Participant RCWP Contracts Law and Legal Definition
Participant RCWP contract is a basic contract document that includes a participant's water-quality plan, schedule of operations, and special provisions as needed. RCWP refers to Rural Water Control Program. Any landowner or operator may enter into an RCWP contract who is willing to apply for a water-quality plan. Any person who controls, or shares control, of a farm, ranch, or other land for the proposed contract period also signs the contract.
In participant RCWP contracts, a participant landowner or operator furnishes satisfactory evidence of his/her control of a farm, ranch, or other land. The administering agency of RCWP determines the acceptability of evidence and maintains current ownership evidence in the contract file. The RCWP contract requires best management practices to be operated and maintained by a participant at no cost to that administering agency.
Under 7 CFR 634.29, the following actions constitute violation of a participant RCWP contract by a participant:
1. Knowingly or negligently damaging or causing best management practices to become impaired;
2.Adopting a land use or practice during the contract period which tends to defeat the purposes of the program;
3.Failing to comply with the terms of the contract;
4.Filing a false claim;
5.Misusing authorizations for payment.
However, a land owner or operator may enter into a contract jointly (also called a pooling agreement) with other land owners or operators to solve mutual water quality problems. Each participant must enter into an RCWP contract to treat water quality problems not covered by a joint arrangement.
