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Utah County approves interlocal agreements to pursue roughly $24 million NRCS watershed funding after wildfires
Summary
The county commission approved interlocal agreements designating Utah County as sponsor for an NRCS emergency watershed protection application covering about $24 million in mitigation work after September wildfires; municipalities will carry roughly 25% match shares and the county is preparing design RFPs ahead of a 220‑day construction clock if funding is approved.
Utah County commissioners voted to approve a series of interlocal agreements that make the county the sponsor for an application to the Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) Emergency Watershed Protection program, county public works staff said.
"When we had the the fires that happened, last September, in the south end of the county, there was a fair amount of area that was disturbed. It was about a 135,000 acres," said Richard Nelson of Public Works, describing the scope of the burn area. He told commissioners the county applied in October as the NRCS sponsor for roughly $24,000,000 worth of mitigation work, including debris basins and silt fences.
The interlocal agreements assign each affected municipality a portion of the required 25% match for work within their boundaries so the county is not solely responsible for the local share. Nelson said some state appropriations will also be used to help cover match amounts and that NRCS grants are reimbursable: the work must be completed and then NRCS will reimburse the county, which in turn would reimburse participating cities.
Nelson warned that NRCSapproval would trigger a 220-day clock to design and build the projects. "At the point in time that they say, 'yep, you've got the funding,' it starts a a clock of 220 days to have the work designed and built," he said, adding the county has an RFP in progress for design services so contractors and documents are ready if NRCS signs off.
Commission business: Speaker 2 moved to approve the block of interlocal agreements and the Strawberry Water Users Association agreement (the latter is a non-governmental water user group affected by canyon canals), Speaker 3 seconded, and the motion passed 3to0.
The county attorney and staff noted that damage-survey reports (Exhibit A) and the cost-per-entity spreadsheet (Exhibit B) will be attached to each agreement before final execution. Staff said they have signed copies from all but one municipality on file and expected the remaining jurisdiction (Woodland Hills) to provide a signed counterpart following its council action.
The vote: motion carried unanimously among the commissioners present. The commission instructed staff to finalize exhibits and proceed with the RFP process so work can begin promptly should NRCS award funding.
