The Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program is a program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service to respond to floods, fires,[1] windstorms and other types of natural disasters.
Types of work this program funds include: removing debris; reshaping and protecting eroded banks; correcting damaged drainage facilities; repairing levees and other water conveyance structures; and purchasing flood plain easements.
It is almost always funded in supplemental appropriations that provide federal assistance to deal with a natural disaster.
The EWP's activities are sponsored by a city, county, town, conservation district, or any federally-recognized Native American tribe or tribal organization before EWP can come in with their expertise to assist a region that has experienced an emergency.
[3] Over 430 sites in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands had to be immediately addressed by EWP after Hurricane Maria struck on September 20, 2017.