HARRISBURG — Farmers and other conservationists are applauding legislation in the state Senate that will offer financial support that farmers in Pennsylvania want and need in order to keep soil on the land, reduce runoff into local streams, and protect their long-term viability.
State Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Williamsport, introduced Senate Bill 465, that establishes the Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) and targets funding for local farms through their county conservation districts. ACAP will be administered by the State Conservation Commission.
“Agriculture is looked to for significant reductions to meet pollution reduction goals for the Chesapeake Bay and other major watersheds in the state,” Yaw said. “Nevertheless, almost one-third of our Commonwealth’s streams do not meet standards for drinking, fishing or recreation, and agriculture remains one of the largest sources of impairment. To meet the challenges, I have again introduced legislation to establish an Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program.”
Yaw is Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Senate Bill 465 was referred to the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center worked jointly to propose the program that would direct funding to conservation districts and provide the needed technical assistance to farms and the flexibility to determine conservation practices specific to local watershed needs.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s latest report lists 25,400 miles of Pennsylvania waters as being impaired, an increase of 5,500 miles in a four-year period. Agriculture runoff is the source of 5,700 miles of impaired waters.
Farmers in the Keystone State have shown they are willing to invest their time, land, and effort to restore and protect local rivers and streams, but they cannot pay for it all themselves. ACAP is the agricultural cost-share program Pennsylvania sorely needs to get the Commonwealth back on track toward meeting its clean water goals.
In ACAP, funding would be prioritized for counties based on factors like the amount of crop acres and livestock near streams impaired by agriculture.
Conservation districts would be required to invest in and approve pollution reduction measures that might include cover crops, streamside trees and more, and devise criteria for which ones will have the most immediate impact on local water quality. Districts would work with farmers and landowners to ensure that conservation practices are installed properly and functioning as designed.
ACAP would authorize a broad spectrum of funding sources to support the program, including state dollars, federal allocations, grants, and private enterprise investments.
