Pennsylvania Handbook of Best Management Practices for Developing Areas (Spring 1998)

Table of Contents
To order a copy of the handbook, please complete the order form and send it along with a check or money order, payable to "PACD."

The Pennsylvania Handbook of Best Management Practices for Developing Areas is a tool created to assist developers, engineers, municipal officials, conservation district personnel and others involved with the planning, design, review and approval or building development projects. It describes practices and principles that are aesthetically pleasing and space efficient, while protecting water quality and improving wildlife habitat.

Thirty-seven practices are described in the handbook including smaller, less obtrusive practices that can be used alone or in combination with larger conventional structural practices. While the handbook is not intended to be a comprehensive site planning and practice design manual, it can be used to develop site plans that meet the Pennsylvania requirements for erosion and sediment control and address local storm water control regulations. More so, it summarizes state-of-the-art site planning and BMP alternatives from the Northeast Unites States and other areas, and tailors them to Pennsylvania conditions.

BMP's Offer an Alternative to Conventional Approaches

Conventional development plans often rely on a few large structural practices such as lined waterways and detention basins to collect and store sediment and storm water. Designs using BMPs may also use basins and waterways, but as a first choice employ smaller practices singly or in combination to maximize a site's natural storage, infiltration, and pollutant filtering capacity.

BMPs Can Benefit Developers

Several factors strongly encourage use of BMPs including:

• Green thinking;
• Liability concerns involving larger practices; and
• Increasing regulatory concerns for water quality.

Using BMPs in site planning and design has marketing benefits as well. Developers who use BMPs, for instance, demonstrate sensitivity to environmental concerns and show willingness to take reasonable measures to protect the environment.

An added bonus to using BMPs is that BMP-based site plans can be equal to or less expensive than conventional designs.

Purchasing the Handbook and Other Information

The BMP Handbook was developed as a joint effort of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD), the Keystone Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Special thanks is given to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for providing a major portion of the initial funding required to develop this handbook.

Proceeds from the sale of the Pennsylvania Handbook of Best Management Practices benefit conservation and education programs sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.