Issue – Voluntary actions on the
part of farmers is the primary way that Virginia attempts to deal with
non-point source pollution (NPS) resulting from agricultural
activities. Tax incentives are a powerful motivating factor in order
to encourage implementation of best management practices (BMPs). Cost
Share is a direct sharing between the landowner and the Commonwealth
of the costs involved with installing BMPs. Soil and Water
Conservation Districts (SWCDs) are the primary vehicle for encouraging
and implementing these practices.
Currently, the major programs in the Commonwealth
of Virginia to promote conservation practices are the Virginia
Agricultural BMP Cost Share Program, USDA Environmental Quality
Incentive Program (EQIP), and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement
Program (CREP). Individual SWCDs are allocated specific amounts to be
administered during the fiscal year (July to June) and accept
applications from landowners and managers. EQIP and CREP follow
guidelines and regulations of USDA. District staff and its partner
agencies provide technical assistance to ensure BMPs are planned and
implemented according to program needs. Program participants can receive
75% of the cost of projects up to $50,000.00 per program year. Each
district is able to set different limits or caps under those amounts if
they choose to.
The main source of state funding for the Virginia
Agricultural BMP Cost Share Program is the Water Quality Improvement Act
(WQIA), which is 10% of the previous years state surplus (or as
appropriated by the General Assembly). Of course this amount varies from
year to year and is split in some arrangement between the Cost Share
Program and water quality projects. While in recent years WQIA has been
a significant source of funding, there is no assurance it will be in the
future. Due to the current budget problems in Virginia, there may be no
funds available from WQIA.
In addition to state funding from WQIA, for many
years DCR has made use of federal funds that originate from contracts
with EPA to further support the Cost Share program. During the 2000
program year, combined state and federal funding for this statewide
program totaled $13 million. During the 2001 program year, the combined
total funding was $7.7 million. Districts could use up to 20% of their
program allocations during 2001 to support their technical and
administrative costs that are associated with program implementation.
There are also a few other sources that could be accessed, but those are
either tied to the fact that the property is located on an officially
recognized impaired section with a developed strategy (TMDL), or is
located within the Chesapeake Bay Basin.
A primary purpose of these voluntary programs is to
implement the developed Tributary Strategies for the James, York,
Rappahannock, and Lower Coastal basins. Also these programs will assist
to maintain the 40% cap on reductions made in connection with the
Shenandoah and Potomac Tributary Strategies.
There are several other programs that rely on
incentives to encourage voluntary participation:
Virginia
BMP Tax Credit Program – This
program allows individuals to take a credit on their state taxes of 25%
of their out of pocket expenses for the cost of the BMP that is being
implemented.
Equipment Tax Credit – This allows for a
state tax credit of 25% of the purchase cost of a piece of no till
equipment (or $2500 whichever is less). Under a similar program covering
pesticide and fertilizer application equipment, the same is true except
that the dollar amount of the exception is increased to $3750.
Revolving Loan Fund for Structural BMPs –
DEQ administers a fund that can provide low interest loans (3%) for
structural BMPs such as litter sheds or manure tanks. District
administration is still an integral part of this program as well.
Small Business Environmental Assistance
Fund –
DEQ and the Department of Business Assistance jointly administer a fund
that provides low interest loans (3%) for the implementation or purchase
of structural BMPs. Conservation plans approved by the district are very
important to this program.
Why is it important –
Ø Technical
assistance for BMPs is the primary role of SWCDs in the state. Without
these programs Districts would be without the primary tool that we have
to solicit support for conservation practices in our regions.
Ø Our
staff would not be able to aggressively market these practices without
adequate levels of funding from year to year.
Ø It
is entirely possible that if the pollutant reductions were unable to be
achieved with these voluntary programs, that the alternative that would
be imposed or chosen would be of a regulatory nature.
Ø Consistency
is critical to conservation remediation programs and Cost Share Programs
are not an exception. Twenty percent of the allocation may be used by
the district to implement the practices. Therefore, staff availability
is dependant on consistent size of allocations.
Rationale –
Districts are the infrastructure through which the
voluntary, incentive based programs are achieving progress to prevent
agricultural non-point source water pollution. Public investment in
these programs has been shown to be an efficient and effective way of
solving this problem. The alternative of unfunded mandates is a
possibility that is not worthy of serious consideration. We must
maintain and hopefully increase the levels of support currently being
used. The current sources of support are only dependable with the
existence of a state surplus and that is far from a certainly. As the
surplus is reduced, so will be the resources of these voluntary
programs.
Policy
This is a
budgetary consideration. The VASWCD will continue to seek support for
Agricultural BMPs and Cost Share Programs - Funding and Tax Incentives
both at the state level through the General Assembly and at the federal
level through Congress.
We
need to begin the process of finding a more dependable source of support
for these programs. This will involve finding interested and supportive
legislators and persuading them to help us find those sources.
ADOPTED: December 10, 2002
EXPIRES: December 31, 2006
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