By Kristina Ribellia, Executive Director, Columbia Basin Conservation District
On behalf of the Columbia Basin Conservation District (CBCD), we regret to confirm that the six Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) proposals we submitted to the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program (OGWRP) in July were not awarded according to announcements made by NRCS on October 23rd.
Despite this setback, CBCD remains hopeful and dedicated to aggressively pursuing NRCS funding for public delivery systems and on-farm infrastructure on behalf of OGWRP partners and producers. The CBCD is prepared to do everything we can to improve our RCPP proposals and strategy for the next RCPP round which is expected to open again in the coming months. We anticipate receiving a critique of our proposals in November which will help inform how we move forward.
In the near term, it will be critically important to continue working with our partners and legislators to secure funding for OGWRP during the upcoming Washington State Legislative Session beginning in January. The state’s OGWRP allocations have proven to be critical components of the four RCPP awards CBCD has received for the OGWRP to date.
In 2023, the Washington State Legislature secured a record $32.8 million in the Capital Budget for OGWRP. Together, with our partners we were able to leverage the state’s investments dollar for dollar by securing three RCPP awards in 2023 for the EL 80.6, 84.7, and 86.4 totaling $39.9 million. As a result of the OGWRP’s incredible partnerships, the three lower OGWRP systems are funded and moving toward implementation with the EL 86.4 anticipating to receive replacement water in 2025.
CBCD would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the following partners for committing technical and financial contributions totaling nearly $72 million for the six RCPP proposals that were submitted this year: Marlin Hutterian Brethren, EL 22.1 Landowners Association, East Columbia Basin Irrigation District (ECBID), Bureau of Reclamation, Washington State Department of Ecology's Office of Columbia River, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington State Conservation Commission, Washington State Potato Commission, Washington State University, Lincoln County Conservation District, Columbia Basin Conservation District, Columbia Basin Development League, and the Columbia Basin Sustainable Water Coalition.
Additionally, we would like to thank ECBID, IRZ Engineering, and the many landowners who contributed a tremendous amount of time and resources to help develop this year’s RCPP proposals. We would also like to thank the Washington State Legislature and the Department of Ecology’s Office of Columbia River for funding CBCD to aggressively pursue NRCS funding for the OGWRP. We are honored to be tasked with such a critical charge.
Lastly, we want to recognize and thank NRCS-Washington for their unwavering support and dedication to the OGWRP. We remain optimistic that future NRCS funding opportunities will be fruitful, especially as we continue to show success through implementing NRCS’ current $49.4 million investments in OGWRP over the next three years.
Please join us next Tuesday, October 29th at the Columbia Basin Development Leagues’ Conference & 60th Annual Meeting to celebrate the great progress we are making on the OGWRP and to hear further updates first-hand from many of our partners, including NRCS-Washington’s State Conservationist Roylene Comes-At-Night.
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For more information on NRCS’ 2024 RCPP awards, please visit: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/usda-invests-15-billion-in-92-partnership-projects-to-advance-conservation-and-climate-smart?utm_campaign=1023rcpp&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
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The Columbia Basin Conservation District (CBCD) is a consolidation of several conservation districts that have served Grant County and the irrigated portions of Adams County since 1945. CBCD provides technical and financial assistance to help implement voluntary practices that conserve our natural resources. Like other conservation districts across the country, CBCD has a unique and close working relationship with NRCS. Together, we are able to leverage resources and increase on-the-ground conservation.
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