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The Sheridan County Conservation
District (SCCD) has obtained grants to provide cost-share
assistance to landowners wishing to make animal feeding
operation improvements in Sheridan County. The purpose of this
cost-share program is to develop and install structural and/or
management practices that will assist in reducing water quality
impacts from livestock operations. In addition, the program
will help producers minimize their risk for regulatory action.
As part of this program, technical
assistance from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) is provided to assist the producer in the planning,
design, and engineering of the project. Other qualified
personnel may be used at the landowner’s discretion to provide
technical support. However, all work must meet NRCS standards
and specifications to be considered for funding. In addition, a
specific implementation plan and contract will be developed with
the selected project applicants. The contract will be between
the producer and SCCD.
Applications will be prioritized and
selected by the SCCD with guidance, when necessary, from a Local
Work Group (LWG), which consists of local watershed steering
committee representatives, agriculture producers, USDA agency
personnel, UW Cooperative Extension personnel, Wyoming
Department of Environmental Quality representatives, and local
Conservation District representatives. Landowners are
encouraged to meet with the SCCD during the approval process.
Although not required, an
information and education component, which might include a tour
of the site, is highly recommended as a way to facilitate
broad-scale change throughout the watershed. However, the SCCD
does not wish to exclude projects with a high potential for
improving water quality that might not otherwise participate.
The level of treatment to be
achieved will target zero discharge from a 25 yr/24 hour event
based on current EPA standards for permitted facilities.
However, the actual treatment level applied to the operation
will be the landowner’s decision. The level of treatment
applied will be considered by the SCCD in priority setting.
The SCCD will base decisions on
consensus rather than majority vote. The 5 basic criteria used
when prioritizing applications include:
1. An assessment of the operation’s
risk or need for improvement;
2. Water quality concerns/ potential
benefits;
3. Cost effectiveness;
4. Group Consensus on the benefits
of the project;
5. The location in respect to
impaired waterbodies.
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Sheridan County Conservation District