Conservation District Programs

Chesapeake Bay Program

In 1976, Congress directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a five-year study of the environmental quality and management of the Chesapeake Bay. At the end of the study EPA concluded that nutrients and toxic chemicals released from both point and nonpoint sources had seriously impacted the Bay's water and sediment quality and subsequently the vitality and abundance of its living resources. In 1983, Pennsylvania joined with the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and EPA in signing a Chesapeake Bay Agreement providing for a comprehensive and coordinated Bay restoration.

Pennsylvania's program has emphasized agricultural nonpoint source pollution control providing funding assistance in four subprogram areas: Planning, Educational, Technical, and Financial. Currently, major budget expenditures include approximately $200,000 for water quality monitoring to River Basin Commissions, and about $3,900,000 for staff and best management practice (BMP) implementation to county conservation districts. Today, 38 conservation districts participate in the Financial Assistance Funding Program providing up to $30,000 per landowner voluntarily agreeing to implement a nutrient management program. This program is intended to prevent the pollution of surface and ground waters by addressing the most critical farm nutrient problems through measures to manage fertilizers and animal wastes and to reduce soil erosion.

For information on the PA Chesapeake Bay Program, visit the PA Department of Environmental Protection's web site.