HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-31-2005-4ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: March 31, 2005
Action Age ~ a
Item No.
SUBJECT: Application for Grant from the Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection
Program for Agricultural Conservation Easements
DEPARTMENT: Environment and Resource PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No
Conservation
ATTACHMENT
Request far Proposals
INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Stancil, 245-2590
Rich Shaw, 245-2591
TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Durham 688-7331
Mebane 336-227-2031
PURPOSE: To authorize staff to submit a grant application to the US Department of
Agriculture's Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program for the purchase of farmland
preservation conservation easements in Orange County, in an amount to be determined not
to exceed $800,000.
BACKGROUND: The acgtaisition of agricultural conservation easements to help preserve
prime farmland is a longstanding goal of the Board of Commissioners, and is a priority of the
Lands Legacy Program, Orange County's first agricultural conservation easement was
acquired in 2001, To date, Orange County has protected 774 acres of prime farmland and
stream corridors through its Lands Legacy Program.
In 2002, Orange County was awarded $784,000 of the $2,1 million available in North
Carolina from the federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP), Those funds
were used to match County finds to purchase conservation easements on three farms (412
acres).
In 2004 Orange County was awarded another $638,840 - 28% of North Carolina's FRPP
allocation, Those funds are being used to protect another 500 acres on three farms,
Far 2005, the federal Farm Bill will provide just over $3 million for similar projects in North
Carolina, Because Orange County has already allocated funds for farmland protection and
has identified several good candidates, the County stands a fairly good chance of receiving
matching grant funds, The deadline for submitting proposals is April 4, 2005
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The County intends to apply for up to $800,000 in federal funds, the
exact figure to be refined at the meeting, The application grant program would require an
equal share of County funds be used to match federal grant finds should the grant be
awarded, The federal funds may not be used for transaction costs; those will be paid for by
Orange County and are estimated to cost another $25,000 for as many as four farms, The
County's matching funds (up to $800,000) would come from the remaining $975,000 in
alternative financing approved by the Board of Commissioners in FY 2003-04 (total of $3.0
million). A Conservation Easement Capital Project Ordinance would be provided to the
Board for consideration at a future meeting.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board authorize the submittal
of a grant application to the federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program in an amount
to be defined but not to exceed $800,000 prior to the April 4 deadline, with County matching
fiands to come from alternative financing for conservation easements.
United States Department of Agriculture
D FRCS ~
Natural Resources Conservation Service
4405 Bland Road, Suite 205 Telephone No : (919) 873-2101
Raleigh, North Carolina 27609 Fax No< (919) 873-2156
March 4, 2005
NORTH CAROLINA BULLETIN NO. 300-5-5
SUBJECT: Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program Request for Proposals
Purpose: To inform the field of opportunities for participation in the Farm and Ranch
Lands Protection Program for FY 2005
Expiration: December 31, 2005
Background:
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 provides up to $125 million in financial and
technical assistance for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) in fiscal year
2005. Eligible entities include state and local governments, federally recognized Indian tribes,
and non-governmental, non- profit conservation organizations, Policy and procedures for
implementing the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program are contained in Part 519 of the
Conservation Programs Manual.. The information presented in this bulletin is a summary of key
points contained in the manual. Refer to Part 519 for clarification,
Eligibility and Application Process
The request for proposals (RFP) (Attachment 1) is attached to this bulletin. Entities submitting
proposals should include all of the required information as indicated in the RFP. The deadline
for submitting proposals is April 5, 2005. Eligible entities are federally recognized Indian tribes,
states, units of local government, and non-governmental organizations that have written
pending offers for the acquisition of conservation easements for the purposes of protecting
agricultural use.
Individual landowners cannot apply directly for FRPP funds. Landowner interest must be
conveyed to an eligible entity that has an existing farmland protection program. The eligible
entity can then apply for federal FRPP matching funds to help acquire the easement. The
federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program is designed to be a supplemental funding
source for existing state and local farmland protection programs.
Refer to Subpart D, Part 519,31 of the Conservation Programs Manual for cooperating entity
eligibility requirements. Proposals must provide adequate proof of a pending offer for the
subject land, Part 519.33a,b provides guidance on pending offers, The NRCS State
Conservationist will review and rank proposals based on the following:
• Organization or agency eligibility
• Land eligibility. Refer to Part 519.32a-d for eligibility requirements
Extent to which the proposal protects prime, unique, or other productive soil
To ensure that the proper land is enrolled, land must:
• Be of sufficient size allowing for efficient management of the agricultural operation
Distribution: E
North Carolina Bulletin No. 30Q-5-5
Page 2
• Have a preponderance of soils of prime, unique, or statewide/local importance or contain
significant historic or archaeological sites
• Have access to markets for ag products and an infrastructure appropriate for agricultural
production
• Not be subject to an existing easement or deed restriction
• Not be owned in fee title by an agency of the United States
Proposals will receive a higher priority with lands and locations that:
• Help create a large tract of protected area for viable agricultural production
• Link other federal, tribal, state, local, or non-governmental organization efforts with
complementary farmland protection or conservation programs
• Provide special social, economic, and environmental benefits to the region
• Protect a National Register of Historic Places site or a site with significant archaeological
Importance
• Have permanent easements
• Have pending offers supported by a signed appraisal
The attached ranking worksheet (Attachment 3) provides a scoring process that considers many
of the prioritization factors described above. Please note that if land is being offered for
enrollment based upon the presence of historic or archaeological sites, then additional narrative
information is needed as per Part 519.41d of the manual.
Please note that a landowner donation of up to 25% of the fair market price of the easement can
be used as part of the local matching funds. The purchase price is the fair market value
acquired through standard real property appraisal and is the difference between the value of the
unencumbered praperty and the value of the property with the easement restrictions. In the
case of purchasing easements, the NRCS share of the purchase price shall not exceed 50% of
the fair market value.. Refer to Part 519 52b for an explanation of payment shares when a
landowner donates part of the easement and therefore accepts less than the fair market value.
All land enrolled in USDA Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program easements must have a
conservation plan developed and implemented. The conservation plan should be signed by the
landowner prior to recording the easement. (While the plan is not required to be developed
when the initial proposal is submitted to NRCS for possible funding, it is important that the
applicants included in the proposal understand fhe requirement for developing and
implementing a conservation plan.) The plan will be reviewed for technical adequacy by the
local NRCS district conservationist and submitted to the local soil and water conservation district
for approval. All practices shall meet the standards and specifications contained in Section 4 of
the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide. The conservation plan on highly erodible land (HEL), if
applicable, must be implemented within 12 months (1 year) of the easement closing.
Landowners have 4 years to implement the plan on non-HEL and must begin installation of at
least one practice within 12 months of the date the easement is recorded.. In situations where
the 4-year implementation schedule creates an extreme hardship on the applicant, the NRCS
State Conservationist has authority to extend the implementation period.
NOTE: The Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program does not provide any cost share to
install the practices required by the plan. While the landowner is responsible for installation,
cost share funds, if available, can be used to implement the plan. Approval of cost share funds
will be subject to the terms of eligibility and approval of the respective program (EOIP, WHIP,
NC Agricultural Cost Share Program, etc).
North Carolina Bulletin No. 300-5-5
Page 3 5
Planning to the resource management system (RMS) level is desirable and should be
encouraged. If the plan does not meet the RMS level of planning, then the NRCS planning
policy on progressive planning will be followed (i.e. the plan will list and explain the practices
needed to reach the RMS level). However, at a minimum, conservation plans on all enrolled
land must meet the criteria as outlined in Attachment 2, FRPP Conservation Planning
Requirements.
Questions concerning the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program should be addressed first
to the local NRCS field office, then to the appropriate NRCS area office, and then to the
program manager, Dick Fowler.
Information on the web can be found at:
htto:l/www.nres. usda.oov/programs/frnp
Proposals from eligible entities should be forwarded to:
Dick Y. Fowler
USDA-NRCS
4405 Bland Road, Suite 205
Raleigh, NC 27609
All proposal packages should address and include each of the items listed in the request for
proposals,
The attached NRCS Farmland Protection Program ranking worksheet should be completed and
submitted for each farm included in the proposal. Please note that the part 6 of the ranking
worksheet must be completed by the local NRCS district conservationist and SWCD
representative.
Narratives should be submitted to cover any required items that are not addressed by the
worksheet or any item in the worksheet that the applicant feels would benefit from additional
clarification. The Summary of Pending Easement Offers (Attachment 4) should be completed
with information for all farms included in the proposal. Incomplete proposal packets may result
in the proposal not being considered far funding.
A Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program committee will evaluate proposals and a
prioritized recommendation for funding will be sent to the NRCS State Conservationist for
consideration. The numerical score from the ranking worksheet, along with all other supporting
data, will be used to prioritize funding requests. The State Conservationist will determine the
funding amounts for the successful applicants. The program manager will notify all entities as to
their funding status once final allocations are determined. Funding decisions are expected to be
available within 30 days after the close of the Request For Proposals. All funds must be
encumbered to agreements with eligible entities by September 30, 2005.
Mary K. Combs
State Conservationist
Attachments