Conservation practice site check (free)
- Site and drainage area
- Soils and slope
- Mapped wetlands and streams
- Section 404 exemption check
- NRCS standard that applies
- Who designs and certifies it
Landowners planning a pond, waterway or terrace
Where is the field or pond site?
Free site check for a farm pond, grassed waterway or terrace: drainage area, soils, slope, whether a Corps permit applies, and who can design it.
- Free to read
- No sign-up until the draft
- Hands off to the right door
ePlan fills in
- Drainage area
- Soils
- Slope
- Mapped wetlands
How it works
Conservation practice site check, from one answer
- Pin the site and pick the practice.
- ePlan maps drainage area, soils, slope and wetlands. An NRCS planner or engineer does the design.
- Read the free check. Work in a stream or wetland? Start a nationwide permit PCN draft.
What you get
Conservation practice site check and 1 more document
The check is free. The paperwork after it is drafted at the Pre-Construction Notification door.
Nationwide permit pre-construction notification
- Work in waters or wetlands
- Nationwide permit
- Species and historic places
From public data
What ePlan fills in, and from where
- Drainage area and slopeUSGS 3D Elevation Program
- SoilsUSDA NRCS Web Soil Survey (SSURGO)
- Mapped wetlandsUSFWS National Wetlands Inventory
- StreamsUSGS National Hydrography Dataset
3,000
acre-feet squared, storage times effective dam height, is the cap for a low-hazard pond under North Dakota's NRCS pond standard
Source: NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 378, Pond (North Dakota, April 2022)
Ready for the paperwork?
Draft the Army Corps pre-construction notification (ENG Form 6082) for a dock, bank repair or small crossing. Wetlands and species checked. Free to read.
Questions
Farm Pond and NRCS Practice Design: what people ask
Do I need a Corps permit to build a farm pond?
Building or maintaining farm or stock ponds is exempt from Section 404. The exemption is lost if the work brings a water into a new use and impairs its flow or reduces its reach.
Who can design an NRCS practice?
NRCS staff, or a technical service provider that NRCS has certified and placed on its approved list, or one selected through a contract.
When is a pond low hazard?
North Dakota's NRCS pond standard applies to embankment ponds meeting low-hazard criteria, where storage times the dam's effective height is less than 3,000 acre-feet squared. Other states publish their own version of the standard.
The rules this door follows
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Farm Pond and NRCS Practice Design: check it free
Answer it and ePlan opens the Pre-Construction Notification door with your answer filled in.