ADMC has been granted meeting with National NRCS leadership on June 17th to provide key feedback to continue to improve conservation drainage related practice scenarios and payment schedules and to seek clarification about previous requests. The meeting is a result of a letter submitted by ADMC President Kent Rodelius based upon feedback from members and the ADMC board. A copy of the submitted letter can be viewed here.
The following eight items have been identified for discussion. If any ADMC members have additional discussion points, please reach out to Keegan.
- the need for a more user-friendly, interactive, and accessible approach to both practice scenarios and payment schedules to make them more useable to those external to NRCS,
- the status of the nationwide adoption of the phosphorus removal structure practice standard, which has been an interim practice standard in some states,
- the challenges we have observed in the approval of producer applications for DIA 164s and conservation drainage practices through both the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and the dampening effect this has on producer interest and participation,
- the plans for NRCS’s greater implementation of program and process streamlining measures, including the use of ACT NOW in EQIP, CSP, and RCPP,
- the status of NRCS’s assessment of key conservation drainage practices and their climate-change mitigation role, plus the need for NRCS’s explicit mention that drainage water management (554) as a minimum can be a facilitating practice for certain other conservation practices already on the NRCS CSAF eligible practice list.
- the availability of automation as a practice scenario regarding structures for water control (587), denitrifying bioreactors (605), and saturated buffers (604) in all states with substantive cropland acres with tile drainage,
- the variation in the automation-related practice scenarios and payment schedules across states and the opportunity for greater consistency, and
- the installation of conservation drainage practices, the role of Technical Service Providers, and how the practice scenarios and payment schedules still do not reflect this cost of technical assistance.
ADMC appreciates the opportunity to share information with NRCS and to aid the agency in its continuous improvements to the practice scenarios and payment schedules. ADMC is able and ready to provide information and perspectives that can further NRCS efforts to support greater adoption and management of conservation drainage systems in a systems approach.