GUIDELINE #3
ELIGIBLE PRACTICE EXPENSES

USDA Farm Bill program participants may receive cost-share reimbursement payments for expenses related to the installation of their approved conservation practices. This document was developed as a guide for the different types of expenses that are eligible under the following programs administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Hawaii: Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), Conservation Security Program (CSP), and the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP).

The list of eligible and ineligible expenses shown below generally applies to practices approved for cost-share payment. Additional information on specific practices can be found on the following pages.

A. Eligible Expenses

• Labor and materials to install the practice
• Used materials that meet NRCS specifications if they are purchased by a participant for a specified practice (value is calculated on the basis of actual cost not to exceed the average cost of new materials)
• Equipment costs to install the practice (including rental of jackhammers, posthole diggers, come-alongs, tractor implements, and other heavy equipment)
• Mobilization expense (one-time expense per practice per year) for transporting heavy equipment to and from the project site
• Earthwork costs related to the installation of:
• vegetative practices (such as grubbing and preparing the seedbed)
• structural practices (such as excavating, grading, reshaping, trenching, filling, backfilling, and compacting)
• Fertilizer and lime, if vegetation is established as part of the practice • Transportation costs charged by vendors to deliver materials to the site • Sales tax

B. Ineligible Expenses

• Practices that do not meet NRCS designs and specifications
• Practices installed solely for production purposes
• Structural or land management irrigation practices on land that has not been under irrigation for two out of the past five years (for EQIP)
• Non-USDA fees, such as fees for permits and soil/tissue/water analysis
• Extents greater than technically needed to meet the minimum practice standards
• Used materials that the participant has on hand
• Program participant’s transportation costs using personal equipment to deliver materials to the site or to mobilize heavy equipment
• Purchase of new or used tools or equipment such as gloves, shovels, weed whackers, wheel barrels, concrete mixers, post-hole diggers, come-alongs, tractor implements, graders, backhoes, or bulldozers, unless otherwise specified
• Labor costs which exceed 35% of the total eligible costs for installing the practice. (If labor costs exceed 35% of total eligible costs for installing the practice, the District Conservationist must provide written documentation for labor costs exceeding 35%, based on the participant’s justification.)

C. Other References

• Guideline #1 - Implementing Farm Bill Contracts
• Guideline #2 - Documenting Expenses

D. Detailed Information on Practice Expenses

A) Access Road

1. Eligible Expenses
• Drainage structures such as culverts and fords on portions of the existing road that are eroding and that provide access to a farm field
• Constructing water bars, crowning roads or installing drains on portions of the existing field access roads that are eroding
• Sub-base material such as crushed rock, gravel or geotextile fabric
• Surface material such as concrete, gravel and asphalt
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Structures such as bridges

B) Animal Mortality Facility

1. Eligible Expenses
• Incinerators
• Freezers

C) Brush Management, Pest Management

1. Eligible Expenses
• Mechanical control methods using equipment such as bulldozers, brush rakes or disks, rolling choppers, rotary brush mowers, grubbers, root plows or undercutters
• Chemical control methods
• Weed control methods (mechanical and chemical) to maintain areas for a maximum of three years (WHIP).
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Weed control methods (mechanical and chemical) to maintain areas that were cost-shared within the past five years (EQIP).
• Weed barrier materials

D) Composting Facility

1. Eligible Expenses
• Building or structure for making and storing compost (includes roof, trusses, rafters, support posts, and walls)
• Concrete slab (including steel reinforcement and welded wire fabric); or other appropriate liner that prevents nutrients from seeping into ground water
• Permanent bins for making & storing compost
• For CNMP-related contracts only: self-propelled or tractor-towed compost turner or mixer, screener, grinder
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Compost bagger

E) Conservation Cover, Critical Area Planting, Riparian Forest Buffer, Vegetative Barrier

1. Eligible Expenses
• Vegetative material such as seeds, sprigs, trees and shrubs
• Pots and potting mix to grow out trees or shrubs prior to planting in field
• Weed barrier mats when planting trees or shrubs
• Erosion control mat (for Critical Area Planting practice only)
• Laterals and emitters for a temporary irrigation system to establish plants
• Mechanical or chemical methods to control weeds during the first year of establishment, unless it was cost-shared in the same area within the past five years
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Clearing rocks or other obstructions from the site to be vegetated

F) Cover Crop, Filter Strip, Pasture & Hayland Planting, Range Planting

1. Eligible Expenses
• Vegetative material such as seeds and sprigs
• Mechanical or chemical methods to control weeds during the first year of establishment, unless it was cost-shared in the same area within the past five years
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Clearing rocks or other obstructions from the site to be vegetated

G) Grassed Waterway, Open Channel

1. Eligible Expenses
• Erosion control mat

H) Fence, Non-Electric / Electric / Game-Proof

1. Eligible Expenses
• Fence material (includes wire, t-posts, line and corner posts, in-line and corner braces, fasteners, stays, and gates)
• Power source (eligible under WHIP and GRP)
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Power source (ineligible under EQIP)

J) Grade Stabilization Structure, Irrigation Regulating Reservoir, Irrigation Storage Reservoir, Pond, Sediment Basin, Structure for Water Control, Waste Treatment Lagoon, Water & Sediment Control Basin

1. Eligible Expenses
• Concrete and reinforcement steel
• Pipe

K) Grazing Land Mechanical Treatment

1. Eligible Expenses
• Mechanical treatment such as furrowing, pitting, ripping, subsoiling, chiseling and land imprinting

L) Irrigation System, Microirrigation / Sprinkler

1. Eligible Expenses
• Irrigation system (includes late ral lines, submain, emitters, sprinklers, fittings, water wheel)
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Fertilizer injector

M) Irrigation Water Conveyance – Plastic / Steel

1. Eligible Expenses
• Irrigation system (includes mainline, fittings, filters, valves, vacuum breakers, air release valves, pressure relief valves, pressure regulators, backflow preventer)
• Permanent pumps that are an integral part of a conservation management system that primarily address irrigation induced erosion, water quality, or water conservation
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Fertilizer injector

N) Lined Waterway or Outlet

1. Eligible Expenses
• Rock riprap & geotextile fabric
• Concrete and reinforcement steel

O) Manure Transfer

1. Eligible Expenses
• Permanent pumps that are an integral part of an animal waste system
• Alley scraper
• Conduit, pipes

P) Mulching

1. Eligible Expenses
• Organic mulch material such as wood chips, compost, hay, and macadamia nut husks
• Cinder or Gravel (Eligible only under WHIP, with prior written approval from Program Manager.)
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Materials such as cinder, gravel, plastic film, and erosion control mats

Q) Pipeline

1. Eligible Expenses
• Stockwater pipeline (includes mainline, fittings, filters, valves, vacuum breakers, air release valves, pressure relief valves, pressure regulators, backflow preventer)
• Permanent pumps that are an integral part of a conservation management system that primarily address water quality or water conservation
• Portable pumps that provide stockwater

R) Pond, Sealing or Lining

1. Eligible Expenses
• Liner & installation costs
• Geotextile fabric, cushion material

S) Roof Runoff Structure

1. Eligible Expenses
• Gutters, gutter supports, and downspouts on farm structures
• Materials to stabilize downspout areas
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Gutters, gutter supports, and downspouts on residential or non-agricultural structures

T) Tree/Shrub Establishment, Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment

1. Eligible Expenses
• Vegetative material such as trees and shrubs planted for erosion control or water quality purposes
• Pots and potting mix to grow out trees or shrubs prior to planting in field
• Weed barrier mats when planting trees or shrubs
• Laterals and emitters for a temporary irrigation system to establish trees or shrubs
• Mechanical or chemical control methods to control weeds during the first year of establishment, unless it was cost-shared in the same area within the past five years
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Clearing rocks or other obstructions from the site to be vegetated

U) Waste Storage Facility

1. Eligible Expenses
• Structure to store waste (includes roof, trusses, rafters, support posts, flooring, and walls)
• Housing Facility (Dry Litter System only)
• Solids separator
• Tanks

V) Waste Utilization

1. Eligible Expenses
• Irrigation system to apply effluent (includes lateral lines, submain, mainline, sprinklers, fittings, valves, vacuum breakers, pressure regulators, backflow preventer, water wheel)

W) Water Harvesting Catchment

1. Eligible Expenses
• Catchment lining material
• Structure for rainshed over storage structure (includes roof, trusses, rafters, and support posts)
• Storage structures such as tanks and ponds used exclusively for agricultural purposes
• Gutters, gutter supports, and downspouts
• Pipes
2. Ineligible Expenses
• Walls for rainshed
• Roofs of residential structures & other large structures used as catchment
• Structures and catchment areas if water is for domestic use

X) Watering Facility

1. Eligible Expenses
• Cover for watering facility (includes shade cloth, roof, trusses, support posts)
• Concrete slab (including steel reinforcement and welded wire fabric)
• Concrete masonry
• Water storage tanks
• Tank lining
• Troughs (includes automatic water level control devices)
• Base material such as gravel and sand
• Permanent pumps that are an integral part of a conservation management system that primarily address water quality or water conservation
• Portable pumps that provide stockwater