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PA NRCS Releases Conservation Planning, Regulatory Compliance Guidance
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The Pennsylvania Office of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service has developed an outstanding compilation of conservation guidance that is a crossroad between all that is conservation planning assistance – and that which is regulatory in Pennsylvania for working lands.
The significance of this document is that it provides professional conservationists with easy access across the regulations (state and federal) – and the planning and assistance options that are available across the state and federal spectrum.
As of summer 201 – it is up-to-date with the current regulations – including the Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation requirements for agriculture.
The Department of Environmental Protection with the PA Association of Conservation Districts will be holding training sessions this fall for conservation district personnel. They are planning to have NRCS on the agenda to walk through this handbook/guidance.
Extension will is working with PA DEP to broadcast the NRCS presentation via webinar – so please watch for details/dates.
Why This Is Valuable
Natural Resources and Conservation Service and United Sates Department of Agriculture policies require that conservation planning assistance be provided by adequately trained and well qualified employees.
As you know from your conservation planning guiding principles, knowledge is incomplete; change is constant; and the planning process is dynamic. As science discovers new understandings and governments change their regulations, conservation planners use this new information to help decision makers adapt it to their situation.
Over the winter of 2011, NRCS State Office support staff members have worked with Area and Field Office conservationists and experts at the State Conservation Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Penn State University, Conservation Districts, and many other partnering organizations to develop guidance relevant to recent changes in erosion and sediment control requirements.
Navigating the many laws and regulations of each of the layers of government is time consuming and confusing. As conservationists, it is our duty to make sure the assistance we provide addresses the requirements of all relevant laws and regulations.
NRCS is proud to announce the release of the "Conservation Planning and Regulatory Compliance Handbook."
The book has been organized into typical planning and land use topic areas to assist you in making sense of the State’s new regulation changes. Blank tabs have been provided in the handbook for your convenience to insert materials you may have already collected and frequently use.
When support staff members develop guidance for other planning and regulatory topics, new tabs will be provided to add to the handbook.
While official policies and guidance are maintained in the online directives and field office technical guide systems, this handbook is intended to help you find quick reference to the items you most frequently use.
A copy of the handbook is available online.
For assistance with technical content, contact Noel Soto, NRCS Soil Conservationist, by calling 717-237-2173 or send email to: noel.soto@pa.usda.gov.
(Reprinted from Penn State Extension Watershed Winds online newsletter.)
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10/17/2011 |
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