NRCS may provide technical and financial assistance whenever fire, flood, or other natural disasters cause sudden damage in a watershed. To safeguard lives and property, as authorized by the Secretary of Agriculture, NRCS can assist local sponsors with emergency measures to retard runoff and reduce erosion and sedimentation. Frequently used emergency measures include vegetative cover, gully control, stream bank protection devices, debris and sediment removal, and repair of dams, dikes, and other water control structures. Responds immediately in cooperation with other Federal and local agencies to provide the technical support to assess damages and identify needed actions. If life or property is threatened, provides remedial action in 1 or 2 days.
Assistance can continue until all hazards are controlled.
Uses contract easements for reconstituting wetlands on flood-damaged agricultural lands. Uses contract easements in specific sites that are ecologically sensitive and should be conserved as habitats for endangered species.