NRCS and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Partnership Agreement

Last Modified: 10/04/2007

A Partnership Of

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
    Partnership Contact Information
    NRCS State Level Contacts
    NRCS Technical and Program Area Specialists
    USACE Districts by State

Partnership History

The following documents are available for downloading. These document require Adobe Acrobat.

NRCS-USACE Agreement (269 KB)
NRCS-USACE Joint Memo (61 KB)
NRCS and USACE Brochure (1,191 KB)

 NEW - DRAFT ACTION PLAN

A draft action plan has been jointly developed by NRCS and USACE National Headquarters Staff to facilitate the implementation of the NRCS/USACE Partnership Agreement.  The items in the draft plan are national in scope and range from the policy and programmatic issues to the development and application of technology, tools, and training. The action plan will be finalized through a two-staged review and input process. The first review was recently completed by a small team from NRCS and USACE and the second review is a “Field Level Review”. NRCS and USACE will be conducting a simultaneous field level review of the NRCS/USACE Draft Action plan until September 1, 2007.  Top Leaders from both Agencies support the reviews of the draft  action plan in an effort to promote collaboration at all levels of each organization.

The following documents are available for downloading. These document require Adobe Acrobat.

DRAFT NRCS-USACE National Partnership Action Plan (36 KB)

    Draft Action Plan Table Document
    National Bulletin 450-7-07

Partnership Agreement Areas of Interest

Watershed Planning

The NRCS/USACE National Partnership Agreement supports both agencies seeking ways to integrate water resources programs and initiatives in order to develop more complete and efficient water resources projects for project sponsors, and improved watershed resources management for the broader range of watershed stakeholders.  Example topics that may be addressed include:

• Coordination and Collaboration in Water Resources Activities
• System Approaches to Managing Sediment and Potential Pilot Projects
• Models, Tools, and Technologies related to water and natural resource planning
• Pilot Water Resources Projects
• Innovations and Impediments to collaborative watershed approaches to resource development and management
• Watershed planning, training and technology exchange
• Integrated process to assist watershed project sponsors in obtaining 404 permits
• Increased technology, services, and data exchange to assure safety of new and existing dams.   

    NRCS Rapid Watershed Assessments (RWA)
    USACE Watershed Study Projects

Natural Disaster Recovery

The NRCS/USACE National Partnership Agreement supports the review and update of existing emergency management agreements as needed for Presidentially Declared Disasters.  Both agencies would work closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and major flood response and recovery actions requiring coordinated responses for Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FCCE) and Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP) activities. Example topics that may be addressed are the review of areas of responsibility and coordination of disaster recovery activities.

    NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection Program
    USACE Emergency Management

Wetland Creation, Restoration, and Enhancement

The NRCS/USACE National Partnership Agreement supports the review of existing authorities and ongoing programs, identification of areas of concern and need for increased collaboration on wetland creation, restoration and enhancement. Example topics that may be addressed include:

• Identification and importance of wetlands and aquatic resources functions
• Coordination of wetland projects and programs
• Interagency wetlands training and technology exchange
• Action Register to Implement the President’s Wetland Imitative

    NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program
    USACE Wetlands Regulatory Assistance Program
    USACE Ecosystem Restoration and Management
    USACE Wetlands Research and Technology Center

Wetland Conservation and Compliance

The NRCS/USACE National Partnership Agreement supports the review of existing polices and agreements related to wetland conservation compliance and regulation, updating them as needed, and identifying additional opportunities for cooperation.

Field Implementation

The NRCS/USACE National Partnership Agreement supports and encourages pilot activities for implementing innovations, removing impediments to the NRCS/USACE partnership efforts, and engaging and supporting local leadership in solving water and related natural science problems such as the following NRCS/USACE Pilot/Demonstration Projects

• Grand Prairie Project (NRCS Arkansas and Corps Memphis District)

• Maumee River Project (NRCS Ohio and Corps Buffalo District)

Contacts

Doris Washington, 501-202-8910  (NRCS)
Anne Sudar Cann, 703-428-7166   (USACE)