Title
Receive report from EAA staff on the status of the Edwards Aquifer State Resource Concern.
Body
STAFF RECOMMENDED MOTION:
None. This item is for informational purposes only.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the Aquifer Management Planning Committee to receive a report from EAA staff on the current status of the Edwards Aquifer State Resource Concern (EA SRC) initiated by the EAA in partnership with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in October 2015. The EA SRC is a special funding district for the implementation of USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) that awards contracts with agricultural producers based on a ranking criteria of NRCS practices that are most important to EAA environmental goals. The EA SRC includes the entire contributing, recharge, and artesian zones of the aquifer but includes EAA cost share incentives only within the EAA's jurisdictional boundary. Generally, the program prioritizes practices to reduce soil erosion in the contributing and recharge zones, improve the efficiency of irrigation systems using Edwards wells, and to plug substandard wells across the region. Staff will report on the recent changes made by NRCS to the EA SRC program.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
This agenda item supports the EAA's policy direction as set forth in the EAA 2016-20 Strategic Plan: Goal D. Prevent the Pollution of the Aquifer.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.