By Jennifer L. Hawbaker, PA Township News

Continued from last week…

Getting Municipal Feedback in Dauphin County

In Dauphin County, it’s clear that municipalities and the conservation district are ready and willing to help each other. There, the communication works two ways, and that’s why district manager John Orr recently called on several municipal officials to talk about how the district can best help municipalities make informed, sound decisions on issues that affect water quality.

“They wanted to know how the conservation district can best related to the various levels of understanding, from a citizen to an elected official to the expert who is designing a site plan for development,” says Michael Rimer, manager for West Hanover township in Dauphin County.

“How do you begin to educate those participants in stormwater management, and what kind of program do you develop to get everybody on board?” Rimer asks. “The meeting was a think thank where we could talk about our ideas. It’s a very complex problem for the district: knowing how to get down to the local level, to the board of supervisors, who always have a lot on their plate, to start thinking about these kinds of issues.”

The district is working hard to get everyone thinking about resource conservation and will be offering workshops to help the municipalities understand the impact that municipal decisions can have on water quality issues.

An on-site best practice demonstration focusing on stormwater management will continue the education process. Sixteen stations offer a close look at potential solutions to runoff issues, Orr says, and address how to get water back into the ground, rather than treating it as a waste product.

“We want to help municipal officials understand the importance of how they craft the development that’s occurring in their municipalities,” he says. “We are not trying to stop development but help them understand how it can occur with less adverse environmental impact. We are here to give municipal officials options. It’s ultimately their decision how they manage things. In the end, we all win.”

While water quality is a big focus for the conservation district, it’s only one of many areas where townships can find assistance and technical support. A recent workshop, for example, provided municipal and county officials with information on how to define and maintain agricultural security areas. And townships even get into the act with issues not directly under their control.

“Our West Nile virus program doesn’t have a direct tie to municipal government,” Orr says, “but our coordinator works very closely with the municipalities.” The conservation district will help local government officials answer questions from residents, he says, and always coordinates with them before any spraying takes place.

Coordinating Efforts in Chester County

In Chester County, conservation district manager Dan Greig thinks the best recipe for success is for the county’s municipalities to work in coordination with the district. “Units of government are getting tied more and more closely together,” Greig says. “In order to get the job done, it’s going to have to be all of us working together.”

This can apply to just about every area of the conservation district’s expertise, but Greig is referring specifically to the U.S. environmental Protection Agency’s National pollutant discharge elimination System Phase 2 Program, which requires permits for certain municipal separate storm sewer systems. The program was developed to reduce the amount of sediment and pollution entering surface and groundwater from storm sewer systems.

“Most of our municipalities are MS4s, and we need to work together to meet those requirements,” Greig says.

That working relationship goes well beyond the MS4 regulations. For example, Greig says, Chester County still has its share of agriculture, and mushroom farming is one of the area’s specialties.

“One thing we do get involved in is ordinance review,” Greig says, “primarily when it affects agriculture or deals with stormwater.” Ordinances related to composting facilities, mushroom farms, and intensive agricultural operations have been a focus of the conservation district, as well as for the townships.

“If we don’t have good coordination and talk to each other when there are issues,” he adds, “little problems can become big. We want to address any problems when they’re still small.”

A Growing Resource in McKean County

In northwestern Pennsylvania, the commissioners in rural McKean County are working to make their county conservation district more than just a conduit for dirt and gravel road funds. With only one part-time employee, there hasn’t been much time or money to explore the programs common to other conservation districts.

“The previous board of commissioners had always looked at it as something they couldn’t afford to go to,” says commissioner Cliff Lane. With a shift in thinking, thought, the commissioners are now asking if they can afford not to expand the district’s role in the county.

“The commissioners are all on board to hire a full-time conservation district manager and a watershed specialist,” Lane says. “We’ve also located a place in the county for them to have an office and are going to decide if the conservation board will do the hiring and directing or just take an advisory role.”

Lane hopes the increased staff will be able to find more funding to increase the services offered still further. “Our DEP representative told us of at least eight other funding sources that we’re not even tapping,” he says. “There’s a lot happening here.”

Getting Involved

With so much happening in county conservation districts across the state, townships can only benefit by being a part of the process, and the county associations of township officials can help make that happen.

“Any of the county associations can become eligible to nominate a township official to serve on the county conservation district board of directors,” says PSATS Executive Director R. Keith Hite. “Because the conservation districts and townships share similar responsibilities and goals, both can benefit from a closer tie between the two.”

PSATS provided county association officers with the paperwork needed to become a nominating organization earlier this year. County association officials needing more information can contact their county conservation district or the Pennsylvania Conservation Commission.

“We encourage township officials to participate in the appointment process and have township supervisors appointed to district boards,” says Susan Fox Marquart of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts.’ “We’re always looking to enhance our partnerships with township officials and be working at the local level. Districts welcome the interaction and participation.

“District board meetings are all open to the public,” she adds. “Any township official can certainly attend to find out what kinds of things the districts are doing.”

County associations can also encourage a greater connection between townships and conservation districts in other ways. “Invite a speaker from the district to your annual county convention business meeting,” Hite says. “Even a 15-minute spot will give township officials a valuable update on the services available through the conservation districts.”

Establishing a solid working relationship with municipal officials is a top priority for the Luzerne County Conservation District. “One of the primary things we have recognized is that for us to accomplish our mission, we have to get the conservation message to the municipalities and help them implement it on the local level,” says district manager Josh Longmore.

To do that, the district is looking into creating a position that would focus on conservation education for municipalities and act as a liaison between local government officials and the conservation district. Ad that seems to be an idea that is taking shape at the state level, too.

“We’re floating a concept of putting municipal coordinators in local offices,” says Karl Brown of the Pennsylvania Conservation Commission. “Their sole responsibility would be to get to know the municipalities.”

The county conservation districts are already making concerted efforts to work closely with local governments, even without a single position dedicated to that area. In Pike County, the close contact between the conservation district and the municipalities has benefited everyone involved: the district, the local governments, and the residents.

“I think there are so many opportunities for conservation districts to work with municipalities,” says Susan Beecher, manager of the Pike County Conservation District. “I’ve been doing this for 16 years, and I feel very strongly that the types of work we’re trying to do and the goals we’re trying to accomplish in terms of resource conservation we really can’t do without partnering with municipalities.

“I’m gratified that we’ve taken the time to nurture these relationships,” she says. “I think there’s a mutual respect. It’s been a long road, and it’s not always perfect, but we’re accomplishing a lot more by working with our townships than without them. In the long run, our mission definitely will benefit from it.”

Training Opportunity: A “Working with Conservation Districts Environmental Partners with Townships” workshop will be featured as part of the PSATS Annual Convention and Trade Show April 23-26 in Hershey.

Reprinted with permission from Pennsylvania Township News, January 2006 edition.

2/10/2006