SUBCHAPTER 59D ‑ AGRICULTURE COST SHARE PROGRAM FOR
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL
SECTION .0100 - AGRICULTURE COST SHARE PROGRAM
02 NCAC 59D .0101 PURPOSE
This Subchapter describes the operating procedures for the
division under the guidance of the commission implementing the Agriculture Cost
Share Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control. Procedures and guidelines
for participating districts are also described. The purpose of the voluntary
program is to reduce the delivery of agricultural nonpoint source (NPS)
pollution into the water courses of the state.
History Note: Authority G.S. 106-840; 106-850; 139‑4;
Eff. May 1, 1987;
Recodified from 15A NCAC 6E .0001 Eff. December 20, 1996;
Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0101 Eff. May 1, 2012.
02 NCAC 59D .0102 DEFINITIONS FOR
SUBCHAPTER 59d
In addition to the definitions found in G.S. 143-215.74, the
following terms used in this Subchapter have the following meanings:
(1) Agriculture Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution
means pollution originating from a diffuse source as a result of agricultural
activities related to crop production, production and management of poultry and
livestock, land application of waste materials, and management of forestland
incidental to agricultural production.
(2) Allocation means the annual share of the
state's appropriation to participating districts.
(3) Applicant means a person(s) who applies for
best management practice cost sharing monies from the district. An applicant
may also be referred to as a cooperator. All entities, with which the
applicant is associated, including those in other counties, shall be considered
the same applicant.
(4) Average Costs means the calculated cost,
determined by averaging actual costs and current cost estimates necessary for
best management practice implementation. Actual costs include labor, supplies,
and other direct costs required for physical installation of a practice.
(5) Best Management Practice (BMP) means a
structural or nonstructural management based practice used singularly or in
combination to reduce nonpoint source inputs to receiving waters.
(6) Conservation Plan of Operation (CPO) means
a written plan scheduling the applicant's decisions concerning land use, and
both cost shared and non‑cost shared BMPs to be installed and maintained
on the operating unit.
(7) Cost Share Agreement means an annual or
long term agreement between the applicant and the district which defines the
BMPs to be cost shared, rate and amount of payment, minimum practice life, and
date of BMP installation. The agreement shall state that the recipient shall
maintain and repair the practice(s) for the specified minimum life of the
practice. The Cost Share Agreement shall have a maximum contract life of three
years for BMP installation. The district shall perform an annual status review
during the installation period.
(8) Cost Share Incentive (CSI) means a
predetermined fixed payment paid to an applicant for implementing a BMP in lieu
of cost share.
(9) Cost Share Rate means a cost share
percentage paid to an applicant for implementing BMPs.
(10) Detailed Implementation Plan means the plan
approved by the commission that specifies the guidelines for the current
program, year including BMPs that will be eligible for cost sharing and the
minimum life expectancy of those practices.
(11) District BMP means a BMP designated by a
district to reduce the delivery of agricultural NPS pollution and which is
reviewed and approved by the Division to be technically adequate prior to
funding.
(12) Encumbered Funds means monies from a
district's allocation which have been committed to an applicant after initial
approval of the cost share agreement.
(13) Full Time Equivalent (FTE) means 2,080 hours
per annum which equals one full time technical position.
(14) In‑kind Contribution means a
contribution by the applicant towards the implementation of BMPs. In‑kind
contributions shall be approved by the district and can include but not be
limited to labor, fuel, machinery use, and supplies and materials necessary for
implementing the approved BMPs.
(15) Landowner means any natural person or other
legal entity, including a governmental agency, who holds either an estate of
freehold (such as a fee simple absolute or a life estate) or an estate for
years or from year to year in land, but does not include an estate at will or
by sufferance in land. Furthermore, a governmental or quasi‑governmental
agency such as a drainage district or a soil and water conservation district,
or any such agency, by whatever name called, exercising similar powers for
similar purposes, can be a landowner for the purposes of these Rules if the
governmental agency holds an easement in land.
(16) Program Year means the period from July 1
through June 30 for which funds are allocated to districts.
(17) Proper Maintenance means that a practice(s)
is being maintained such that the practice(s) is successfully performing the
function for which it was originally implemented.
(18) Soil Loss Tolerance (t) means the maximum
allowable annual soil erosion rate to maintain the soil resource base,
depending on soil type.
(19) Strategy Plan means the annual plan for the
N.C. Agriculture Cost Share Program for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control to be
developed by each district. The plan identifies pollution treatment needs and
the level of cost sharing and technical assistance monies required to address
those annual needs in the respective district.
(20) Technical Representative of the district
means a person designated by the district to act on their behalf who
participates in the planning, design, implementation and inspection of BMPs.
These practices shall be technically reviewed by the Division. The district
chairman shall certify that the technical representative has properly planned,
designed and inspected the BMPs.
(21) Unencumbered Funds means the portion of the
allocation to each district which has not been committed for cost sharing.
History Note: Authority G.S. 106-840; 106-850; 139-3;
Eff. May 1, 1987;
Temporary Amendment Eff. September 23, 1996;
Recodified from 15A NCAC 6E .0002 Eff. December 20, 1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997;
Temporary Amendment Expired June 13, 1997;
Amended Eff. March 1, 2008; July 1, 2004;
Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0102 Eff. May 1, 2012.
02 NCAC 59D .0103 ALLOCATION GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
(a) The Commission shall allocate the cost share funds to
the districts in the designated program areas. To receive fund allocations,
each district designated eligible by the Commission shall submit an annual
strategy plan to the Commission at the beginning of each fiscal year. Funds
may be allocated to each district for any or all of the following purposes:
cost share payments, cost share incentive payments, technical assistance, or
administrative assistance. Use of funds for technical and administrative
assistance must follow the guidelines set forth in Rule .0106 of this
Subchapter.
(b) Funds shall be allocated to the districts at the
beginning of the fiscal year and whenever the Commission determines that
sufficient funds are available to justify a reallocation. Districts shall be
allocated monies based on the identified level of agriculture-related nonpoint
source pollution problems, the respective district's BMP installation goals as
demonstrated in the district annual strategy plan, and the district's record of
performance to affect BMP installation by cooperating farmers. The allocation
method used for disbursement of funds is based on the relative position of each
respective district for those parameters approved by the Commission pursuant to
Paragraph (g) of this Rule. Each district is assigned points for each
parameter, and the points are totaled and proportioned to the total dollars
available under the current program year funding according to the following
formula:
(1) Sum of Parameter Points = Total
Points
(2) Percentage Total Total Dollars
Available
Points Each x Dollars = to
District Available Each
District
(3) The minimum allocated to a particular
district shall be twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per program year, unless
the district requests less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
(4) If a district requests less than the
dollars available to that district in Subparagraph (b)(2) of this Rule, then
the excess funds beyond those requested by the district shall be allocated to
the districts who did not receive their full requested allocation using the
same methodology described in Subparagraph (b)(2) of this Rule.
(c) 95 percent of the total program funding shall be
allocated to the district accounts in the initial allocation. The Division
shall retain five percent of the total funding in a contingency fund to be used
to respond to an emergency or natural disaster. If the funds are not needed to
respond to an emergency, then the contingency fund shall be allocated at the
March meeting of the Commission.
(d) The Commission may recall funds allocated to a district
during a fiscal year that have not been encumbered to an agreement at any time
if it determines the recalled funds are needed to respond to an emergency or
natural disaster.
(e) At any time a district may submit a revised strategy
plan and apply to the Commission for additional funds.
(f) CPO's that encumber funds under the current year must
be submitted to the Division by 5:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday in June.
(g) Districts shall be allocated funds based on their
respective data for each of the following parameters:
(1) Percentage of total acres of agricultural
land in North Carolina that are in the respective district (including cropland,
hayland, pasture land, and orchards/vineyards) as reported in the most recent
edition of the North Carolina Agricultural Statistics. The actual percentage
shall be normalized to a 1-100 scale. (20%)
(2) Percentage of total number of animal units
in North Carolina that are in the respective district as reported in the most
recent edition of the North Carolina Agricultural Statistics and converted to
animal units using the conversion factors approved by the USDA-Natural
Resources Conservation Service. The actual percentage shall be normalized to a
1-100 scale. (20%)
(3) Relative rank of the number of miles of
stream identified as less than fully supporting due to agricultural nonpoint
source pollution as reported in the state's 303(d) list, 305(b) report, and
basin plan. (20%)
(4) Relative rank of the percentage of the
county draining to waters classified as Primary Nursery Areas, Outstanding
Resource Waters, High Quality Waters, Trout, Shellfishing, and Critical Water
Supply on the current schedule of Water Quality Standards and Classifications.
(10%)
(5) The percentage of cost share funds
allocated to a district that are encumbered to contracts in the best three of
the most recent four completed program years as reported on the NC Agriculture
Cost Share Program Database. (10%)
(6) Percentage of program funds encumbered to
contracts that are actually expended for installed BMPs in the best three of
the most recent four-year period for which the allowed time for implementing
contracted BMPs has expired as reported on the NC Agriculture Cost Share
Program Database. (10%)
(7) Relative rank of the average erosion rate
for agricultural land in the county as reported in the National Resources
Inventory, unless the State Conservationist of the Natural Resources
Conservation Service specifies that another information source would be more
current and accurate. (10%)
History Note: Authority G.S. 106-840; 106-850; 139-4;
139-8;
Eff. May 1, 1987;
Recodified from 15A NCAC 06E .0003 Eff. December 20,
1996;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1997;
Temporary Amendment Eff. May 1, 2001;
Amended Eff. September 1, 2005; August 1, 2002;
Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0103 Eff. May 1, 2012.
02 NCAC 59D .0104 BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ELIGIBLE FOR
COST SHARE PAYMENTS
(a) BMP's eligible for cost sharing will be restricted to
those BMP's listed in the Detailed Implementation Plan approved by the
commission for the current program year. BMP's shall meet the following
criteria to be listed in the Detailed Implementation Plan:
(1) All eligible BMP's must be designed to
reduce the input of agricultural nonpoint source pollution into the water
courses of the state or as otherwise authorized by statute.
(2) Information establishing the average cost
of the specified BMP must be available. District BMP's may use actual costs as
indicated by receipts, if average costs are not available.
(3) Eligible BMP's shall have adequate
technical specifications as set forth in Paragraph (b) of this Rule.
(b) BMP definitions and specifications are set forth
periodically in the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service Technical
Guide, Section IV, Raleigh, North Carolina or by the division for district
BMP's. BMP specifications appropriate for the current program year shall be
met or exceeded in order for an applicant to qualify for cost sharing.
Provisions for exceeding BMP design specifications by an applicant may be
considered at the time of application with the district. The applicant shall
assume responsibility for all costs associated with exceeding BMP design
specifications.
(c) The minimum life expectancy of the BMP's shall be
listed in the Detailed Implementation Plan. Practices designated by a district
shall meet the life expectancy requirement established by the division for that
district BMP.
History Note: Authority G.S. 106-850; 139‑8;
Eff. May 1, 1987;
Recodified from 15A NCAC 6E .0004 Eff. December 20, 1996;
Amended Eff. January 1, 1998;
Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0104 Eff. May 1, 2012.
02 NCAC 59D .0105 COST SHARE AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
(a) Cost share and incentive payments may be made through
Cost Share Agreements between the district and the applicant.
(b) For all practices except those eligible for CSI, the
state shall provide a percentage of the average cost for BMP installation not
to exceed the maximum cost share percentages shown in subdivisions (6), (8),
and (9) of G.S. 143-215.74(b), and the applicant shall contribute the remainder
of the cost. In‑kind contributions by the applicant shall be included in
the applicants' cost share contribution. In‑kind contributions shall be
specified in the agreement for cost sharing and shall be approved by the
district.
(c) CSI payments shall be limited to a maximum of three
years per farm.
(d) Average installation costs for each comparative area or
region of the state and the amount of cost share incentive payments shall be
updated and revised at least triennially by the Division for approval by the
Commission.
(e) The total annual cost share payments to an applicant
shall not exceed the maximum funding authorized in subdivisions (6) and (9) of
G.S. 143-215.74(b).
(f) Cost share payments to implement BMPs under this
program may be combined with other funding programs, as long as the combined
cost share rate does not exceed the amount and percentages set forth in
Paragraphs (b) and (e) of this Rule. For special funding programs where the
applicant relinquishes all production capability on his or her agricultural
land for at least 10 years, combined funding may equal up to 100 percent.
Agriculture Cost Share Program funding shall not exceed the maximum cost share
percentages shown in subdivisions (6), (8), and (9) of G.S. 143-215.74(b).
(g) Use of cost share payments is restricted to land
located within the county approved for funding by the Commission. However, in
the situation where an applicant's farm is not located solely within a county,
the entire farm, if contiguous, shall be eligible for cost share payments.
(h) Cost share contracts used on or for local, state or
federal government land must be approved by the Commission in order to avoid
potential conflicts of interest and to ensure that such contracts are
consistent with the purposes of this program.
(i) The district Board of Supervisors may approve Cost
Share Agreements with cost share percentages or amounts less than the maximum
allowable in subdivisions (6), (8), and (9) of G.S. 143-215.74(b) if:
(1) The Commission allocates insufficient cost
share BMP funding to the district to enable it to award funding to all
applicants;
(2) The district establishes other criteria in
its annual strategy plan for cost sharing percentages or amounts less than
those allowable in subdivisions (6), (8), and (9) of G.S. 143-215.74(b).
(j) For purposes of determining eligible payments under
practice-specific caps described in the detailed implementation plan, the
district board shall consider all entities with which the applicant is
associated, including those in other counties, as the same applicant.
History Note: Authority G.S. 106-840; 106-850; 139‑4;
139‑8;
Eff. May 1, 1987;
Temporary Amendment Eff. September 23, 1996;
Recodified form 15A NCAC 06E .0005 Eff. December 20,
1996;
Temporary Amendment Expired June 13, 1997;
Amended Eff. March 1, 2008; July 1, 2004; April 1, 1999;
January 1, 1998;
Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0105 Eff. May 1, 2012.
02 NCAC 59D .0106 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FUNDS
(a) The funds available for technical assistance shall be
allocated by the commission based on the recommendation of the division and the
needs as expressed by the district and needs to accelerate the installation of
BMP's in the respective district. Each district may use these monies to fund
new positions or to accelerate present technical assistance positions.
Districts must provide an itemized budget to the division in order to qualify
for technical assistance funds. Matching funds for district technical
assistance shall be approved by the commission prior to any expenditure of
funds. Budget revisions submitted by the districts may be approved by the NPS
Section based on Paragraph (b) of this Rule. N. C. Agriculture Cost Share
technical assistance funds may be used for each FTE technical position with the
district matching at least 50 percent of the total. Priorities for funding
positions shall be assigned based as follows:
(1) Subject to availability of funds and local
match, provide support for one FTE technical position for every district.
(2) Subject to availability of funds and local
match, provide support for one additional FTE technical position if the
position is needed to further support program implementation. Priority for
funding positions beyond one FTE per district shall be based on the following
parameters:
(A) Whether the position is presently funded by program
technical assistance funds.
(B) The number of program dollars encumbered to
contracts in the highest three of the previous four completed program years,
and
(C) The number of program dollars actually expended for
installed BMPs in the highest three years of the most recent four-year period
for which the allowed time for implementing contracted BMPs has expired as
reported on the NC Agriculture Cost Share Database.
(3) Subject to availability of funds and local
match, provide support for additional FTE technical position if the position is
needed to further accelerate treatment of identified critical nonpoint source
pollution problem(s).
(b) Technical assistance funds may be used for salary,
benefits, social security, field equipment and supplies, office rent, office
equipment and supplies, postage, telephone service, travel and mileage. A
maximum of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per year for each FTE
technical position is allowed for mileage charges.
(c) Technical assistance funds may not be used to fund
technical assistance positions which do not meet the following minimum
requirements:
(1) associated degree in engineering,
agriculture, forestry or related field; or
(2) high school diploma with two years
experience in the fields listed in Rule .0106(c)(1), of this Subchapter.
(d) Cost shared positions must be used to accelerate the
program activities in the district. A district technician cost shared with
program funds may work on other activities as delegated by the field office
supervisor but the total hours charged to the program by field office personnel
must equal or exceed those hours funded through the program. Also, these hours
must be in addition to those hours normally spent in BMP planning and
installation by district personnel.
(e) District technicians may be jointly funded by more than
one district to accelerate the program in each participating district. Each
district must be eligible for cost sharing in the program. Requests for
funding (salary, FICA, insurance, etc.) of a shared position must be presented
to the division by all concerned districts and the division shall cost share to
the billing district at a 50-50 rate based on the portion of the FTE provided
each respective district. A shared position must be officially housed in one
specific district and cost share for support items (office rent, telephone,
etc.) shall be paid to one district only.
(f) Funds, if available, shall be allocated to each
participating district to provide for administrative costs under this program.
These funds shall be used for clerical assistance and other related program
administrative costs and shall be matched with in-kind funds of an equal amount
from the district.
History Note: Authority G.S. 106-840; 106-850; 139‑4;
139‑8;
Eff. May 1, 1987;
Amended Eff. July 1, 1992;
Recodified from 15A NCAC 6E .0006 Eff. December 20, 1996;
Amended Eff. August 1, 2005; November 1, 1997;
Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0106 Eff. May 1, 2012.
02 NCAC 59D .0107 COST SHARE AGREEMENT
(a) The landowner shall be required to sign the agreement
for all practices other than agronomic practices and land application of animal
wastes. An applicant who is not the landowner may submit a long term written
lease or other legal document, indicating control over the land in lieu of the
landowner's signature, provided the control runs the life of the practice as
listed in the respective Program Year's Implementation Plan. Signature on the
agreement constitutes responsibility for BMP maintenance and continuation.
(b) As a condition for receiving cost share or cost share
incentive payments for implementing BMP's, the applicant shall agree to
continue and maintain those practices for the minimum life as set forth in the
Detailed Implementation Plan, effective the date the BMP's are implemented.
(c) As a condition for receiving cost share payments, the
applicant shall agree to submit a soil test sample for analysis and follow the
fertilizer application recommendations as close as reasonably and practically
possible. Soil testing shall be required a minimum of every two years on all
cropland affected by cost share payments. Failure to soil test shall not
constitute noncompliance with the cost share agreement.
(d) As a condition for receiving cost share payments for
waste management systems, the applicant shall agree to have the waste material
analyzed once every year to determine its nutrient content. If the waste is
land applied, the applicant shall agree to soil test the area of application
and to apply the waste as close as reasonably and practically possible to
recommended rates. When waste is land applied, waste analysis and soil testing
shall be conducted annually.
(e) The technical representative of the district shall
determine if the practice(s) implemented have been installed according to
specifications as defined for the respective program year in the USDA‑Natural
Resources Conservation Service Technical Guide, Section IV, Raleigh, North
Carolina, according to other specifications approved by the Commission pursuant
to 02 NCAC 59G .0103, or according to specifications approved by the Division
for district BMP's based on the criteria established in 02 NCAC 59G .0103(c).
The district shall be responsible for making an annual spot check of five
percent of all the cost share agreements to ensure proper maintenance. Waste
management systems shall be included as part of the annual five percent check
except for systems on farms without certified waste management plans. In those
cases, the districts shall conduct annual status reviews for five years
following implementation.
(f) If the technical representative of the district
determines that a BMP for which program funds were received has been destroyed
or has not been properly maintained, the applicant will be notified that the
BMP must be repaired or re-implemented within 30 working days. For vegetative
practices, applicants are given one calendar year to re-establish the
vegetation. The district may grant a prescribed extension period if it
determines compliance can not be met due to circumstances beyond the applicants
control.
(g) If the practices are not repaired or reimplemented
within the specified time, the applicant shall be required to repay to the
Division a prorated refund for cost share BMP's as shown in Table 1 and 100
percent of the cost share incentive payments received.
Table
1
PRORATED
REFUND SCHEDULE FOR NONCOMPLIANCE
OF
COST SHARE PAYMENTS
Percent Age of Practice Life Percent
Refund
0 100
10 95
20 89
30 82
40 74
50 65
60 55
70 44
80 31
90 17
100 0
(h) An applicant, who has been found in noncompliance and
who does not agree to repair or reimplement the cost shared practices, and a
District may jointly request the commission to informally mediate the case. To
invoke this method of mediation, both parties must stipulate that the
commission mediation is binding.
(i) An applicant shall have 180 days to make repayment to
the Division following the final appeals process.
(j) The inability to properly maintain cost shared
practices or the destruction of such practices through no fault of the
applicant shall not be considered as noncompliance with the cost share
agreement.
(k) When land under cost share agreement changes owners the
new landowner shall be strongly encouraged by the district to accept the
remaining maintenance obligation. If the new landowner does not accept the
maintenance requirements in writing, then the original applicant shall be
required to refund 100 percent of all CSI payments and a prorated portion of
cost share payments in accordance with Table 1 in Paragraph (g) of this Rule.
History Note: Authority G.S. 106-850; 139-4; 139‑8;
Eff. May 1, 1987;
Amended Eff. July 1, 1992;
Recodified from 15A NCAC 6E .0007 Eff. December 20, 1996;
Amended Eff. June 1, 2008; April 1, 1999; November 1,
1997;
Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0107 Eff. May 1, 2012.
02 NCAC 59D .0108 DISTRICT PROGRAM OPERATION
(a) As a component of the annual strategy plan, the
district shall prioritize both cropland and animal operations according to
pollution potential. The district shall target technical and financial
assistance to facilitate BMP implementation on the identified critical areas.
(b) Priority by the district may be given to implementing
systems of BMP's which provide the most cost effective reduction of nonpoint
source pollution.
(c) All applicants shall apply to the district and complete
the necessary forms in order to receive cost share payments.
(d) The district shall review each application and the
feasibility of each application. The district shall review and approve the
evaluation and assign priority for cost sharing. All applicants shall be
informed of cost share approval or denial.
(e) Upon approval of the application by the district, the
applicant and the district shall enter into a cost share agreement. The cost
share agreement shall list the practices to be cost shared with state funds.
The agreement shall also include the average cost of the recommended
practice(s), cost incentive payment of the practice(s), and the expected
implementation date of the practice(s). The District shall develop CPO's,
which shall become a part of the cost share agreement.
(f) Upon completion of practice(s) implementation, the
technical representative of the district shall notify the district of
compliance with design specifications.
(g) Upon notification, the district shall review the CPO.
Upon approval, the district shall certify the practices in the CPO and notify
the Division to make payment to the applicant.
(h) Upon receipt of a quarterly statement from the
district, the Division shall reimburse to the district the appropriate amount
for technical and clerical assistance.
(i) The district shall be responsible for and approve all
BMP inspections as set forth in Rule .0107(e) of this Section to insure proper
maintenance and continuation under the cost share agreement.
(j) The district shall keep appropriate records dealing
with the program.
History Note: Authority G.S. 106-840; 106-850; 139‑4;
139‑8;
Eff. May 1, 1987;
Recodified from 15A NCAC 6E .0008 Eff. December 20, 1996;
Amended Eff. March 1, 2008; November 1, 1997;
Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0108 Eff. May 1, 2012.
