News & Notes December 2003

Pennsylvania has more than 17,000 miles of unpaved roads owned by local municipalities and government agencies. Many of these roads, some hundreds of years old, are economically valued. Used to transport products, they provide low-cost, efficient, and essential routes through the backbone of mostly rural Pennsylvania. Dirt and gravel roads serve the state's leading industries of agriculture, tourism, forestry and mining while being more economically feasible to maintain than paved roads.

Sections of these unpaved roads are also a frequent and consistent source of sediment runoff and dust pollution. In fact, the largest water pollutant by volume in Pennsylvania is sediment (dirt) from a variety of sources including unpaved roadways.

Funds are allocated to counties to control this pollution through the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission's Dirt and Gravel Road Pollution Prevention Program (DGRP) which provides training and funding to reduce stream pollution originating from dirt and gravel roads using "environmentally sound" maintenance. The program
apportions $4 million annually to County Conservation Districts who administer the program at the local level.

Benefits of correcting these problems include stabilizing unpaved roadways, preserving additional fishing and recreational opportunities, protecting drinking water supplies and preserving economical transportation routes. Sixty-five of Pennsylvania's 67 counties receive funds from the program. Since 1998, 935 projects have been completed. However, at the current level of funding it would take 46 years to address the 11,300 sites that have currently been identified as problem areas that are causing erosion and allowing sediment to enter waterways. The PACD is working to secure enhanced transportation funding to address these sites and to keep these roads maintained in an environmentally safe manner to prevent pollution from entering Pennsylvania's waterways.

On November 12, PACD Executive Director Susan Marquart attended a press conference on transportation funding at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. Senator Madigan held the press conference to emphasize the importance of increasing transportation funding. The Dirt and Gravel Road Program was identified as one transportation program that needs additional funding. While the press conference helped to raise awareness, we still need your help.

Reminder: Contact Your Legislators

PACD needs your help to contact your legislators to make them aware that an increase in DGRP funding is needed and justified for conservation districts. Legislators need to know that PACD supports an increase in funding for transportation programs and that conservation districts and local road maintenance will benefit when DGRP receives increased gas tax funding. Please take time to speak with your state legislators (both House and Senate members) about the impact that the program is having on improved road maintenance and sediment pollution prevention in your county.

The gas tax legislation only opens up for amendments once about every six to eight years for an extremely short window (sometimes as little as one day). There is a chance that the legislation may open up soon. For this reason we need to voice our needs and present our justification for additional funding now.

Please follow-up with Susan Marquart after you meet or talk with your legislators. It is essential to know which legislators have expressed support or will not support an increase in transportation funding for DGRP. Susan can be reached at (717) 238-7223 or susan-marquart@pacd.org.

Happy Holidays to you and your family from the PACD Staff