December 2001
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USDA and the city of Syracuse, N.Y., have launched a $900,000 Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to safeguard the city's drinking water.
CREP uses federal and state resources to safeguard environmentally sensitive land through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Producers enrolled in CRP remove lands from agricultural production and plant native grasses, trees, and other vegetation to improve water quality, soil, and wildlife habitat. CRP is authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended. CREP provides rental payments and other financial incentives to encourage producers to voluntarily enroll in 10- to 15-year CRP contracts.
The Syracuse, New York CREP will safeguard the city's drinking water by restoring the Skaneateles Lake, one of the 11 Finger Lakes of central New York and the source of unfiltered drinking water for the 240,000 residents of Syracuse. The program will help producers install and restore riparian buffers that help prevent sediment, nutrients, and pollutants from entering the lake. The buffers will protect water quality and provide wildlife habitat for a wide array of wildlife species, like trout and pheasant.
The goals of the Syracuse CREP are to:
- Restore 1,000 acres of cropland or marginal pastureland that drain into the Skaneateles Lake watershed.
- Reduce the risk of pathogens from animal waste applied to pasture and cropland.
- In the lake and its tributaries, reduce sediment deposits attributable to cropland erosion.
- Reduce nutrient runoff from animal waste and fertilizer applied to adjacent cropland and pastures.
- Assist the city of Syracuse to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
- Enhance wildlife habitat.
The expected combined federal and city obligation is $900,000 over 15 years, with $650,000 coming from USDA and $250,000 from the city of Syracuse. This does not include any costs that may be borne by producers. Syracuse's share is approximately 28 percent of the total program costs and USDA's share is approximately 72 percent.
Producers with acreage in certain areas within the Skaneateles Lake watershed that meet the CREP and CRP eligibility requirements may offer land for enrollment. To find out if your operation is located within the project area, contact your local USDA service center.
The following conservation practices may be eligible for enrollment into the Syracuse CREP:
- CP1 Establishment of Permanent Introduced Grasses
- CP2 Establishment of Permanent Native Grasses
- CP3A Hardwood Tree Planting
- CP15A Establishment of Permanent Vegetative Cover (Contour Grass Strips)
Eligible producers can enroll in 10- to 15-year CRP contracts. The applicant must offer eligible acreage and satisfy the basic eligibility criteria for CRP. Land must be cropland that has been cropped 2 out of the past 5 years and is physically and legally capable of being cropped. Marginal pastureland is also eligible provided it is suitable for use as a riparian buffer planted to trees. In addition, producers enrolling the land must generally have owned or operated the land for at least 1 year prior to enrollment. Persons with an existing CRP contract or an approved offer with a contract pending are not eligible for CREP until that contract expires.
Syracuse CREP participants are eligible for four types of USDA payments:
- Signing Incentive Payment - a one-time payment of $100 to $150 per acre for land enrolled in a riparian buffer practice, filter strip, or grassed waterway. USDA makes this payment soon after the contract has been signed.
- Practice Incentive Payment - payment equal to about 40 percent of the eligible cost for establishing the riparian buffer practice, filter strip, or grassed waterway practice. This payment is in addition to the 50 percent cost share assistance that USDA provides.
- Annual rental payment that is about 125 percent of the dryland cash rental rate for the county in which the land is located.
- Cost share assistance for installing the conservation practices on retired land.
The city will provide further cost-share assistance not to exceed 100 percent of the total eligible costs to establish eligible practices. The city will also develop a conservation plan and install additional conservation practices in order to protect water quality.
Applicants may still enroll in general or continuous signup CRP. However, CREP provides additional benefits not available through the general and/or continuous signup. For instance, the CREP enrollment process is on a continuous basis and payments are at a higher effective rate.
Haying and grazing is not allowed during the CRP contract period unless USDA permits it for emergency purposes under normal CRP rules.
For more information on the New York CREP, contact your local USDA service center, Farm Service Agency (FSA) office, or your local Soil and Water Conservation District office. Additional information is also available on FSA's web site: www.fsa.usda.gov
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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