July 2005 Meeting Minutes

PACD Executive Council Annual Meeting
The Avalon Hotel, Erie, PA
July 27, 2005

Roll Call - Hildenbrandt
PACD Secretary George Hildenbrandt called the roll. There were thirty-six counties present, which constituted a quorum.

Welcome - C. Jarrett Miller
PACD President C. Jarrett Miller welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Minutes of Previous Meeting
PACD Secretary George Hildenbrandt presented the minutes from the March 16, 2005 Executive Council Meeting for review.

There was one correction: On Page 2, as part of the motion to accept the Treasurer's Report, Bob DeVenny is from Allegheny Conservation District, not Cambria.

It was moved by Bob Ritchey (Cambria) and seconded by Don Bowser (Fayette) to accept the corrected minutes from the last meeting. Motion carried.

President's Report - Jarrett Miller
PACD President C. Jarrett Miller expressed his thanks to the PACD for the donation to the PACD Endowment Fund in his name, thanked the PACD staff for their fine work, and particularly thanked PACD Executive Director Susan Marquart for her leadership.

Executive Director's Report - Susan Fox Marquart
PACD Executive Director Susan Marquart presented highlights from her written report, which details the activities of the PACD Executive Director and all of the PACD staff since the last meeting.

During her report, Susan noted that at the State Conservation Committee Meeting on July 26, 2005, Secretary McGinty reassured the districts that Watershed Specialist funding is a priority for the Department.

Treasurer's Report - Porter Duvall
PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall presented the treasurer's report.

It was moved by Porter Duvall (Jefferson) and seconded by Bob Ritchey (Cambria) to accept the treasurer's report. Motion carried.

Announcement: The Westmoreland Conservation District generously donated a beautiful basket, which brought in $249.00 at raffle. The PACD Silent Auction made $842.50, so together the raffle and Silent Auction brought in a total of $1091.50 for the PACD Capital Fund.

Announcement: Jarrett Miller announced that PA is a top ten state for paying dues to NACD. At the NACD meeting in Atlanta, he accepted a Top Ten award from NACD on behalf of all of the dues-paying districts in Pennsylvania.

Porter Duvall presented certificates to the districts present who paid their PACD dues in full.

Partner Reports

State Conservation Commission - Karl Brown
State Conservation Commission Executive Secretary Karl Brown presented the following report:

Karl thanked the PACD directors and staff for the time and energy they brought to the meeting and bring to their jobs every day. He noted that this was a good meeting with a lot of energy and excellent sessions. He thanked the Erie Conservation District and the PACD North West Region counties for hosting and offered special thanks to John Green with DEP for helping to plan the meeting. Karl thanked C. Jarrett Miller for his work as PACD President, and noted that Jarrett has set a high standard as outgoing President.

Karl remarked that with the new ACRE legislation passing, there are some new challenges relating to odor management and nutrient management. Karl commented that these challenges create opportunities for us to better serve Pennsylvania agriculture. Karl thanked everyone at PACD for all of the help and support they provide.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - Robin Heard
State Conservationist Robin Heard presented the report for NRCS.

• Robin remarked that she enjoyed the opportunity to visit with everyone at the meeting and commented that it was an excellent meeting.
  
• Stacy Mitchell has purchased a home and is getting settled in Portland, Oregon. Molly McDonough has taken over Stacy's position. Molly was hoping to attend this meeting but was unable to do so. Hopefully everyone will have a chance to meet her at the next PACD meeting (January 18-20, 2006 in State College, PA).
  
• Robin explained that she has restructured some job duties in the state office. By redistributing some of the workload, she hopes to allow technical people to focus on technical work rather than program work, and to increase focus on managing and monitoring programs. She created a position that will solely take care of the easement programs, such as the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Grassland Reserve Program, Conservation Reserve Program, and the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. Another position will cover incentive programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), and Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA). Ed Sanders with the Ecological Science Section in the State Office is filling the incentive program position. The easement program position will be advertised, and both NRCS employees and people outside the agency will be welcome to apply for the position.
  
• Over 300 Conservation Security Program (CSP) applications were submitted for 2005, and approximately 228 have been approved. The value of payments is roughly one million dollars and payment should begin shortly. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture will officially announce next year's watersheds at a later date, probably when the final CSP budget is released. NRCS has nominated four watersheds for the 2006 CSP, but Robin noted that they may have to reduce the number of watersheds per state for CSP sign up next year, depending on the budget. NRCS hopes to begin sign-ups early, with sign-ups for all areas open by some time in October, and to then stagger the closing dates to spread out the workload. Robin thanked the districts and district staff for all of the assistance they have provided.
  
• Robin announced that Conservation Planning training will take place November 17-20, 2005 in State College. She noted that district employees who want to participate should be aware that there are some prerequisites, such as online modules, that need to be completed prior to taking the course. Tim Emenheiser with NRCS can direct potential applicants if they want to get started now.
  

Reports of Committees

District Operations
Victor Cappucci, Chairman of the District Operations Committee, presented the report from the Committee.

1. PACD Soil and Water Committee

• PACD supports the update to the Soil Survey Memo of Understanding.

It was moved by Irvil Kear (Schuylkill) and seconded by Jack Tressler (Somerset) that PACD support the update to the Soil Survey Memo of Understanding. Motion carried.

2. PACD Finance Committee

• The Finance Committee recommends a 5% increase to district dues for Fiscal Year 2005-2006.

3. PACD Legislation Committee

• It was proposed that PACD memorialize congress to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.

It was moved by Jack Tressler (Somerset) and seconded by Irvil Kear (Schuylkill) to change "memorialize" to "recommend." Motion carried.

Steve Urban (Luzerne) noted that to date funds to assist with Abandoned Mine Reclamation have not come to Pennsylvania at the level that they should. Luzerne also adopted a similar resolution, however, they changed the wording of the resolution to specifically urge Congress to provide funds to Pennsylvania in the amount of $100,000,000 per year.

It was moved by David Collura (Allegheny) and seconded by Phyllis Hoople (Crawford) to recommend that Congress reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. Motion carried.

RESOLUTION
Recommending that Congress reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.
WHEREAS, Substantial coal mining has occurred in Pennsylvania for more than 130 years, and the industry has been a significant employer of our citizens for most of these years; and
WHEREAS, Abandoned mines pose hazards in Pennsylvania of dangerous shafts, mountains of black waste, scarred landscapes, acidic drainages polluting more than 3,000 miles of our streams and other hazards threatening human health and safety and depressing local economies; and
WHEREAS, At least 44 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties are affected by abandoned coal mines; and
WHEREAS, abandoned mines and abandoned mine lands create negative impacts on local economies by destroying recreational opportunities, lowering land values, leaving desolate communities once the mines are exhausted and ruining sites for further residential, forestry, commercial or agricultural uses; and
WHEREAS, Reclamation of abandoned mine sites can add to the economy by creating jobs, increasing community pride, increasing property values, decreasing stress-related costs through stream-based recreation, restoring the health of the environment and providing future sites for commercial or industrial endeavors; and
WHEREAS, Congress established the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund under Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to reclaim areas abandoned before 1977 and the modern environmental standards requiring mine operators to reclaim their sites; and
WHEREAS, The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 imposed on coal operators a fee of 35¢ per ton on surface mined coal and 15¢ per ton on underground mined coal to provide a source of revenue for the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to help finance the reclamation and remediation of lands mined prior to 1977; and
WHEREAS, The collection of fees on mined coal applied to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund under Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 was set to expire on June 30, 2005, but is currently under extension to September 30, 2005; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has relied upon the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund as a primary source of money to clean up toxic mine water in our water supplies, restore land, extinguish mine fires and eliminate other dangerous abandoned mine hazards; herefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts recommend that the Congress of the United States reauthorize the collection of fees on mined coal at the current levels to provide continued funding to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to address abandoned mine hazards, pollution and scarred landscapes in Pennsylvania and other states.

Old and Unfinished Business

2005-06 PACD Budget
PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall presented the proposed budget for review.

As PACD Treasurer, Porter Duvall recommended that PACD adopt Budget B, representing a 10% budget increase, so that the Association can take advantage of the window of opportunity provided by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.

It was moved by Bill Lange (Lackawanna) and seconded by Russell Hummel (Snyder) to adopt Budget B for FY 2005-2006.

Discussion followed, and Susan Marquart reviewed the 2005-2006 PACD Proposed Special Projects Budget, which outlines projects to be funded through the increase shown in Budget B. These projects include the PACD Funding Requests, a task force on recommendations from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee Report, and comments and updates to the position paper on potential amendments to Act 217. Susan explained that, due to changes in grant programs, PACD must assume more overhead costs, and needs additional funds to make these special projects possible.

It was moved by David Collura (Allegheny) and seconded by Dennis Hawley (Armstrong) to amend the motion to a five percent dues increase. Motion failed.

The original motion was put to the vote. Motion carried.

PACD Bylaws
PACD President C. Jarrett Miller thanked the members of the PACD Bylaws Committee for their hard work in putting together the proposed Bylaws. He encouraged those in attendance to accept the proposed Bylaws, and to work with them over time to fine tune them to the needs of the Association.

It was moved by Larry Kehl (Berks) and seconded by Harold Kulp (Chester) to adopt the new bylaws as of midnight, July 28, 2005. Motion carried.

It was moved by George Hildenbrandt (Centre) and seconded by Drew Gilchrist (Montgomery) that the Operations Committee form a sub-committee to track concerns and suggested adjustments to the Bylaws over the next two years, and that, in two years time, the subcommittee bring a set of recommended changes back to the Executive Council. Motion carried.

Jarrett Miller encouraged all of the districts to consider who they would like to nominate to serve on PACD Committees. Nominations will be taken at the upcoming Fall PACD Region Meetings, and will then be brought back to the PACD Executive Board for committee selection.

New Business

Election of Officers
Nominating Committee Chair Ron Rohall presented the following slate of candidates.

President - Victor Cappucci, Wyoming
First Vice President - Larry Kehl, Berks
Second Vice President - Irvil Kear, Schuylkill
Treasurer - Porter Duvall, Jefferson
Secretary - George Hildenbrandt, Centre
NACD Director - Pat Sueck, York

Jarrett Miller invited Irvil Kear (Schuylkill), to introduce herself to the assembly. Irvil related that she is a native of Schuylkill County, though she has lived all over the country. She earned her bachelors degree from Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA, her Masters degree from the University of Maine, and moved to Idaho to work on her Doctorate. In Idaho, she worked as the Funding Project Director for the Idaho Association of Conservation Districts. She spent two years in Yemen, in the Middle East, with the Oregon State University Office of International Agriculture. Irvil has served on Conservation District Boards in both Oregon and Massachusetts, and served on the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Districts as Vice President and then President. She is currently a member of the Schuylkill Conservation District board, Chairperson of the Pocono Northeast RC&D Council, a member of the Delaware River Water Resources Committee, and an officer of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation.

Jarrett Miller called for nominations for President from the floor.

It was moved by Bob Robinson (Wyoming) and seconded by Bill Lange (Lackawanna) that nominations be closed. Motion carried.

Jarrett Miller called for nominations for First Vice President from the floor.

It was moved by Bob Robinson (Wyoming) and seconded by Don Bowser (Fayette) that nominations for First Vice President be closed. Motion carried.

Jarrett Miller called for nominations for Second Vice President three times from the floor. No nominations were presented. Jarrett called for nominations for Secretary three times from the floor. No nominations were presented. Jarrett called for nominations for NACD Director three times from the floor. No nominations were presented.

It was moved by Ron Rohall (Westmoreland) and seconded by Bob Robinson (Wyoming) to accept the slate of candidates. Motion carried.

PACD Funding Request - Susan Marquart
PACD Executive Director Susan Marquart reviewed the Draft PACD Funding Request. She noted that there is a new format this year. Instead of presenting separate requests for the Department of Environmental Protection and the PA Department of Agriculture, PACD has combined everything into one request. This approach is consistent with the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) recommendation that districts receive one combined appropriation from the Departments, rather than two separate appropriations.

Along with recommending a single appropriation for districts, the LBFC report emphasizes the need for increased state funding for conservation districts, recommends that the General Assembly strive to meet the SCC's policy for CDFAP funding of the districts, and that the Bureau of Financial Management consider ways to allow districts to receive non-lapsing funding. In line with these recommendations, the PACD Funding Request asks that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

• Create a non-lapsing Conservation District Fund
  
• Appropriate sufficient funding to meet the CDFAP 50% cost-share policy
  
• Appropriate funds for the Chapter 105 Program in the Conservation District Fund

Susan noted two possible corrections on Page 3 of the draft:

1. FY 2006/2007 Need for Leadership Development should be $200,000 (not $150,000 as listed).
2. The amount of $450,000 listed for Farmland Preservation may not be correct. Susan noted that she will confirm the correct numbers with Johan Berger with the Department of Agriculture, and make any necessary corrections. She noted that the corrected figure will remain consistent with the description on Page 8 of the draft, namely a request of $20,000 for those districts that administer the program, and $5,000 for those districts providing indirect services.

It was moved by Irvil Kear (Schuylkill) and seconded by Bob Ritchey (Cambria) to accept the Funding Requests with corrections. Motion carried.

Susan noted that a copy of the final Appropriation Request will be sent out to all of the districts.

Jarrett Miller presented an editorial highlighting district funding needs, which Susan Marquart submitted to The Patriot-News. (Copies of the article, which ran Sunday, July 24, 2005, were provided for attendees.) Jarrett suggested that districts take the lead in submitting similar articles to their local papers to help draw attention to the funding needs of districts.

Other
Ron Rohall reminded attendees to take and review a copy of the written NACD Report provided by NACD Director Pat Sueck (York) who could not attend the meeting. Ron also reminded everyone to take a copy of the handout for the Outreach for Success workshops. He explained that these workshops are to be held four times at four locations in Pennsylvania in September. They are a project of the Leadership Development Committee, but are mostly funded by NACD through a grant from NRCS. Ron noted that this enables the Leadership Development Committee to present these workshops at a much reduced cost, thanks in large part to NACD and the work of Pat Sueck.

It was suggested that PACD officially disband the Bylaws Committee, since the new Bylaws were passed and a subcommittee of Operations was created to track the new Bylaws.

It was moved by Bob Ritchey (Cambria) and seconded by Jack Tressler (Somerset) to disband the Bylaws Committee. Motion carried.

PACD Auxiliary Report - Luetta Gross
PACD President Luetta Gross presented the report.

The Auxiliary met Monday, July 25, 2005, and selected a new slate of officers.

President - Sharon Sweitzer, York
First Vice President - Sandy Dehoff, York
Second Vice President - Sarah Long, Blair
Treasurer - Helen McMillen, Indiana
Secretary - Lorrie Quadro, Westmoreland

Luetta thanked the forty-four counties who supported the quilt project and announced that the Auxiliary exceeded their $1500 goal. Luetta noted that she had three goals in her term as Auxiliary President: first, to increase membership; second, to involve all human resources by extending a warm welcome to all spouses, including Directors, Associate Directors, and district staff; and third, for the work of the Auxiliary to become more visible. Luetta expressed confidence that the new Auxiliary Board is strong and will be able to continue to forward these goals. Luetta thanked the PACD office staff in the office for their help and support, and her husband for all of his support over the years.

Adjournment
Jarrett noted that this is probably the end of his service to PACD, and shared his moving words in closing. Jarrett thanked many people, particularly LeRoy Gross, Erie Conservation District Manager, for helping him to become the kind of District Director and District Board Chair that he is today. Jarrett thanked Don Bowser for his services as chaplain, and passed the gavel to Victor Cappucci, who thanked him and accepted the gavel as new PACD President.

The meeting was adjourned.