Nutrient and Sediment Trading Program Enters Second Year

Thirteen conservation districts have received grants through the PA Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Growing Greener Nutrient and Sediment Trading Program. As part of its grant activities, PACD acts as an aggregator of credits for the districts. Now in its second year, the program has had successes and failures. Three conservation district programs are highlighted below.

Berks County Conservation District (BCCD)
In Berks County, six producers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed areas of the county participated in the program in 2006. Producers planted winter cover crops on 238 acres that historically were left as bare ground through the winter. That activity eliminated the runoff of 2,056 lbs. of nitrogen from those fields. The nitrogen runoff reduction resulted in nitrogen credits, which were available for purchase on the open market by developers or sewage treatment facilities faced with the challenge of reducing nutrient loads to meet state and federal permitting requirements. PACD serves as the aggregator for the credits generated. The BCCD was the first revolving nutrient trading grant conservation district participant to make nitrogen credits available for sale.
This year, the conservation district will pay for any producer who plants cover crops of barley, wheat or rye; followed by corn, corn silage, soybeans or commercial vegetable production.

Cumberland County Conservation District (CCCD)
The Cumberland County Planning Commissions and CCCD have been working to develop a Nutrient Trading Program to facilitate the generation and trading of nutrient credits between local wastewater treatment plants and the agricultural community within the County.
Farmer outreach sessions were scheduled to provide Cumberland County farmers enrolled in the Conservation Easement Program with more information about nutrient trading and letters were mailed to 120 farmers in the County. Only three farmers expressed an interest in attending the sessions, so the sessions were ultimately canceled due to lack of interest. Based on discussions with local wastewater treatment plant operators and the response of farmers to the outreach sessions, it appears the need for nutrient trading credits is several years away; therefore, Cumberland County has elected not to proceed with the further development of the program at this time.

Lancaster County Conservation District (LCCD)
The LCCD was awarded a grant from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in the spring 2006. The grant specifically encouraged the LCCD to become involved in the efforts by Mount Joy Waste Water Treatment Plant (MJWWTP) and a local farmer to secure tradable credits, specifically nitrogen. A local workgroup was formed. Over the course of nearly a year the workgroup met to discuss how to fit the needs of the MJWWTP with opportunities provided to the local farmer via DEP's Nutrient Trading Program. Initially three areas of opportunity were evaluated, they were: (1) agricultural BMPs, (2) legacy sediment removal, and (3) poultry litter transport and/or burning.

The workgroup recommended consideration of continuous no-till as the best option to secure tradable nitrogen credits for the farmer. A proposal to offer 930 acres of continuous no-till resulting in over 11,000 lbs. Of tradable credits per year for three years was accepted by DEP. MJWWTP and the local farmer agreed to $3.81 per pound per year for the tradable nitrogen.

The legacy sediment portion of the project identified a basic need to develop appropriate protocol for the purpose of securing tradable credits. Landstudies, in consultation with DEP, is currently working on developing those protocols.

The third and final portion of the project reviewed the current options to burn poultry litter and found others were working in this area. The workgroup then refocused their efforts on a limited transport option for poultry litter. The LCCD looked to Somerset County Conservation District (SCCD) as a partner in this effort as LCCD wished to move poultry litter from an area of excess nutrients to an area of deficient nutrients. LCCD will validate that the sending operations have met baseline compliance while SCCD will assure the receiving areas are meeting baseline requirements. Currently, SCCD is working to revitalize an area that was previously strip-mined and lacks adequate nutrients for the production of food or fiber. SCCD proposes to grow hybrid poplar trees which would ultimately be used as a renewable source for biomass generation of electricity.

Other conservation districts involved in the program are: Bedford, Bradford, Cambria, Chester, Dauphin, Lebanon, Mifflin, Potter, Somerset, and Union. For more information, visit DEP's website (http://www.dep.state.pa.us) and type in the keyword "nutrient trading."