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Hello partners for water quality!
We have much news to share on progress by state, local, and sector partners to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution and improve water quality in Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
For more details on the Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan and Countywide Action Planning, visit the Phase 3 WIP website. For a broader educational look at nutrient and sediment pollution in local streams, rivers, and lakes in the watershed, including tips and success stories, visit Healthy Waters, Healthy Communities.
Please consider how you might join in or help support this work. Check out each county’s Phase 3 WIP Countywide Action plan and make connections with your county team! And please share this newsletter with your networks and encourage them to subscribe to our monthly newsletter!.
— DEP Bureau of Watershed Restoration and Nonpoint Source Management
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DEP Bureau of Watershed Restoration and Nonpoint Source Management (BWRNSM)
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PA Phase 3 WIP Receives National Association of Environmental Professionals 2024 Environmental Excellence Award
DEP’s Bureau of Watershed Restoration and Nonpoint Source Management (BWRNSM) received a 2024 National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) Environmental Excellence Award for Pennsylvania’s Phase 3 WIP, highlighting the extensive, collaborative and ongoing effort among Pennsylvania state and local partners. Jill Whitcomb, BWRNSM Director, was presented with the 2024 Environmental Excellence Award in the category of Environmental Management, Stewardship, Conservation and/or Protection at the NAEP annual conference of more than 430 environmental professionals from across the nation.
“Thanks to our county and state action leaders, and the buy-in from private landowners and farmers, nutrient and sediment pollution is decreasing from Pennsylvania’s waters to the Chesapeake Bay at an accelerated rate,” said Whitcomb. “We appreciate the NAEP’s recognition of our collective efforts in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania’s Phase 3 WIP breaks down the challenge of reducing nutrient and sediment pollution across the watershed by taking a local approach and focusing on state program action leaders working together with county and local stakeholders across 34 counties to create and implement Countywide Action Plans (CAPs).
CAP implementation comes with many benefits, financial resources, and technical assistance. Both the state and a diverse group of partners, working across the watershed, have dedicated funding for projects identified in county CAPs. As projects at the county level are completed, water quality improves, benefiting local residents and those living downstream.
Robust action by state government leaders and their partners has led to more funding, staffing and programs focused on helping counties meet their clean water goals. Commonwealth legislators, working with the governor, took historic action to provide funding for projects that reduce water pollution across Pennsylvania’s expansive Chesapeake Bay watershed. Staff across state agencies and program action leaders in agriculture, forestry, stormwater, and wastewater are distributing funds into programs that make measurable differences on the ground.
“DEP engages with and empowers our local stakeholders, with grassroots efforts fueling improvements in local water quality," said Whitcomb. "Collaboration, communication, and coordination has allowed our partners to advance their local goals and improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed."
Big changes in agency-level organization have improved the state’s ability to accomplish state-level work and support county-led efforts, which has resulted in strong partnerships, impactful projects, and measurably cleaner water across Pennsylvania’s Bay watershed.
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Jill Whitcomb, BWRNSM Director, accepts the 2024 NAEP Environmental Excellence Award for the Phase 3 WIP.
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EPA Confirms Nutrient Reductions for Pennsylvania’s 2023 Progress Year
DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Partnership Section received final confirmation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding total nutrient reductions for Phase 3 WIP 2023 progress year. In total, across all sectors, Pennsylvania reported more than 14,500 BMPs from over 40 data reporting organizations to EPA’s Chesapeake Bay model. This represents the highest reported amount of BMPs since 2018 and demonstrates Pennsylvania’s progress in implementation of management actions that are reducing nutrient and sediment pollution in local Pennsylvania waters that run to the Chesapeake Bay.
Based on the 2023 annual progress report published on ChesapeakeProgress, Pennsylvania reduced 3.62 million pounds of nitrogen, 80,000 pounds of phosphorus, and 102 million pounds of sediment delivered to the Chesapeake Bay. Specific to nitrogen, the agriculture sector reduced almost 2 million pounds, or more than half of the total nitrogen reductions of all sectors (agriculture, developed, wastewater, septic, and natural) combined. This is the second greatest annual nitrogen reduction from the agriculture sector on record since 2009.
Pennsylvania is achieving its Chesapeake Bay clean water goals through collaborative, coordinated local, county and state partnerships that are implementing projects in priority areas across its Bay watershed. Based on the improved and restored local streams identified in DEP’s 2024 Integrated Water Quality report, as well as Pennsylvania’s 2023 annual reported progress, we know these essential partnerships, paired with strategic private, state, and federal investments and dedicated, coordinated support towards these efforts, are working.
Greater investments are needed to continue to build on the momentum that Pennsylvania has achieved over the last five years - a reduction of more than five million pounds of nitrogen by the agriculture sector alone (five times the amount reduced from that sector in the previous ten-year period) and continued strong annual point source reductions from the wastewater sector.
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EPA Evaluation of Pennsylvania’s 2022-2023 and 2024-2025 Milestones Made Available
As part of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), EPA agreed to develop and implement a framework for evaluating each partner jurisdiction’s milestones in the reduction of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads. The evaluation looks at the progress made toward attaining the jurisdiction’s portion of the 2025 goal (having all practices and controls in place necessary to meet applicable water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries).
EPA’s Evaluation of Pennsylvania’s 2022-2023 and 2024-2025 Milestones includes an assessment of progress toward attaining nutrient and sediment goals at the state and state-basin level and progress toward meeting sector-specific programmatic commitments for the 2022-2023 milestone period. This evaluation also provides an assessment of sector-specific programmatic and numeric commitments (e.g., BMPs or BMP targets) for the 2024-2025 milestone period and the status of the relevant water quality monitoring trends. In reviewing Pennsylvania’s final programmatic progress for the 2022-2023 milestones, the 2023 numeric progress, and the draft 2024-2025 milestone commitments, EPA identified sector-by-sector strengths as well as areas for improvement.
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DEP BWRNSM Director Participates in the EPA Mid-Atlantic Region 2024 Virtual Summit
BWRNSM Director Jill Whitcomb participated in the “Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership: Charting a Course Beyond 2025” panel discussion during the EPA Mid-Atlantic Region 2024 Virtual Summit, held on May 16, 2024. The purpose of the panel was to discuss lessons learned and important considerations for the future of the Chesapeake Bay Program. More than 170 people attended this session. The BWRNSM Director was invited to participate due to the leadership role that they’ve had as Pennsylvania’s representative on the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Management Board, Beyond 2025 Steering Committee, and Conowingo Watershed Implementation Plan Steering Committee. Larry Sanford, Ph.D., Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) Chair; Chuck Herrick, Ph.D., CBP Stakeholders Advisory Committee (SAC) Chair; and Anna Killius, Chesapeake Bay Commission Executive Director also served on the panel.
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Choose Clean Water Coalition (CCWC) 2024 Annual Conference Beyond 2025 Kickoff Discussion
BWRNSM Director Jill Whitcomb participated in an in-person panel during the Beyond 2025 Kickoff session for the CCWC 2024 Annual Conference in Ellicott City, MD on May 20, 2024. The session was hybrid, with more than 160 people registered to attend. The purpose of this panel was to engage with the CCWC as part of the CBP public engagement strategy for the Beyond 2025 Steering Committee. Martha Shimkin, EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) Director; Mariah Davis, Environmental Justice Officer for Maryland Department of Natural Resources; and Kristin Saunders, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) CBP Cross Program Coordinator also served on the panel.
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Conowingo WIP BMP Opportunity Area Web Viewer Presented at May Webinar Wednesday
Presenters from the Chesapeake Conservancy provided an overview of a new restoration planning resource tool developed to support the Conowingo WIP at DEP BWRNSM’s May Webinar Wednesday. After an introduction to the Conowingo WIP by BWRNSM Director, Jill Whitcomb, Chesapeake Conservancy staff shared how to navigate the tool to identify opportunity areas for potential best management practices (BMP) implementation. Use cases were also discussed to highlight how the tool could be used by conservation district staff and questions were addressed.
The next BWNRSM Webinar Wednesday will be held on June 5, 2024. Speakers from the Bureau of Clean Water’s Water Quality Division, Mifflin County Conservation District and The Nature Conservancy will be discussing Advanced Restoration Plans (ARPs). To join the webinar, please contact Erin Penzelik at epenzelik@pa.gov.
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2024 Virtual Conservation District and PA Agency Agriculture Meeting Announced
The 2024 Virtual Conservation District and PA Agency Agriculture Meeting will be held on July 25, 2024 and July 31, 2024. The annual meeting, led by DEP BWRNSM staff, will include partners sharing various perspectives in conservation with staff from county conservation districts, DEP, the State Conservation Commission (SCC), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD), and the Department of Conservation of Natural Resources (DCNR). The agenda will include agency updates, a retrospective of how organizational structures and relationships have developed, as well as focused breakout sessions for in-depth learning.
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DEP Releases Land Application of Manure Management Supplement
On April 27, 2024, BWRNSM’s Nonpoint Source Management Division released, “Land Application of Manure – A Supplement to Manure Management for Environmental Protection.” The supplement and Manual provide guidelines that comply with Department regulations concerning animal manure and agricultural process wastewater.
The criteria established in this technical guidance document are required to be followed by all operations applying manure or agricultural process wastewater, farms that pasture animals and farms managing an Animal Concentration Area (ACA), unless the operators obtain a permit or approval from the Department to implement alternative practices. Questions should be directed to Kathryn Bresaw, Agriculture Compliance Section Manager, kbresaw@pa.gov.
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A producer applies manure to their land.
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Programs and Projects by Local, State and Federal Partners
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Shapiro Administration Secures Sentinel Landscape Designation for Kittatinny Ridge in the Eastern Pennsylvania Appalachian Mountains
On May 15, 2024, the Shapiro Administration announced that Pennsylvania’s Kittatinny Ridge, one of the most biodiverse regions in eastern North America, has been designated a Sentinel Landscape – one of just eighteen in the nation.
Founded in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DOD), and Department of the Interior (DOI), the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership’s mission is to strengthen military readiness, conserve natural resources, bolster agricultural and forestry economies, increase public access to outdoor recreation, and enhance resilience to climate change. Being designated as a Sentinel Landscape means federal agencies, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) come together to work with willing landowners and land managers to advance sustainable, mutually beneficial land-use practices around military installations. Land and natural resources within the landscape boundary could be protected through conservation easements with landowners or receive priority consideration for participation in grant and assistance programs so farms can keep farming and wildlands stay wild.
In the Lenape language, Kittatinny means “Big Mountain,” which describes the geography of Kittatinny Ridge Sentinel Landscape well. Located in eastern Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountains, it encompasses forested ridges and fertile valleys that provide clean water, sequester vast amounts of carbon, and serve as a crucial corridor for rare wildlife and songbird migration. The landscape is anchored by Fort Indiantown Gap, the busiest National Guard training center, the Army’s second busiest heliport, and one of only three specialized Army National Guard aviation facilities.
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Map showing the Kittatinny Ridge Sentinel Landscape. All land within the white and black border is covered by the designation.
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Shapiro Administration Announces $274 Million Investment in Water Infrastructure Projects
On April 24, 2024, Governor Josh Shapiro announced the investment of $274 million for 30 drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and nonpoint source projects across 22 counties through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST). The projects include replacing lead or other corrosive pipes, rehabilitating aging systems, upgrading service capabilities, extending service to more communities, and reducing environmental contaminants through compliance with current regulatory levels and agricultural BMPs.
The funding for these projects originates from a combination of state funds approved by voters, Growing Greener funds, Marcellus Legacy funds, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) stimulus funds, the federal grant awards to PENNVEST from EPA under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments, and the recycled loan repayments from previous PENNVEST funding awards. Counties within the Chesapeake Bay watershed receiving funding include Blair, Berks, Dauphin, Huntingdon, Indiana, Luzerne, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Tioga, Wayne, and York.
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Shapiro Administration Highlights Stream Buffers at Big Elk Creek State Park
To mark Earth Week, PA DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn joined the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and members of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps Norristown crew in planting trees along the waterway at Big Elk Creek State Park in Chester County to create wildlife habitat and improve local water quality and biodiversity. The restoration work is being accomplished in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay with a grant through DCNR’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program supported by federal dollars. DCNR leads a statewide effort to plant trees along streams to improve water quality, restore habitat, and help sequester carbon among many other benefits.
The planting is part of a more than 300-acre restoration project at Big Elk Creek State Park that was added to the state park system in 2022. The restoration work includes 80 acres of meadows seeded on former agricultural fields in 2023 and tree plantings along more than 255 acres of streamside buffer areas at the park.
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Susquehanna River Basin Commission Announces 2024 Consumptive Use Mitigation Grant Awardees
On April 30, 2024, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) announced the award of $8 million to support 27 Consumptive Use Mitigation Projects to improve water availability and quality during critical low flow periods. Thirteen of these projects are funded in environmental justice communities. Nineteen of these projects are located within Pennsylvania’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Consumptive use refers to water that is used but not returned to rivers and streams because it is evaporated, transpired, incorporated into products, or otherwise lost. The grants are funded by fees paid to SRBC through regulated projects as mitigation for their consumptive water use. Awardees will use the funding to reduce water use or enhance supply, therefore helping to protect public health and safety, avoid water use conflicts, prevent water quality impacts, support economic production, and sustain ecological flows. Collectively, these projects are bringing nearly $5 million in matching funds, underscoring tremendous partnerships and the strength of leveraging SRBC funds for the common goal of an enhanced river basin. Awardees include municipalities, golf courses, industry and non-profits seeking to implement forward-thinking projects for the benefit of their communities.
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Map showing the distribution of SRBC Consumptive Use awardees.
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Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Partners with Perdue Farms to Plant Trees at Poultry Farm
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and Perdue Farms celebrated the 54th Earth Day and their strong partnership by planting more than 300 trees on a family poultry farm in Quarryville, PA. This partnership, announced in October 2023 with funding from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), has already made substantial strides to positively impact the environment on Bay watershed farms, with over a dozen farms moving forward with enhancements to increase sustainability.
The partnership has big plans for additional on-the-ground projects in 2024 that will help reduce energy costs, minimize disease risk, increase carbon sequestration, and boost local air and water quality. This includes providing technical and financial support to install six manure storage sheds and/or compost barns and seven tree planting installations within pastures and around poultry barns, planting 1,800+ trees on farms in the region this spring, and leveraging various state and federal cost-share programs to accelerate conservation practice implementation and effectively stretch grant dollars further.
Since 2017, the Alliance has worked alongside agricultural supply chain corporations, like Perdue Farms and their farm providers, to accelerate conservation efforts throughout supply chains in the Bay watershed. This approach allows farms to increase long-term sustainability while elevating environmental standards throughout the agricultural industry.
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Chesapeake Bay Foundation Discusses Bay Restoration Goals for 2025
Harry Campbell, PA Director of Science Policy and Advocacy with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, appeared on WITF’s The Spark on May 15, 2024 to discuss the goals set for the health of the Bay.
Campbell’s talk centered on the importance of understanding the outcomes of the living resources in the Bay rather than focusing too much on the numeric benchmarks (linear feet, acres, pounds, etc.). He noted that important questions about habitat and species reproduction should be considered and that shifting the focus to assuring that local streams and rivers are clean and healthy would provide better results.
The discussion also touched on the relationship between climate change and the health of the Bay. Campbell mentioned the importance of instituting resilient practices to improve its health while also addressing climate change. Some of those resilient practices include tree plantings, cover crops in agricultural areas and forested riparian buffers.
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Opportunity to Engage with Research Involving the Conodoguinet Creek Watershed
Move Past Plastic has brought together a grassroots group of organizations, including local governments, academics, scientists, experts, and concerned citizens living in and around the Conodoguinet Creek watershed to assess sources of contamination and their possible impacts. This project, awarded an AGU Thriving Earth Exchange grant, aims to collect and analyze a baseline of information from existing data, maps, and fieldwork. Community education, engagement, and action will be emphasized throughout the project. A final report will include recommendations for immediate actions and suggestions for further monitoring, testing, and remediation.
The Conodoguinet Creek snakes for 105 miles from the Kittatinny Ridge, down the Cumberland Valley (cutting across Franklin and Cumberland counties), and into the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg. This 524-square-mile watershed is home to 40 municipalities and is located predominantly in Cumberland County, the fastest-growing county in Pennsylvania. The area also includes Dickinson College, Shippensburg University, Army War College, and the Naval Support Activity in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The watershed has two world-renowned high-quality limestone trout fishing streams: Yellow Breeches and LeTort Creek.
Before 2000, the watershed was primarily rural and agricultural. Since 2000, significant farmland has been replaced with suburban sprawl, including housing, warehouses, and stores. Challenges to the creek include intense stormwater runoff carrying pollutants and sediment.
The research team welcomes any research, history, or stories that can be shared related to biological, chemical physical, wildlife, or human health indicators. Tamela Trussell, the community lead for this project, can be reached by email at tamela.trussell@gmail.com.
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PennFuture Releases Pennsylvania Local Land Use Decision-Making Guide
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Application Period Open for Phase II Grants for Act 167 Plan Development or Revision
The application period for Phase II, Act 167 Plan Development or Revision Grants, is open through August 30, 2024. This grant opportunity is the second phase of the grant program to reimburse counties for costs associated with preparation or revision of Act 167 stormwater management plans. The first phase of this funding was for preparation of Act 167 Plan scopes of study and was included in the 2023 Growing Greener Plus Grants Program.
Counties that have completed a Phase I scope of study in accordance with 25 Pa. § 111.14 are eligible to apply for Phase II funding. Counties that have completed a Phase I scope of study through a prior grant agreement with the Department, and counties that have completed a Phase I scope of study outside of a grant agreement with the Department are eligible to apply for Phase II funding.
More information on funding eligibility and the instructions for completing the Phase II funding application can be found on DEP’s Act 167 Program website.
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DCNR Accepting Applications for Wild Resource Conservation Grants
DCNR is accepting applications until July 1, 2024 for the Wild Resource Conservation Program to protect the state’s biodiversity. This program benefits Pennsylvania’s non-game animals, native plants, orphan taxa, and their habitat. Grant applications will be accepted in three areas: species surveys, conservation and management. Among this year’s grant priorities are surveys and projects related to the conservation of:
- Mammals like northern flying squirrel, Allegheny woodrat, and spotted skunk
- Birds like northern harrier
- Mussels like the clubshell and round hickorynut
- Fish like Chesapeake logperch; and
- Studies to better understand Pennsylvania’s rare plants through genetics and habitat modeling and their insect pollinators, as well as documenting Pennsylvania’s fungi.
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Small Communities Program Expands Recreation Access in Small Communities
DCNR’s Small Communities Program prioritizes park rehabilitation in small municipalities with populations of 5,000 or less. It is a unique grant type with smaller match requirements. New outdoor recreation and park facilities are also eligible projects under this program. Communities are encouraged to break larger projects into phases to make the work more feasible and to meet funding requirements. The maximum grant request recently increased to allow the Small Communities Program to support even larger projects. Applicants can now request up to $100,000 in funding from DCNR, with a match requirement of $70,000. Both cash and non-cash match are accepted.
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PA Department of Education Opens Public School Environmental Repairs Program
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is accepting applications for its Public School Environmental Repairs Program through June 30, 2024. The program supports public schools with remediating and/or abating environmental hazards in a school building(s), including but not limited to addressing lead in water sources and paint, asbestos, and mold. Eligible school entities include school districts, area career and technical schools, charter schools, and regional charter schools that operate school buildings. Only one application will be accepted from each school entity. An application may contain one or more projects in more than one school building. Up to $75 million in state funding will be competitively awarded, contingent upon available funding. Projects require a cash match of 50 percent of total eligible project costs.
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Adams County CAP Updates
Adams County is in the preparation stages for its 2024 CAP Projects, as well as putting together potential 2025 CAP projects. The CAP Coordinator has been preparing for upcoming summer 2024 CAP projects, including putting together landowner agreements, contracts, and permits, as well as making connections and performing site visits for potential 2025 CAP projects, including stream restoration projects, buffer plantings, basin retrofits, and raingarden installations.
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Chester County Uses Growing Greener and CAP Implementation Grant Funds for Streambank Restoration
Chester County has developed the Chesco Chesapeake Communities Action Plan (C3AP) to outline and recommend activities and approaches to ultimately result in the annual reduction of approximately 914,000 pounds of nitrogen and 39,000 pounds of phosphorus from entering Chesapeake Bay tributary streams in agricultural and urban/suburban settings.
Chester County’s distribution of CAP Implementation grant funds for 2024 included a local sub-grant application process for the non-agricultural sector during late summer 2023. One application was submitted to the Chester County Conservation District for this subgrant, and West Sadsbury Township was awarded $100,000 for the project “Officer’s Run at Strasburg Road Streambank Restoration – Construction.” The project will remove unvegetated vertical streambanks and replace them with a vegetated floodplain bench that will accommodate storm flows. This project will improve water quality in the Octoraro Creek by providing water quality benefits, reducing erosion, and improving the ecology in its watershed. The township has obtained landowner agreements and design work was funded in 2023 through Growing Greener, with project implementation scheduled in 2024.
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Vertical, unprotected streambanks.
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Vegetated floodplain bench.
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Centre County CAP Subaward Program Accepting Applications
The Centre County CAP Subaward Program has expanded its funding opportunities to allow county partners to participate in projects that are making a positive impact within the county. The program's primary objective is to provide financial support for "shovel-ready" initiatives that aim to enhance local water quality.
In 2023, Centre County awarded funding to the Spring Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited for the Oak Hall Project. This project brought together many different partners within Centre County, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG), Centre County Conservation District, the Foundation for California University of PA, and landowners.
This funding helped establish 525 linear feet of streambank stabilization and the installation of fish habitat structures. These improvements will benefit the overall water quality of this impaired stream by reducing 42 tons of sediment, 72 pounds of nitrogen, and 13 pounds of phosphorus each year.
Applications are open until June 14, 2024, for projects that are ready to implement in 2025.
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Stream restoration at Oak Hall Project.
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Clean Water Cumberland’s Clean Water Grant Program Accepting Applications
Clean Water Cumberland is offering a funding opportunity for partners to implement projects in the county through the Clean Water Grant Program. The program’s primary objective is to provide financial support for projects that aim to enhance local water quality and are ready to be completed in 2025.
In 2023, Clean Water Cumberland issued a subaward to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy for the Woodcreek Development and Barnitz Church stream restoration projects. Both projects helped bring together partners from various agencies including Cumberland Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited, PA Fish and Boat Commission, Cumberland County Conservation District, HRG, and multiple landowners.
With this funding opportunity, the Woodcreek Development was able to stabilize 1,500 linear feet of streambanks and reduce 100 pounds of nitrogen and 372,000 pounds of sediment each year. The Barnitz Church Project stabilized 650 feet of eroding banks, established a 35-foot riparian buffer and installed trout habitat structures. This project will reduce 6,100 pounds of sediment, 7 pounds of nitrogen, and 3 pounds of phosphorus each year.
Because of the success of these projects and partnerships, Clean Water Cumberland is advancing this funding opportunity this year to continue building a pipeline of projects for implementation.
Applications are open until June 14, 2024, for projects that are ready to implement in 2025.
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Stream restoration at the Barnitz Church Project.
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Clean Water Conversations Podcast Brings Education and Entertainment to the Table
The Clean Water Conversations podcast began in 2024 as an additional platform to showcase the collaborative work being done by the partners in Lancaster County to achieve the common goal of clean and clear waterways by 2040. The show is hosted by Allyson Gibson and Kenn Bennett of the Lancaster Clean Water Partners.
Although relatively new to the podcast world, Clean Water Conversations is garnering a buzz for its unique blend of conservation, education and entertainment, including trivia, icebreakers, and a rule against the use of unexplained acronyms. Guests have included civic leaders like Steve Campbell and Molly Deger from the City of Lancaster, conservation experts like Lamonte Garber from Stroud Water Research Center, and Chris Thompson, the District Manager of Lancaster County Conservation District.
Episode 6 featured Adam Ortiz, EPA’s Regional Administrator. Ortiz spoke at length about his experiences, his thoughts on PA's progress toward the 2025 and 2040 deadlines, and the importance of collaboration to achieve the collective clean water goals. At the end of the interview, he played a round of conservation trivia before serving as the Keynote Speaker for the Partners’ Spring Full Partners Meeting at Woodcrest Villa in Lancaster.
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Clean Water Conversations (Photo provided by Lancaster Clean Water Partners).
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Franklin County Conservation District Releases Clean Water Tool
The Franklin County Conservation District recently released a new, interactive tool highlighting Franklin County’s progress toward their nutrient and sediment reduction goals. The storymap showcases ten exemplary conservation projects completed in the county in order to achieve the goals outlined in their CAP. The Clean Water Team at Herbert, Rowland, & Grubic, Inc. captured Franklin County’s achievements and curated them within this tool.
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Clean Water for Franklin County storymap.
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Luzerne County Tree Planting in Kingston Borough
In April, the Luzerne County Conservation District organized the planting of 100 trees in Kingston Borough along several streets and in parks in that community. Native species planted included elms, maples, oaks, and honey locusts. The project supports the Luzerne County’s CAP and was funded with CAP Implementation grant funds. The goal of the planting project is to help reduce stormwater runoff to the nearby Susquehanna River, which lines the outskirts of the borough, and to reduce the impacts of flooding. Runoff decreases through evapotranspiration and groundwater absorption when trees are planted. Aside from providing oxygen and shade, trees play a big part in reducing stormwater runoff and help curb erosion and sediment from leaking into waterways. When trees are planted in urban areas, the amount of pollution that enters rivers, creeks or streams is reduced significantly. The project lasted almost two weeks in April, and the trees will be taken care of by the Kingston Borough.
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Trees are planted along Railroad Street and Church Street Park in Kingston Borough, Luzerne County, PA.
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"DEP engages with and empowers our local stakeholders, with grassroots efforts fueling improvements in local water quality. Collaboration, communication, and coordination has allowed our partners to advance their local goals and improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Thanks to our county and state action leaders, and the buy-in from private landowners and farmers, nutrient and sediment pollution is decreasing from Pennsylvania’s waters to the Chesapeake Bay at an accelerated rate. We appreciate the NAEP’s recognition of our collective efforts in Pennsylvania.”
- Jill Whitcomb, Director, DEP Bureau of Watershed Restoration and Nonpoint Source Management
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Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101
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