News & Notes December 2001

DEP Seeking Conservation District Input On Draft
Stormwater Management Policy

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released its Proposed Comprehensive Stormwater Management Policy earlier this fall and recently provided copies of the draft to Pennsylvania’s county conservation districts for review. The policy is being developed in response to public comments and recommendations made during the water forums conducted by DEP in the spring of 2001.

Representatives of the PACD Soil and Water Committee strongly encourage conservation districts to thoroughly review the draft and submit their findings to both DEP and PACD. DEP will be accepting comments until Jan. 26, 2002.

“DEP is looking for conservation district input. There are a lot of things in the policy that have yet to be set and it’s important for us to form a response to provide some direction. A substantial portion of the policy is going to be based on the comments that we submit to the department,” Dan Greig, Chairman of the Soil and Water Committee, said. “The draft policy appears to be a holistic approach to stormwater, utilizing it as a natural resource. In order to effectively manage that resource, the policy must cut across many PADEP programs and divisions.”

Conservation Districts currently have major roles in some of these programs, while other programs may provide opportunity if properly funded for management and oversight.

PACD requests that conservation districts submit their comments to the Soil and Water Committee by Jan. 7, 2002, in order to provide the committee with ample time to form a comprehensive PACD policy position regarding the DEP Draft Stormwater Policy. Greig said that he would be encouraged if at least 25 conservation districts submit a response.

Anyone who has yet to receive a copy of the draft, may obtain one by accessing the DEP website: http://www.dep.state.pa.us/ and entering the direct link: Comprehensive Stormwater Policy.

Comments should be directed to Dan Greig, and may be sent by e-mail: dgreig@chesco.org, mail: Chester County Conservation District, 601 Westtown Road Suite 240, Box 2747, West Chester, PA 19380-0990, or fax: 610-696-4659. Questions and comments may also be directed to Dan Greig by phone: 610-696-4980 (work), 610-384-7434 (home).

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