Paul Swartz

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission this week lent its support to the changes made in the new Federal Farm Bill aimed at supporting farm conservation projects to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and sediments going into the Susquehanna River Watershed.

Paul Swartz, SRBC Executive Director, noted however that more needs to be done by government at all levels to meet the nutrient reduction mandates in the Chesapeake Bay drainage area. His statement follows--

The passage of the Farm Bill by Congress last week truly reflects the changing face of agriculture and the ever-growing demands placed on individual farmers. In addition to filling our nation’s bread basket, we also count on our farmers to be good environmental stewards, who care about land conservation and apply practices that reduce the amount of nutrients and sediments reaching our waterways.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission praises its congressional delegation for supporting the Farm Bill that includes a landmark conservation provision targeting improved water quality and quantity in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, starting with the Susquehanna River.

In particular, the Commission thanks Congressman Tim Holden, Vice-Chair of the House Agriculture Committee, and Senator Bob Casey, member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, for their steadfast leadership as they helped shape a bipartisan Farm Bill that will help farmers meet their ever-increasing role as environmental stewards.

For the past 23 years, the Commission has been a leader in water quality monitoring in the Susquehanna River Basin. Our data tell us the amount of total nitrogen, total phosphorus and suspended sediments reaching the Chesapeake Bay from the Susquehanna River continues to decline overall. Reduced runoff from agricultural operations is undoubtedly part of that good news story.

But, we know that much more needs to be done by government, industry and farmers as we draw closer to a pending 2010 deadline by which the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and certain tidal areas must be improved. Failure to meet the deadline could expose all the states in the Chesapeake watershed to costly, legally binding cleanup requirements.

Over the coming years, the task of reaching the Chesapeake Bay reduction targets will only get harder and more expensive, as the easier reduction programs have already been implemented. Yes, all farmers throughout the country face burdens, but with the looming 2010 deadline, the farmers in the Chesapeake watershed face an even greater one.

In recognition of this challenge, $438 million in new funding was included within the Conservation Program provision of the Farm Bill to create the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Program. Specifically, the funds will be used to implement conservation activities on agricultural lands, including controlling erosion, reducing sediment and nutrient levels in the waterways and conserving habitat on lands considered to have significant ecological value.

This new Bay program provision also calls for special consideration to be given to agricultural operations within the Susquehanna watershed. The Commission believes it is very appropriate and sound public policy to provide this extra assistance to our Susquehanna watershed farmers as they work to balance the challenges inherent in having both sustainable agriculture and a sustainable environment.

Other key provisions within the overall Conservation Program provision include: expanding the Conservation Reserve Program to authorize 32 million acres to be enrolled between 2010 and 2012; expanding the Wetlands Reserve Program to reestablish the program’s baseline funding of $1.3 billion and extend the program through 2012; extending the Conservation Security Program to provide $1.1 billion in new funding to enroll nearly 13 million acres a year; and strengthening the Environmental Quality Incentives Program by increasing funding by $3.4 billion and establishing the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program to help farmers achieve water quality goals and address water quality concerns.

Those are just some of the many sweeping conservation provisions within the Farm Bill that will help our farmers and protect the environment. We, in the Susquehanna watershed, are fortunate to be represented by members of Congress, like Mr. Holden and Mr. Casey, who have the tenacity and respect to see through completion a bill of such significance and importance to our watershed.

5/30/2008