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Outline of REAP Farm Conservation Tax Credit Application Process
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The Resource Enhancement and Protection Act (REAP) Program will take effect in 90 days from the day Gov. Rendell signs the bill into law and will be administered by the State Conservation Commission.

The Commission will develop the necessary tax credit application and set a deadline for applying for the credits this fiscal year, hopefully approvals will come in time for the spring construction season.

The law lays out a two-step application process for the tax credit— 1) a determination by the Commission the project is eligible so farmers know they will receive the tax credit before they begin work, and 2) the Department of Revenue formally issues the tax credit when the project is certified as complete to the Commission.

Applications for the REAP tax credit will be on a first-come, first-served basis, so potential applicants are encouraged to start to put together the plans and information they need now in order to apply by the deadline to be set by the Commission. The Commission will have 90 days to review the application to determine whether they are eligible for the tax credit.

Projects eligible for the tax credit include:

75 Percent Tax Credit

· Development of a voluntary or mandatory nutrient management plan;

· Development of an agricultural erosion and sediment control plan or conservation plan;

· Design and implementation of best management practices necessary to abate stormwater runoff, loss of sediment, loss of nutrients and runoff of other pollutants from an animal concentration area;

· Design and implementation of best management practices necessary to restrict livestock access to streams if there is established and maintained a riparian forest buffer with a minimum width of 50 feet; or

· Establishment of a riparian forest buffer with a minimum width of 50 feet;

50 Percent Tax Credit

· Design and implementation of agricultural best management practices or the installation and use of equipment, provided that the best management practice or equipment is necessary to reduce existing sediment and nutrient pollution to surface waters for agricultural operation. Best management practices or equipment will be identified by the State Conservation Commission and may include manure storage systems, alternative uses for manure, filter strips, grassed waterways, management intensive grazing systems and no-till planting equipment; or

· Design and implementation of best management practices necessary to exclude livestock access to streams through fencing, stabilized crossings and improved water systems, if there is established and maintained a vegetated riparian or riparian forest buffer with a minimum width of 35 feet.

25 Percent Tax Credit

· After July 1, 2008 - remediation of legacy sediment if the legacy sediment is exposed and discharging or threatens to discharge into surface waters and the project meets the standards established by the Commission.

REAP was included in Senate Bill 97 (D.White-R-Indiana).

To learn more as details develop, visit the State Conservation Commission webpage and CBF’s REAP webpage.


7/20/2007

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