USDA NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection Floodplain Easement Buyouts

The EWP track that funds permanent floodplain property buyouts instead of repeated in-place repair of flooded structures.

NRCS administers a distinct EWP track for the purchase of floodplain property buyouts, allowing repeatedly flooded structures to be permanently removed from the floodplain rather than rebuilt. This is the mechanism communities use when repair is no longer the rational option and the long-term answer is restoring floodplain function. For Appalachian valley towns that flood on a recurring cycle, this is a structurally different tool than standard disaster repair funding and worth understanding before the next event.