Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI)

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative was authorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) to provide assistance to producers to minimize delivery of nutrients and sediments in order to restore, preserve, and protect the Chesapeake Bay. The program offers financial and technical assistance to producers to install practices that help control soil erosion and nutrients on eligible agricultural land from reaching the Bay. The practices are not limited to, but emphasize crop residue management, crop nutrient management, manure management, cover crops, buffers, riparian forest buffers, and streamside fencing to keep livestock out of the streams and water courses.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to nearly 17 million residents and covers more than 64,000 square miles. It is the largest estuary in the United States and is critical to the region’s economy, culture, and outdoor recreation. Fourteen percent (14%) of West Virginia drains into the Potomac, Shenandoah, and James Rivers and on to the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay drainage area in West Virginia includes Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan, Pendleton, and small portions of Preston, Tucker, and Monroe counties.

Portions of five other states also lie within the watershed, including: Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York. See the attached map for the areas in WV that are eligible to sign up for assistance under this new initiative. Some watersheds will be designated as high priority for funding because they have high yields of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients, have intense agricultural operations, and have local water quality impairments associated with excess nutrients or dissolved oxygen.

Applications for the new CBWI are accepted continuously throughout the year to evaluate, rank, prioritize and select applicants and will be evaluated on a monthly basis, beginning with applications received by March 15, 2009. Approvals or funding requests for qualified applications will be made on a monthly basis as long as funds are available. Applications from the designated high priority watersheds will receive additional points in the ranking system due to their higher potential for environmental benefit. Applications that cannot be funded can be retained for up to two years, after which time the producer will need to re-file a new application.

Any eligible landowner in West Virginia may apply at local USDA Service Centers.
To learn more about these and other conservation programs, please contact your local USDA-NRCS service center listed in the telephone book, or visit http://www.wv.nrcs.usda.gov.

The Chesapeake Bay drainage area in West Virginia includes Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan, Pendleton, and small portions of Preston, Tucker, and Monroe counties.

For additional information in West Virginia contact:

To Apply  
Application sign-up is an ongoing process and can be done online at USDA Service Center eForms Web Site
Follow the instructions and information as you enter this site. 

If you are unable to submit your application online you can fill out the form, print, sign and mail, fax or hand deliver to your local USDA NRCS Service Center.

• For Additional Program Information

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