PACD Engineering Assistance

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts' (PACD) engineering assistance grant provides engineering and soils assistance to entities developing or implementing a watershed assessment, watershed restoration plan, or watershed protection plan.

Letters of Support

PACD is seeking letters of support for our Growing Greener application for funding the PACD Engineering Assistance Program. Please submit letters of support by May 9, 2008.

Sample Engineering Support Letter (Word)

Press Release:

• PACD Engineering Technical Assistance Program Celebrates Five Year Anniversary -- June 21, 2006

PACD Engineering Technical Assistance Project
PA DEP Growing Greener Grant Report
For the Period July 2001-March 2007

Through a grant to provide statewide engineering technical assistance, the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts completed 416 individual environmental improvement projects for hundreds of Pennsylvania's local organizations and individuals. It is estimated that these projects involve 19.2 million dollars worth of improvements during the past five and one half years.

Click here to view the report for the period March 2006-March 2007.

Click here to view the report for the period March 2005-February 2006.

Click here to view the report for the period January 2004-February 2005.

Click here to view the report for the period July 2001-December 2003.

Area of Service
Statewide

Description
The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts' (PACD) engineering assistance grant provides engineering and soils assistance to entities developing or implementing a watershed assessment, watershed restoration plan, or watershed protection plan. The teams providing this assistance will be regional but will cover all river basins in Pennsylvania. These teams will be comprised of specialists (professional engineers and conservation technicians) that can identify problems, scope solutions, identify engineering needs, estimate costs and realistic time frames and identify assistance needed to implement solutions. They will also be able to assist future Growing Greener applicants in the development of sound applications. These individuals will follow professional engineering principles and ensure that projects are completed utilizing PA Technical Guide Standards and following federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Type of Technical Assistance
The PACD employs professional engineers and conservation technicians, who are part of an interdisciplinary team that provides engineering services. Some of the specific types of technical assistance provided includes:

• Inventory and evaluation of problem areas;
  
• Identification of possible solutions and feasibility of solutions;
• Preliminary cost estimates based on selected solutions;
• Soil investigations;
  
• Surveys and project design;
  
• Design consultation, review, and approval;
  
• Engineering advice to private consultants;
  
• Quality assurance oversight (assistance and training to those doing assurance) and assistance to evaluate special conditions encountered during construction;
  
• Training to conservation district staff, RC&D staff, consultants, and watershed organizations in project scoping, development of solutions, and identification of data needs; and
  
• Training to conservation districts, RC&D staff, consultants, and watershed organizations in the development of requests for proposals from private engineering or consulting firms.

Process to Receive Engineering Assistance
The process to receive Growing Greener engineering assistance is as follows:

1. Each entity seeking engineering assistance must complete an application for an eligible project (application must be from an eligible sponsor).
        Application Form
(If the project is for the implementation of a CNMP, then the CNMP Supplement Form must be completed.)

2. Submit the application to the appropriate NRCS Technical Center for your location.
        Listing of counties served by each Technical Center

3. PACD Conservation Engineer will review application, estimate time required and present to the Workload Advisory Team.

4. Workload Advisory Team meets to determine workload priorities.
        Workload Advisory Team Operating Procedures

5. Applicant is informed of priority ranking.

6. Engineering assistance is provided according to priority ranking.       
        Review the criteria for Technical Assistance.

Program History

• Press Release on the Program's Launch in September 2001