NRCS Texas provides additional National Water Quality Initiative opportunities through EQIP

The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Texas announced that it will be accepting additional fiscal year 2023 sign-ups for the National Water Quality Initiative offered through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.  

The program’s purpose is to work with agriculture producers and landowners to improve water quality by helping individual agriculture producers take actions to reduce runoff of sediment, nutrients and pathogens into surface waters where the water quality is a critical concern, according to NRCS.  

“The National Water Quality Initiative offered through EQIP gives producers a great opportunity to take advantage of funding provided by USDA to maximize conservation efforts and ensure thoughtful stewardship of the land,” says Nathan Bowen, Irrigation Association advocacy director. 

According to the NRCS, NWQI is being offered in four priority Hydrologic Unit Code-12 watershed areas: Aransas River, Big Elm Creek, Lake Lavon and Lampasas River.  

• The Aransas River priority area consists of 12 HUC-12 watersheds in Bee, Refugio and San Patricio counties.   
• The Big Elm Creek priority area consists of seven HUC-12 watersheds in Bell, Falls, Milam and McLennan counties.    
• The Lake Lavon priority area consists of nine HUC-12 watersheds in Grayson, Fannin, Collin and Cooke counties.  
• The Lampasas River priority area consists of eight HUC-12 watersheds in Lampasas and Burnet counties. 

Applications must be submitted by June 2, 2023, to be considered for funding in fiscal year 2023. 

Read more about EQIP.