NRCS Bulletin on Refining FY24 Source Water Protection Local Priorities

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has released its new national bulletin on “Refining Source Water Protection Local Priorities for FY 2024.” The purpose of the bulletin is to provide an opportunity for NRCS State Conservationists to work with partners (including state source water protection programs) to update the high priority source water protection (SWP) areas in each state. This bulletin is issued each year to refine the areas and continue to implement the provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill that requires NRCS to dedicate at least 10 percent of its conservation program funds for source water protection.

State source water protection programs are encouraged to contact and continue working with your NRCS State Conservationists office and State Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) and/or the source water protection subgroup of the STAC (if there is one in your state), to provide input on revising the high priority areas for FY24. This allows NRCS to provide increased payment rates and assistance to incentivize landowners to implement practices in these areas that protect drinking water quality and quantity. The due date for this process to be completed is September 30, 2023.

For more information, visit the NRCS Source Water Protection website to see the national map of FY23 high priority source water protection areas and read the NRCS bulletin here.