The Republican River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a program through the Farm Services Agency (FSA) in which the water right is permanently retired and the land must be put into a grass habitat for 15 years and treated much like CRP ground. After that 15-year period is up the land may be used for grazing or dry land farming, but the well will have been retired.
Application begins at the FSA office, which in turn pulls the cropping records necessary for the CREP program and conveys that information to the RRWCD. The land being enrolled in the program must have been irrigated 4 of the 6 years from 1996 thru 2001, irrigated the year just prior to enrollment, and be able to legally and physically irrigate the next year in order to qualify for the program. Land that was in grass or alfalfa during the years from 1996 thru 2001 must have been re-established in 1996, or 1997 in order to qualify for the CREP program
The RRWCD staff then contacts the applicant to schedule a meeting to determine the number of acres and the amount paid for that CREP well retirement. RRWCD requires the following documents in the application for CREP:
1) Copy of the well permit,
2) Copy of the deed for the land where the well is located,
3) Document that authorizes the applicant to sign on behalf of another person or entity, and
4) Ownership and Encumbrance Memorandum from the abstract office
If there is a lien on the property, program checks written by RRWCD will include both the name of the applicant and the name of the lien holder as the payee.
RRWCD pays on the lesser of three values when determining the number of irrigated acres:
1) Number of acres allowed on the well permit,
2) Number of acres assessed by the County Assessor as irrigated acres the previous year, and
3) Number of acres irrigated four of the six years from 1996 thru 2001 according to the FSA cropping records
The amount to be paid by RRWCD for the contract is determined by multiplying the number of acres by the rate paid per acre for that particular well, depending on the distance from the river. Surface water is paid the highest rate and the rate decreases as distance increases from the stream centerline. CREP rates vary according to the following bands;
1) Surface water, wells less than 1 mile from the river,
2) Wells between 1 mile and 2 miles,
3) Wells between 2 miles and 4 miles, and
4) Wells more than 4 miles from the river.
The type of grass required for the CREP program is determined by the FSA and NRCS offices. The producer may use up to 6 inches of water within the first 24 months to assist in establishing the cover crop and the grass. When that 24-month period is over, the well must be retired.
The RRWCD water use fee is no longer assessed beginning the first full year of non-irrigation. Applying the 6 inches of water within the first 24 months to establish cover crop and grass is not considered irrigation when assessing the water use fees.
The land will be assessed by the county assessor as irrigated land for property tax purposes as long as the owner is receiving program payments, in the case of CREP it will be the end of the 15-year CREP contract.