Steps to Apply for Republican River EQIP Irrigated Acre Retirement Program

The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NDNR) and the Upper, Middle, and Lower Republican Natural Resources Districts (“the NRDs”) are cooperating with the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to offer a special initiative to the federal EQIP program. The NDNR and the NRDs will pay producers enrolling in EQIP an additional $375 per acre to agree permanently to not irrigate property enrolled in EQIP.

These are the steps that will occur before payment is made by the NDNR and the NRDs:

1. The NRCS will rank all of the applications received and identify which producers may enroll in the federal EQIP program.

2. The NRCS will notify the NRDs and NDNR of the results of the NRCS rankings. The NRDs will send out RR EQIP Application/Agreement forms to be completed by the landowners who are eligible to participate in RR EQIP.

3. All landowners must sign the RR EQIP Application/Agreement and bring it to the NRD office. Any lien holders or other interests to the property must be identified.

4. If the Application reveals that the water well registration is incorrect the landowner will need to fill out the appropriate water well registration form and send it to NDNR.

5. Landowners who apply should notify tenants and lien holders of the intent to enroll in this program. Eligibility for the program is dependant upon subordination of liens and judgments against the property.

6. The NRD will then order a title search of the property to confirm that the landowners have clear title to the property and that there are no other lien holders than those identified by the landowners on the RR EQIP Application/Agreement. The landowner must provide the NRD with a $100.00 deposit to cover the cost of a title search and filing the conservation easement.

7. When the NRD has the results of the title search, the NRD staff will prepare the Easement and send it to one of the landowners. If the results of the title search indicate that not all of the landowners have not signed the RR EQIP Application/Agreement it will be returned for additional signatures before the Easement can be prepared and sent out for signature. All landowners must sign both the Easement and the RR EQIP Application/Agreement. The signed Easement, with signatures notarized, must be returned to the NRD office.

8. The NRD will prepare a Subordination Agreement for each lien holder and send it to the lien holder(s). It will be easier to obtain the lien holder’s signature on the Subordination Agreement if the landowner has already informed their lien holder(s) that he or she is applying to participate in RR EQIP and told the lien holder(s) what the RR EQIP program is about. Some lien holders may expect the landowner(s) to sign an assignment of benefits.

9. The NRDs will submit the Easements for approval by the County Commissioners of the county where the property is located.

10. When the Easement and the Subordination Agreements have been signed and returned to the NRDs, the NRD will send the RR EQIP Application/Agreement and the Easement to NDNR for approval and signature. If any of the property to be enrolled in RR EQIP has a surface water right appurtenant to it, the landowners will have to submit relinquishment forms for their surface water rights to NDNR. NDNR will probably have determined what surface water rights need to be relinquished prior to receiving the signed RR EQIP Application/Agreement and Easement so may have already sent out the relinquishment form to the landowners.

11. NDNR will sign the RR EQIP Application/Agreement and Easement after all water well registration modifications necessary have been made and any relinquishments have been submitted. NDNR will then return the signed contracts to the NRDs.

12. If the County Commissioners have approved the Easement and if all of the Subordination Agreements have been signed and returned to the NRDs, the NRDs will submit the Easements and the Subordination Agreements to the Register of Deeds for recording.

13. When the Register of Deeds has returned the recorded Easement to the NRDs, separate payments will be made by the NRD and by the State Treasurer for NDNR.

Download the EQIP Irrigated Acre Retirement Program Fact Sheet

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July 20, 2006