Agenda - 03-13-1997 - 4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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disposal regulations presume that there is ultimately a finite quantity of biosolids which may be applied to any tract of land. OWASA also purchases and owns land in the University Lake and Cane Creek watershed. Most of this land is located in the Cane Creek watershed (approximately 510 acres) and is intended to reduce and limit overall development or other land uses having the potential to degrade water quality. This land is separate from the acreage containing the reservoir and its immediate environs (1630 acres). The OWASA Board of Directors, staff and consultants are, in conjunction with Cane Creek watershed protection initiatives, also evaluating strategies to record conservation easements on land within the watershed. One strategy which, according to OWASA staff, has not proven to be popular with land owners is the purchase of conservation easements. A second strategy, which is still in the discussion stage, involves purchasing land outright, recording a conservation easement and reselling the land for agricultural or forestry uses. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), in conjunction with the local Soil and Water Conservation District, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the Farm Services Agency(FSA) and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, has a number of existing and proposed programs which can help preserve open space for ten to fifty year periods. Most of the USDA programs use financial incentives and contractual agreements with land owners to provide wildlife habitat or to protect wetland and riparian areas from the effects of erosion. The specific programs that currently exist or in the development stage are as follows: 1)the existing Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program(WHIP), co- administered by NRCS and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, is used to enhance the habitat for small game animals and involves the installation of cover and feed planting or controlled bums in set aside areas. Five to ten year contracts specifying landowner maintenance and planting responsibilities and USDA incentive payments are executed; 2) the proposed Environmental Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP) will probably require preservation of open spaces, wildlife corridors and habitat and protection of waterways by creation and maintenance of riparian buffers. The program has been funded but final rules and specifics are not anticipated to be finalized and disseminated for at least the next thirty to sixty days; 3)the existing Conservation Reserve Program(CRP) is used to protect water sheds and reduce cropland erosion potential by taking areas of highly erodable soils and areas bordering waterways out of the crop production process. The areas are generally protected by the installation of cover and forest plantings. Five to ten year contracts specifying landowner management, maintenance and planting responsibilities and USDA incentive payments are executed; 4)the existing Wetland Reserve Program (WRP)is used to preserve and protect wetland areas from agricultural uses. There is no record of this program being used in Orange County to date. It is a contractual incentive program that probably sees the most wide spread uses,in coastal and lowland areas; and 5) the existing Conservation Easement Program is used in conjunction with repayment of Farm Services Agency farm loans (formerly FmHA loans). Generally the program is applied when a loan holder wishes to obtain loan repayment relief by deeding a long term(50 year) conservation easement over to a sponsoring (public) agency. The conservation easement can be used for watershed protection, wildlife habitat, passive recreation or a combination of these uses. Land may not be used for agricultural or timber production and the owner is responsible for initial plantings of trees or cover for wildlife, etc. This has recently been used for a large tract of land just north of Lake Orange where the Recreation and Parks Department has been designed as the sponsoring organization. Another potentially important program which could be undertaken by this group of agencies arises from the section of the charter for the Soil and Water Conservation District that allows it to function in a manner similar to that of the various land conservancies. That is, with the proper application of public funds to meet staffing requirements, the District can provide the requisite