How Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Works in North Dakota

In North Dakota, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) has been designed through a locally-led process.  The State Technical Committee, consisting of conservation stakeholders across the State, have provided NRCS with invaluable recommendations for “localizing” the program to meet the natural resource needs in North Dakota.

The State Technical Committee has been involved in determining statewide resource concerns, developing application ranking criteria, identifying eligible conservation practices, recommending practice payment rates, and recommending funding allocations.

The program has been further “localized” by assigning much of the priority setting at the county or reservation level.  The USDA Local Work Group (LWG), with membership consisting of NRCS, FSA, Extension Service and Tribal, State, and local government officials, provide recommendations to the NRCS district conservationist on program implementation at the local level.

Operating within the parameters developed by the NRCS from recommendations received by the State Technical Committee, the LWG provides grassroots input to the program.  This is accomplished in their role of determining local resource concerns, refining application ranking criteria to meet local needs, identifying eligible conservation practices, and recommending practice payment rates.

To accomplish the natural resource goals developed by the LWG’s, 76 percent of North Dakota’s EQIP allocation will be allocated to the counties.  These resource concerns range from ground water quality, plant diversity, and wildlife habitat.  The remaining allocation has been prioritized to address statewide priorities recommended by the State Technical Committee.  The statewide priority of Animal Feeding Operations (AFO) will aid in implementing animal waste systems within the State.  The statewide priority of  Ground and Surface Water (GSW), will aid in implementing efficient irrigation systems through conversions of existing irrigations systems to a more water efficient system.  The AFO and GSW applications will be ranked at the local level, but will compete for funding with all other applications of their kind.

Since requests for EQIP contracts outweigh available funding, EQIP applicants compete for contracts through a system that ranks the application on how well it will optimize environmental benefits.  The optimization is determined by quantifying the extent that local, State and National EQIP priorities will be met.