Full Announcement_USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPP-22-NFO0001136.pdf

Regional Conservation Partnership Program

Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Regional Conservation Partnership Program Classic Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO)

Announcement: USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPP-22-

NOFO0001136

Date Issued: January 13, 2022

Programs Deputy Area

Financial Assistance Program Division Projects Branch

USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex (including gender identity and expression), marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program.

(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Summary Information

Federal Awarding Agency Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)

Funding Opportunity Title: Announcement for Program Funding for NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.

Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPP-22-NOFO0001136

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 10.932, Regional Conservation Partnership Program

DUE DATE: Proposals must be received by NRCS by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 13, 2022.

NOTE: The FY22 RCPP Alternative Funding Arrangement (AFA) provision is implemented through a separate funding announcement, USDA-NRCS-NHQ-RCPPAFA-22-

NOFO0001137.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) promotes coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand our collective ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns.

Through RCPP, NRCS seeks to co-invest with partners to implement projects that demonstrate innovative solutions to conservation challenges and provide measurable improvements and outcomes tied to the resource concerns they seek to address.

Using guidance contained in this notice, potential RCPP partners propose projects that generate conservation benefits by addressing specific natural resource objectives in a State/multistate area or address one or more priority resource concerns within an NRCS-designated critical conservation area (CCA). NRCS and partners collaborate to design, promote, and implement RCPP projects on agricultural and nonindustrial private forest land. Through RCPP, NRCS may provide both financial and technical assistance funds to project partners and agricultural producers to carry out projects. RCPP proposals are evaluated through a competitive proposal process based on four criteria: impact, partner contributions, innovation, and partnership and management.

Up to $200 million is available for RCPP projects through this announcement. Proposals are accepted from all 50 States, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands), and U.S. territories in the Pacific Island Areas (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).

SUBMISSIONS: Proposals must be submitted through the RCPP portal. See section VIII of this announcement for information on using the RCPP portal to submit proposals.

Registration with USDA’s eAuthentication system is required to access the RCPP portal.

Time-sensitive information on registering for eAuthentication access is included in section VIII of this notice.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate State RCPP Coordinator(s) with questions. A list of State RCPP coordinators, as of the date of this announcement’s posting, is on the RCPP website. Applicants can also email the RCPP inbox—rcpp@usda.gov--with questions about the announcement. The national RCPP website is also a great source of current information about the program.

Interested applicants are encouraged to participate in a webinar with general information about the Classic and AFA funding announcements. The webinar is scheduled for January 20, 2022 from 3-4:30 p.m. Eastern. Instructions for participating in the webinar are below:

The conference begins at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on January 20, 2022; you may join the conference 10 minutes prior.

To join the conference, click: https://ems8.intellor.com/login/842136 Join the Zoom event and follow the prompts to connect audio by computer or telephone.

Need to join via phone only?

888-251-2949 or 215-861-0694 - Need an international number?

Access Code: 2626600# .

Zoom Support: 800-345-0857 https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/financial/rcpp/?cid=nrcseprd1477816 mailto:inbox%E2%80%94rcpp@usda.gov--with https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/rcpp/ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/rcpp/ https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fems8.intellor.com%2Flogin%2F842136&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd1399c68612d49ad420e08d9d119e314%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C637770731371388727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=dV7%2FMXdungqBfM0dLsUwe2vCBTDpYDEphrAQAPqTy7w%3D&reserved=0 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.teleconference.att.com%2Fservlet%2FglbAccess%3Fprocess%3D1%26accessNumber%3D8882512949%26accessCode%3D2626600&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd1399c68612d49ad420e08d9d119e314%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C637770731371388727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=iMQvmT0rJaWrv2BfZJ0IbrnFRZ%2BQ7HaqcseU%2BYls7DA%3D&reserved=0 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.teleconference.att.com%2Fservlet%2FglbAccess%3Fprocess%3D1%26accessNumber%3D8882512949%26accessCode%3D2626600&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd1399c68612d49ad420e08d9d119e314%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C637770731371388727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=iMQvmT0rJaWrv2BfZJ0IbrnFRZ%2BQ7HaqcseU%2BYls7DA%3D&reserved=0

Table of Contents

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority B. Delivering Assistance Through Partnerships C. Vision and Goals of the Program D. Administration Priorities E. Historically Underserved Producers F. Overview of the RCPP Proposal Process G. Final Rule

II. FUNDING AVAILABILITY

A. Fund Pools and Priority Resource Concerns B. Adjusted Gross Income Waivers C. Interim Practice Standards

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Partners B. Contributing Partners C. Producers and Landowners D. Land Eligibility E. Eligible Activities

IV. RCPP Project Funding B. Administrative Costs C. Partner Contributions

V. RCPP PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

A. Format and Instructions B. Proposal Content

VI. PROPOSAL REVIEW CRITERIA

B. Environmental Review Requirements

VII. PROJECT INFORMATION AND ADMINISTRATION

A. RCPP Programmatic Partnership Agreements B. Reporting and Reimbursement Requirements C. Notifications D. Withdrawal of Proposals

VIII. SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IX. AGENCY CONTACTS

Appendix I – RCPP Agreements, Contracts and Conservation Activities RCPP Funding Overview Producer Contracts, Supplemental Agreements, and Third-party Contracts Land Management Activities Land Rental Activities RCPP Conservation Easements U.S.-Held Conservation Easements Entity-Held RCPP Conservation Easements Public Works/Watersheds

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is authorized by Subtitle I of Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (the 1985 Act), as amended by Sections 2701 through 2707 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. The Secretary of Agriculture has delegated the authority to administer RCPP to the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). NRCS has promulgated regulations for RCPP implementation at 7 CFR Part 1464. All actions funded under this announcement are subject to RCPP statute and regulations.

B. Delivering Assistance Through Partnerships RCPP requires coordination between NRCS and its partners to deliver conservation assistance to producers, landowners, and communities. After announcing RCPP project selections, NRCS negotiates an RCPP programmatic partnership agreement (PPA) for each project with the lead partner before entering into contracts, easements, or other awards with producers and landowners and partners.

RCPP applicants must work closely with NRCS throughout the proposal, negotiation, and implementation process, through appropriate NRCS State office(s) and designated State RCPP Coordinator(s) to—

1. Determine if proposed project(s) align with RCPP’s goals and policies;

2. Develop and submit a project proposal using the guidance in this notice; and

3. If a proposal is selected to become a project, develop a PPA and implement the project.

C. Vision and Goals of the Program RCPP is an innovative program that has as its critical feature a co-investment approach through which NRCS and partners collaborate to implement natural resource conservation activities. Following are four key principles of RCPP:

1. Impact—RCPP proposals must propose effective and compelling solutions that address one or more natural resource concern to help solve natural resource challenges. Partners are responsible for evaluating a project’s impact and results.

2. Partner Contributions—Partners are responsible for identifying any combination of cash and in-kind value-added contributions to leverage NRCS’s RCPP investments. It is NRCS’s goal that partner contributions at least equal the NRCS investment in an RCPP project. Substantive and sizable partner contributions are given priority consideration as part of the RCPP proposal evaluation criteria.

3. Innovation—NRCS seeks projects that integrate multiple conservation approaches, implement innovative conservation approaches or technologies, build new partnerships, or effectively take advantage of program flexibilities to deliver conservation solutions.

4. Partnerships and Management—Partners must have experience, expertise, and capacity to manage the partnership and project, provide outreach to producers, and quantify the environmental (and when possible, economic and social) outcomes of an RCPP project.

RCPP ranking criteria give priority consideration to applicants that meaningfully engage historically underserved farmers and ranchers.

Successful RCPP applicants bring an array of financial and technical capabilities to projects, demonstrate experience working effectively and collaboratively with agricultural producers and landowners across the landscape, and propose innovative, sustainable, and measurable approaches to achieving compelling conservation outcomes.

D. Administration Priorities Climate-Smart Agriculture NRCS intends to award a significant portion of the available funding to proposals that include Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry approaches, systems, and practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon.

Urban Agriculture NRCS also strongly encourages the submission of RCPP proposals addressing the conservation needs of urban farmers in metropolitan areas. Interest in urban agriculture continues to grow.

Urban farmers face unique natural resource concerns related to energy conservation, water conservation, soil health, and the long-term protection of land.

Racial Justice & Equity For the history of the United States, and the history of the USDA, too many Black, Indigenous and People of Color farmers have faced discrimination—sometimes overt and sometimes through deeply embedded rules and policies. USDA is committed to ensuring equity across the Department, removing barriers to access, and building a workforce more representative of America. We are committed to ending discrimination in all its forms wherever it exists.

E. Historically Underserved Producers The RCPP authorizing language requires USDA and RCPP partners to conduct outreach to Historically Underserved (HU) farmers and ranchers to encourage participation in RCPP projects. NRCS is committed to the success of our nation’s HU producers, businesses, and partners. HU producers play a vital role in securing a healthy agricultural economy for our country and are often leaders in protecting, enhancing, and sustaining our valuable natural resources.

NRCS gives priority consideration to RCPP proposals that propose meaningful and measurable engagement with and benefit to HU farmers, ranchers, and landowners. HU producers may be eligible for special incentives to encourage their participation in RCPP projects.

NRCS intends to award a significant amount of the available RCPP funding to projects that benefit HU producers.

The HU producer definition includes beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and veteran producers. The definitions for these terms are available at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/people/outreach/slbfr/. The narrative question section of the proposal in the RCPP portal provides an opportunity for applicants to explain how their project will substantively engage and benefit HU producers.

During the proposal evaluation process, each proposal receives an HU index rating that reflects the extent to which the proposed project engages and benefits HU producers. The index ratings are:

• A—partnership targets a majority of project conservation funding to HU producers.

• B—proposal includes clear plan for HU producer participation and includes partner(s) with history of trusted relationships with HU producers.

• C—proposal indicates a substantive plan for HU producer outreach.

• D—proposal does not include explicit HU producer engagement.

F. Overview of the RCPP Proposal Process Applicants submit a full project proposal following the guidance in section V of this funding announcement. The RCPP proposal evaluation process is detailed in section VI.

Applicants with an existing RCPP project may compete for a new project related to an existing project (e.g., to work with additional producers and landowners or to expand into a new geographic area, or to add new resource concerns/conservation benefits, etc.) or unrelated to an existing project. When considering a proposal related to an existing RCPP project, NRCS considers previous performance and project outcomes as part of the evaluation criteria.

Existing RCPP partners with expiring projects may also request a noncompetitive project renewal through a separate process. A partner selected for a noncompetitive renewal will not be selected for funding for a substantively similar project through this competitive announcement.

G. Final Rule The RCPP final rule was published in the Federal Register on January 14, 2021. RCPP regulations are found at 7 CFR part 1464.

II. FUNDING AVAILABILITY

For the FY22 RCPP Classic and AFA competitions there is a total of up to $225 million available (the FY 2022 AFA competition will be implemented through a separate funding announcement). Fifty percent of RCPP funding is dedicated to NRCS-designated critical conservation area (CCA) projects and 50 percent to projects in the State/multistate category.

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/people/outreach/slbfr/

The maximum RCPP funding available for any project (combined financial and technical assistance) selected under this announcement is $10 million. The minimum funding amount for an RCPP project is $250,000.

RCPP funds, at the time of PPA execution, are committed by NRCS for the duration of the project, generally not to exceed 5 years from the date of PPA execution. Partners may request a PPA term of longer than 5 years in exceptional circumstances (see section V). RCPP funds are committed for specific purposes based on proposed activities (e.g., land management/restoration, rental, easements, public works/watershed structures) and subsequently obligated through contracts with agricultural producers and supplemental agreements with eligible partners. For all RCPP PPAs, a single one-year, no-cost extension is available at the discretion of NRCS.

RCPP funding may not be expended until a PPA is fully executed.

A. Fund Pools and Priority Resource Concerns RCPP applicants must identify in their proposals whether they are applying to the CCA or State/multistate fund pool.

CCA Pool—There are eight CCAs that represent landscapes with common resource concerns.

For each CCA, NRCS has identified priority resource concerns. CCA proposals must address at least one of the relevant CCA’s priority resource concerns. CCAs and associated priority resource concerns for the FY 2021/2022 RCPP competition are:

RCPP Critical Conservation Areas Priority Resource Concerns

Great Lakes Region (IL, IN, MI, MN, NY, PA, OH, WI)

• Water quality degradation

• Inadequate habitat for fish, wildlife, and invertebrates

Chesapeake Bay Watershed (DE, MD, NY, PA, VA, WV)

• Water quality degradation

• Inadequate habitat for fish, wildlife, and invertebrates

Mississippi River Basin (AR, KY, IA, IL, IN, LA, MN, MO, MS, OH, SD, TN, WI)

• Water quality degradation

• Inadequate habitat for fish, wildlife, and invertebrates

• Excess/insufficient water/drought

Longleaf Pine Range (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TX, VA)

• Inadequate habitat for fish, wildlife, and invertebrates

• Degraded plant condition

• Water quality degradation

Western Waters (ID, OR, WA, CA) • Excess/insufficient water/drought

• Water quality degradation

• Inadequate habitat for fish, wildlife, and invertebrates

Northeast Forests and Waters (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT)

• Water quality degradation

• Inadequate habitat for fish, wildlife, and invertebrates

• Degraded plant condition

Prairie Grasslands Region (CO, KS, IA, MO, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY)

• Inadequate habitat for fish, wildlife, and invertebrates

• Degraded plant condition

• Excess/insufficient water/drought

RCPP Critical Conservation Areas Priority Resource Concerns

Colorado River Basin (AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, UT, WY)

• Excess/insufficient water/drought

• Water quality degradation

• Soil quality degradation

• Inadequate habitat for fish, wildlife, and invertebrates

CCA projects must take place wholly within a CCA (counties traversed by a CCA border are considered within the CCA boundary). For more information about CCAs, including the maps of CCA boundaries, visit the RCPP website (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/rcpp/)

State/multistate Pool—Proposals in the State/multistate category must be carried out either within a single State or in multiple States. For multistate projects, priority consideration is given to proposals identifying a manageable number of States.

B. Adjusted Gross Income Waivers The RCPP statute explicitly states that the 1985 Act’s adjusted gross income (AGI) limitation does not apply to RCPP partners. The AGI limitation does apply, however, to producers and landowners participating in RCPP projects. During PPA negotiations following the announcement of project awards, a lead partner may request a waiver of the applicability of the AGI provisions for the entire RCPP project or one or more activity (e.g., Land Management, Entity-held Easements, etc.) within a project. A project- or activity-level AGI applicability waiver eliminates the requirement for a producer or landowner to obtain an individual AGI determination or to meet the AGI limitation requirements.

If the RCPP lead partner does not request or receive a project-level waiver of the applicability of AGI, a participating producer or landowner must obtain an individual AGI determination and those who exceed the AGI limitation may individually seek a waiver of the AGI limitation. A waiver of the AGI limitation on an individual basis may only be granted if NRCS determines that the waiver would result in the protection of environmentally sensitive land of special significance (see 7 CFR part 1400).

C. Interim Practice Standards NRCS conservation practice standards form the environmental and scientific basis for the majority of NRCS land improvement and land management activities. Applicants are encouraged to work with the appropriate NRCS State RCPP Coordinator(s) to identify existing NRCS conservation practices (and other eligible activities) best suited for addressing project resource concerns and generating conservation benefits associated with an RCPP project.

In instances where approved conservation practice standards are not available or currently suitable to support proposed work, RCPP partners may work with NRCS to develop interim conservation practice standards consistent with NRCS authority, policy, and procedure.

Development and establishment of interim conservation practice standards requires deliberate consideration and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis; therefore, partners https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/rcpp/ are strongly encouraged to identify the need for any interim conservation practice standards during the proposal process or during PPA negotiations. Requests to establish an interim conservation practice standard during project implementation may be considered, but potential for inclusion in RCPP projects and contracts may be hampered by interim conservation practice standard development timeframes.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Partners Entities that are classified as one of the following organizational types can serve as an eligible RCPP partner:

• An agricultural or silvicultural producer association or other group of producers.

• A State or unit of local government.

• An Indian Tribe.

• A farmer cooperative.

• A water district, irrigation district, acequia, rural water district or association, or other organization with specific water delivery authority to agricultural producers.

• A municipal water or wastewater treatment entity.

• An institution of higher education.

• An organization or entity with an established history of working cooperatively with producers on agricultural land, as determined by NRCS, to address— o Local conservation priorities related to agricultural production, wildlife habitat development, or nonindustrial private forest land management; or o Critical watershed-scale soil erosion, water quality, sediment reduction, or other natural resource issues.

• An entity, such as an Indian Tribe, State government, local government, or a nongovernmental organization that has a farmland or grassland protection program that purchases agricultural land easements, as defined in 7 CFR Section 1468.3.

• A conservation district.

Eligible partners can serve as a lead partner. Each project must have a single lead partner, which is the entity that submits an RCPP proposal and negotiates a PPA with NRCS. The lead partner is ultimately responsible for ensuring completion of project deliverables, delivering all partner contributions, and assessing project outcomes.

Eligible partners, whether the lead partner or not, may be awarded a supplemental agreement, as agreed to in the PPA, to carry out technical assistance activities, facilitate the conveyance of an easement to an eligible entity by a producer, implement an eligible watershed operations activity, or facilitate the implementation of an eligible activity as determined by NRCS.

Partners holding supplemental agreement awards assume responsibility for all deliverables under such awards.

NRCS is prohibited by statute from paying for partner administrative expenses. This prohibition is discussed in greater detail in Section IV. D. of this notice.

B. Contributing Partners In addition to any contributions coming from the lead partner, RCPP projects may include direct or in-kind contributions from other entities, known as “contributing partners.”

Contributing partners may be an eligible partner (entities described in the list in section III.A above) and may also be a third-party individual or organization (even a non-USDA Federal agency) that would not qualify as an eligible partner by the statutory definition. Note, however, that the lead partner is ultimately responsible for delivery of all partner contributions.

C. Producers and Landowners Agricultural producers or private landowners receiving funding as part of RCPP projects must—

(1) Provide a tax identification number. Where applicable, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders may use another unique identification number for each individual eligible for payment;

(2) Where applicable, provide the percent interest share in a payment consistent with operation or ownership shares;

(3) Comply with the highly erodible land (HEL), wetland conservation (WC), and Farm and Tract (FTE) eligibility requirements of the 1985 Act; and

(4) Comply with the AGI provisions or receive a waiver as described in section II.B of this announcement.

Qualified partners awarded supplemental agreements to implement entity-held easements or public works activities are not subject to the HEL, WC, Farm Tract Eligibility (FTE), and AGI requirements. Any landowners or producers receiving a payment under these agreements (for example, an entity-held easement) are subject to these requirements.

Once NRCS selects a project and executes an RCPP PPA with a lead partner, eligible producers or landowners may participate in an RCPP project in one of two ways. First, they may engage with RCPP project partners and either delegate (using a power of attorney) a project partner to act as their representative in working with NRCS, or request that the partner consider their producer application and submit it as part of a partner bundle of applications for NRCS consideration. Second, eligible producers or landowners seeking to carry out eligible activities consistent with an RCPP project in the project’s geographic area may apply directly to NRCS.

NRCS may give priority ranking consideration to “bundled applications” submitted by an RCPP partner. Bundled applications are one or more producer or landowner applications (for contracts or easements) that the lead partner presents to NRCS for priority consideration as part of an RCPP project.

Any “cost-share” that is provided by a producer or landowner associated with implementation of an RCPP contract (such as land management activities or landowner donations associated with U.S.-held easements) cannot be counted as partner contribution.

D. Land Eligibility RCPP projects must be carried out on agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land or on associated land on which NRCS determines an eligible activity would help achieve conservation benefits. Generally, eligible land must be shown in Farm Service Agency records as private or Tribal and be used for agricultural or forestry purposes.

“Associated land” is defined as land associated with farms and ranches that is not purposefully managed for food, forage, or fiber and is typically associated with nearby production or conservation lands. Associated land, such as wetlands, riparian areas, grasslands, or floodplains, may comprise the entirety of an enrolled area or may be incidental areas on an enrollment that includes agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land, by including areas such as idle center pivot corners, odd areas, ditches and watercourses, riparian areas, field edges, seasonal and permanent wetlands, and other similar areas. In all cases, to be included in an enrolled area, RCPP funded activities implemented on associated lands must be functionally related to and address resource concerns on agricultural or nonindustrial private forest lands in the project area.

Below are the two limited circumstances in which public lands may be eligible to be part of an RCPP project:

• A watershed/public works structure is constructed on public lands but the benefits (e.g., flood control, water supply) accrue to private agricultural lands.

• A producer who has demonstrated control of a patchwork of private and public lands seeks to apply a land management activity on public lands as part of a system of improvements to address resource concerns on both public and private lands in the producer’s operation.

RCPP funding cannot be used to place conservation easements on land already protected through its ownership by a land trust or other entity that is required by statute or organizational intent to protect land from development, with the exception of lands that are a part of a buy-protect-sell transaction for an entity-held easement.

When atypical land eligibility scenarios are proposed, NRCS may consider information provided by a lead partner in determining eligibility. Land eligibility is discussed in more detail in the RCPP regulations at 7 CFR Part 1464.

E. Eligible Activities The RCPP statute includes several USDA programs, referred to as “covered programs,” that NRCS uses as a guide for determining eligible RCPP activities. These covered programs are—

• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

• Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) (excluding the Grassland Conservation

Initiative authority)

• Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP)

• Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP)

• Public Law 83-566 Watershed Program (excluding the Watershed Rehabilitation

Program at 16 U.S.C. 1012)

• Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

In accordance with this list of covered programs, a diversity of conservation activities are eligible for inclusion in RCPP projects. As detailed in appendix I, RCPP conservation activities are implemented through individual RCPP contracts with eligible agricultural producers and landowners, and through RCPP supplemental agreements with eligible partners. These contracts and agreements provide funding to carry out eligible activities similar to those authorized under one or more covered programs. Applications may propose that partner contributions be used to fund the same types of conservation activities that could otherwise be funded by NRCS.

Applications must explicitly request funding for at least one of the following eligible activity types, which correspond to eligible RCPP activities:

• Land management

• Land rental

• Entity-held easements

• U.S.-held easements

• Public works/watersheds

A single RCPP project proposal may propose any combination of these eligible activity types be included as part of an RCPP project. For example, an eligible partner could propose to improve wildlife habitat in a given geographic area by engaging producers to carry out land management activities, restore habitat, and place perpetual easements on agricultural lands.

Eligible producer(s) would carry out the land management and habitat restoration activities through RCPP land management contracts, while entity-held or U.S.-held conservation easements would be purchased from the eligible landowner(s) through a separate award(s).

Though RCPP activities are either a practice, activity, land rental, agreement, easement, or related conservation measure that is available under a covered program’s statutory authority, the individual RCPP contracts and agreements entered into under an approved RCPP partnership agreement generally provide producers and landowners greater flexibilities than are available for such activities under the covered programs. In particular, RCPP partnership agreements focus on addressing RCPP project resource concerns and are not subject to the covered program’s regulations and eligibility criteria. This flexibility allows for innovation, streamlining of project implementation, and facilitation of project success within a controlled template-based system designed to ensure NRCS can maintain financial and environmental integrity. Applicants should carefully read 7 CFR part 1464 and appendix I of this announcement for additional information on eligible RCPP activity types, including participant eligibility, contract and agreement purposes, and contract and agreement expectations and responsibilities.

IV. RCPP Project Funding

RCPP funding provided by NRCS is divided into two categories—financial assistance (FA) and technical assistance (TA). Each RCPP project will receive a maximum commitment of funding as follows at the time of proposal selection:

• At least 70 percent FA—These funds are held by NRCS and provided directly to producers/eligible partners to implement eligible, negotiated RCPP activities.

• Up to 30 percent TA—These funds are used to support implementation (e.g., project management, conservation planning, practice design, practice verification) of the RCPP project.

All budgets proposed by partners must be consistent with this funding breakdown. Where a specific project may benefit from a different FA/TA ratio, the anticipated need for a waiver can be included in the application. If an application with a proposed waiver is selected, the lead partner must submit a policy waiver request during the PPA negotiation process. If approved, the waiver will result in an adjustment to the project’s allocated funds.

Technical Assistance (TA) is an umbrella term that, for RCPP, includes all project management and producer assistance required to carry out and report on RCPP conservation activities.

A. Technical Assistance

NRCS maintains substantial responsibility for ensuring that RCPP conservation activities are implemented consistent with Federal and agency statutes, regulations, and policies. Some of NRCS’s responsibilities are non-delegable, meaning that they must be performed by NRCS.

For these non-delegable responsibilities, NRCS typically retains a minimum of five percent of the total project RCPP funding. Some of these responsibilities are listed in the table below.

NRCS Non-Delegable Technical Assistance Responsibilities Collaborate with lead partners to develop and manage RCPP agreements and associated components.

HEL/WC, FTE, AGI, and NEPA-related compliance activities.

Eligibility determinations and other producer contract activities.

Project-related communications and coordination activities.

Implementation Technical Assistance

Technical assistance is required for conservation planning, practice design, installation and verification, U.S.-held easement due diligence, and other needs associated with supporting the implementation of RCPP conservation activities. For RCPP, these activities are known as Implementation Technical Assistance, or TA-I.

NRCS is ultimately responsible for ensuring that RCPP conservation activities are implemented consistent with Federal and agency statutes, regulations, and policy. To that end, TA-I funding defaults to NRCS but may be awarded, through project negotiations, to qualified partners to provide eligible TA-I services. Whether TA-I activities are carried out by NRCS or by partners or a third party, they must be carried out according to applicable Federal requirements, including NRCS planning procedures, conservation practice standards, and job approval authority. Any partner TA-I activities must be carried out at defensible rates approved by

NRCS.

18 percent of the total funding request is set-aside for TA-I activities. Below is a list of common TA-I activities for RCPP projects.

Implementation Technical Assistance—Eligible Activities Pre-application activities related to RCPP producer contracts, watershed activities, or easements. This can include completion of inventories or data collection to support environmental evaluations and other NEPA-related activities.

Conservation planning to producers or landowners directly related to installation or management of eligible conservation activities.

Practice design related to land management, rental, or watershed activities.

Assistance with practice installation and verification.

FA contract support services (i.e., securing and managing contracts for third-party services like engineering studies, surveys, appraisals, etc.) for US-Held Easements and watershed projects.

Consistent with other NRCS entity-held easement programs, RCPP TA funds may not be used for partner/entity due diligence expenses associated with entity-held easements or any other conservation activity type (e.g., construction permit costs, etc.).

TA-I budgets in project proposals are tentative. The flexible RCPP agreement structure allows for TA-I to be either expended by NRCS or obligated to a partner at any time during the life of a project. At the start of PPA negotiations, all TA-I will be reserved for NRCS use. During both PPA and any subsequent supplemental agreement negotiations, NRCS will work with lead partners to refine proposal budgets so that TA-I is expended as efficiently as possible to ensure project success. This could include the allocation of TA-I funding to partners that have the capacity and capability to perform the work according to NRCS planning and practice standards.

Enhancement Technical Assistance

Enhancement TA (TA-E) can be earned by partners for project-level activities—all conservation implementation technical assistance carried out in concert with producers or landowners are funded by TA-I. Enhancement activities include things such as project management, outcomes assessment and others listed in the table below. Like other RCPP funding, TA-E awards are not grants and payments are only made for verifiable completion of eligible, negotiated tasks. During PPA and subsequent supplemental agreement negotiations, NRCS will work with partner(s) to establish eligible TA-E deliverables and valuation methods.

A maximum of 7 percent of the total RCPP funding request is available as TA-E. It is anticipated that not all items potentially eligible for TA-E will be funded in selected projects due to the 7 percent cap. Where additional TA-E is required for project success, partners must provide contributions for enhancement activities when the cap is exceeded.

If applicants do not request TA-E as part of their proposal, that TA funding will be folded back into program funding as determined by NRCS. Proposals submitted without TA-E requests may be allowed to convert unneeded TA-I to TA-E during proposal negotiations, but such conversions are at the sole discretion of NRCS.

The table below (and in the Portal’s TA deliverable table) includes eligible TA-E activities.

Enhancement Technical Assistance—Eligible Activities Develop and manage RCPP agreements with NRCS.

Other RCPP project-related producer outreach and education, including inventories, analyses, and tools needed to inform outreach.

Project-related communications and coordination activities.

Development and calculation of quantifiable project outcomes.

Development of innovative conservation approaches such as pay-for-performance or environmental credit markets.

Project management and partnership development to accomplish project goals.

IMPORTANT: Official NRCS approval of reimbursable TA activities included in an RCPP proposal does not occur when RCPP project selections are announced. RCPP financial awards are not grants and function similar to contracts. Specific TA funding, deliverables, and valuation methods are negotiated between NRCS and partners following project selection. All TA payment rates and performance standards will be specified and agreed to as part of these negotiations and may be subject to additional documentation requirements or approvals beyond those included in a selected proposal.

B. Administrative Costs

The RCPP statute prohibits NRCS from reimbursing partners for administrative costs, which include, but are not limited to, expenses for rent and utilities, durable equipment and software acquisitions, space used by staff, copiers, phones, information technology support, and similar costs or expenses that are not directly related to the implementation of the project. It is incumbent upon RCPP partners to provide sufficient evidence for NRCS consideration that any costs for which they are seeking reimbursement are directly related to the RCPP project.

Equipment bought for a RCPP project using NRCS funding may only be used for the duration of the project and follow standard rules and procedures for disposition of durable equipment/software upon project expiration.

C. Partner Contributions

It is NRCS’s goal that partner contributions at least equal the NRCS investment in an RCPP project. Partner contributions consist of any combination of cash and in-kind support, and may complement either NRCS’s FA or TA, or both. Certain RCPP activities such as entity-held easements and public works activities have specific minimum matching fund requirements (as detailed in appendix I) which may count as partner contributions if they meet requirements detailed in this announcement.

NRCS strongly recommends that partners propose value-added contributions that enhance the overall impact and efficacy of an RCPP project. The magnitude and significance of partner contributions factors into the project evaluation criteria listed in section VI. NRCS may approve proportional reductions in proposed contributions if a project is funded at less than the proposed amount.

To count as partner contributions, partner expenditures must be:

• expended during the life of the RCPP project;

• expended within the project’s geographic boundary; and,

• expended in support of the project’s goals and objectives to benefit eligible lands and eligible producers.

Funding from non-USDA Federal agencies may be counted as partner contribution, provided such funding meets the contribution requirements above.

Expenditures for project development activities such as producer outreach carried out by RCPP project partners between the time of project selection announcement and PPA execution may be counted as partner contributions if identified in the proposal budget and approved by NRCS after project selection.

The table below includes potentially eligible Partner Contributions.

Potentially Eligible Partner Contributions Deliver financial assistance and benefits to producers or landowners to complement RCPP funding, addressing one or more project resource concerns.

Develop and manage RCPP agreements with NRCS.

Other RCPP project-related outreach and education, including inventories, analyses, and tools needed to inform outreach.

Inventories and data to support environmental evaluations.

Providing information or tools needed by NRCS to support agency eligibility determinations, evaluation, and ranking.

Develop and enter into FA contracts or agreements to implement RCPP-eligible activities using non-NRCS funds.

TA to producers or landowners for planning directly related to installation or management of eligible conservation activities.

TA to support delivery of eligible FA or resource assessment services (e.g., securing and managing contracts for third-party services like engineering studies, surveys, appraisals to satisfy NRCS requirements for U.S.-held easements or watershed projects).

Project-related communications and coordination activities.

Due diligence activities for Entity-held easements.

Development and calculation of quantifiable project outcomes.

Manage the leveraging of other funds related to the RCPP project goals and objectives.

Development of innovative conservation approaches.

Project management and partnership development to accomplish project goals.

Staff development/training/capacity building.

Developing/maintaining connections to related conservation efforts.

Administrative costs (see Section IV.D. for limits on eligible administrative costs)

If a proposal is selected for an award, NRCS will further evaluate contribution eligibility and acceptable contribution valuation methods during PPA negotiations. Contribution valuations must demonstrate actual costs incurred by partners during the project life. Where NRCS determines that proposed contributions, valuation methods, or quantities delivered do not satisfy negotiated requirements, the lead partner will be responsible for identifying replacement contributors acceptable to NRCS. If replacements cannot be agreed to NRCS may reduce award amounts, require PPA amendments and additional oversight, or even recommend termination of the PPA.

Partners providing technical assistance as a project contribution may count some of their indirect costs as a partner contribution, with the following limitations:

• Organizations that have an active Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) with the Federal Government must use the rate identified in the NICRA to determine the indirect costs to be included in a negotiated PPA as contributions. Current NICRAs must be uploaded as part of the RCPP project proposal in the RCPP portal where applicable.

• Entities without a NICRA may use a de minimis rate of up to 10 percent indirect costs rate.

• To determine the amount of indirect costs that may be counted as partner contribution for RCPP, the NICRA rate or the de minimis rate may only be charged against the same partner’s negotiated TA contributions.

• Due to the unique nature of RCPP agreements, NRCS may identify certain partner expenses as administrative costs that are not defined as indirect costs in an organization’s NICRA. Partners may request that such partner expenses be considered partner contribution beyond the NICRA rate (partners may flag this in the proposal’s Contributions deliverables table and discuss with NRCS if the proposal is selected for an award).

• Where indirect costs are to be included in partner contributions, they must be identified in the contributions deliverables table as “Other Eligible Contributions” and listed separately so that NRCS can clearly determine that 1) the appropriate rates are being used and 2) the indirect contributions are only being claimed against the partner provided TA as required above.

V. RCPP PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

A. Format and Instructions RCPP proposals must be submitted through the RCPP portal by the deadline in this notice.

NRCS evaluates proposals according to the criteria in section VI of this notice.

At least 4 weeks prior to the proposal deadline, and before starting a proposal in the RCPP portal, entities interested in applying to RCPP are advised to request a meeting with the appropriate NRCS State RCPP Coordinator(s). Communication with State RCPP coordinators is critical to help partners—

• Frame conservation benefits in terms of NRCS resource concerns;

• Understand RCPP eligible activities and which activities are best suited to treat

NRCS resource concerns within the project area;

• Develop their approach for measuring conservation (and potentially economic and social) outcomes of RCPP projects;

• Establish mutual understanding of program and partner capacities and rules (for both

NRCS and partner(s)). The RCPP funding model depends on close coordination and collaboration between partners and NRCS to achieve project success.

A list of State RCPP coordinators, as of the date of this announcement’s posting, is on the RCPP website.

NOTE: RCPP proposals become the property of NRCS for use in the administration of the program and will not be returned to the applicant. Proposal details will not be shared publicly, but summary data of successful proposals, such as project title, RCPP funding requested, total contribution proposed, geographic target area, and proposed project activities and benefits will be made publicly available.

B. Proposal Content RCPP proposals must adhere to the guidance below, which is consistent with the proposal entry screens of the RCPP portal. Any materials submitted but not specifically required below will not be considered in the review process.

1. Basic Project and Contact Information—Lead partners must list a primary and alternate contact to help ensure effective communication with NRCS staff. The primary contact should be the project director (i.e., the individual coordinating project activities) and the alternate contact should be the administrative contact (i.e., the individual managing administrative components of the project such as project payments, etc.).

Lead partners must select the primary (and secondary, if relevant) natural resource concern addressed by the project. For CCA projects, the primary resource concern must be a priority resource concern listed in section II of this notice.

RCPP PPAs for selected projects expire after 5 years. Applicants may request a PPA length longer or shorter than 5 years only if such a request is submitted and justified as part of a proposal. NRCS may grant such requests only in exceptional circumstances.

2. List of Project Partners—Identify the lead partner (the only party with which NRCS will execute a PPA) and all nonlead partners that are providing partner contributions or are proposed to receive RCPP implementation or enhancement TA funds. Briefly describe the role of each partner.

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/financial/rcpp/?cid=nrcseprd1477816

3. Narrative Questions—In the RCPP portal, applicants must provide answers to questions related to the evaluation criteria found in section VI of this notice. These questions require the applicant to describe the compelling conservation need for the project, the goals and objectives, the geographic focus, estimated number of participating producers/landowners, and project management capacity of the identified partners, among other items. The RCPP portal restricts answers to a set amount of characters, including spaces.

4. Project Outcomes—All RCPP lead partners are responsible for reporting on conservation outcomes (and, to the extent possible, economic and social outcomes) of their projects. A guidance document for outcomes reporting is posted on the RCPP website. All lead partners should carefully review the guidance document prior to drafting their portal proposal.

5. Deliverables and Contributions—The RCPP portal guides applicants to fill out two tables: one connects proposed project deliverables with funding requested (both FA and TA), and the other table collects partner contribution information.

In the deliverables table, applicants must request RCPP funding by project year and anticipated RCPP activity types…