News Release

PACD Launches Engineering Assistance Program

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD) is pleased to announce the hiring of a number of engineers and conservation technicians, brought on board to help landowners and managers apply conservation best management practices to protect and conserve natural resources in Pennsylvania.

Funded by a two-year, $969,415 "Growing Greener" Technical Assistance Grant, PACD Engineering Assistance Teams will be stationed in the existing USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Technical Centers located in Bloomsburg, Clarion, Lebanon and Somerset. PACD teams, consisting of an engineer and a technician, will be housed at each of the four Technical Centers, however their services will cover the entire state.

The Engineering Assistance Teams will provide support to groups and organizations developing or implementing watershed assessment, watershed restoration plans, or watershed protection plans. PACD Executive Director Susan Fox said, "The Engineering Assistance program will enable the Pennsylvania Conservation Partnership to offer additional technical assistance to design and implement 'Growing Greener' projects and other conservation initiatives."

The teams will identify problems, scope solutions, identify engineering needs, estimate costs and realistic time frames and identify assistance needed to implement solutions, while ensuring that projects are completed in accordance with the Pennsylvania Technical Guide Standards. Another function of the teams will be to assist with the development of "Growing Greener" applications. Primary areas of engineering assistance include: agricultural best management practices, passive treatment of abandoned mine drainage and stream corridor restoration.

The following individuals have been hired by PACD to provide engineering assistance:

• Lebanon: Frank Harvatine, Conservation Technician;
  
• Bloomsburg: John Coleman, Conservation Technician and Owen Hess, Conservation Technician;
  
• Somerset: Eric Robertson, Conservation Engineer and Phillip Gardner, Conservation Technician;
  
• Clarion: Thomas Wilkinson, Conservation Engineer and Garnet Wood, Conservation Technician.

Staff will be in place as early as Aug. 27, 2001, in Somerset, and will be on duty at each of the technical centers by Oct. 1, 2001.

In order to receive Growing Greener Technical Assistance through the PACD Engineering Assistance Teams, each entity must complete an application for an eligible project then submit it to their appropriate NRCS Technical Center. Workload Advisory Teams, operating at each of the four Technical Centers, will determine priority rankings for assistance and then notify the applicant.

PACD asks that watershed organizations contact their local conservation district to have their projects included in the prioritization process for their local area, in order to remain consistent with "Growing Greener" application standards.

Application forms are available via the PACD website: www.pacd.org and may be accessed and submitted immediately. The criteria for receiving technical assistance and the listing of counties served by each technical center may also be found on the PACD website.

"Growing Greener," signed into law by Gov. Tom Ridge, will invest $650 million over a five-year span to the protect farm land and preserve open space, eliminate the maintenance backlog in Pennsylvania's State Parks, clean up abandoned mines, restore watersheds, and provide new and updated sewer and water systems. For more information on "Growing Greener," visit DEP through the PA PowerPort at www.state.pa.us or directly at www.GrowingGreener.org.

PACD is a private, nonprofit organization that supports, enhances and promotes Pennsylvania's conservation districts and their programs. Activities include education, information and representation on the state and national levels in soil, water and related resource management. PACD places importance on local decision-making and involvement in solving conservation problems. For more information visit www.pacd.org.

Click here to Visit the PACD Engineering Assistance Page, and obtain more information on the program, or to apply for Engineering Assistance.