston, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, had 

extensive flood flows which caused bank sloughing that endangered the main access road to the local hospital and other associated 

infrastructure. After EWP repairs, the road shoulder was restored and the streambank stabilized to prevent further sloughing and 

danger to the traveling public on the hospital road.

Stabilized streambank along main access road in Charleston, Mississippi.