restoration and agriculture by lamonte garber, pa agriculture manager, chesapeake bay foundation

Lamonte GarberPA Ag Program ManagerChesapeake Bay FoundationHarrisburg, PA

Restoration and AgricultureLessons from the Chesapeake Bay watershed

More animal concentration areas

Cost Effective Solutions, but…

Challenges - CAPACITY

• Funding for BMPs • Technical Assistance• Farm Bill uncertainty, tight state and local budgets• Staff turnover at local agencies• Coordination among many players• Agencies and groups not always aligned in mission• Project complexity strains staff and farmers

Challenges: PRACTICES & TECHNOLOGY

• Baseline compliance insufficient?• BMP effectiveness and life span• Tracking progress – voluntary projects, multiple

programs• Management (vs structures) difficult to verify• Trade-offs with some BMPs• Monitoring & evaluation – difficult and time lagged• Competition for limited funds – SB 994

Challenges: COMPLIANCE & ENFORCEMENT

Plenty of regs (PA) but enforcement spotty Unresolved problems a drag on progress Tech assistance gaps mean backlogs Changing regs (of all kinds) a challenge for farmers Permits at times a barrier Preserved farms a priority but uneven compliance

Challenges: FARMERS AS AUDIENCE

• Farm economics tight, farmers busy• Diverse farms and management abilities• Incremental change & farmer-driven priorities vs TMDL• Renters and absentee landlords• Proliferation of Amish farms• Suspicion, resentment• Our messaging can make matters worse, or better

Challenges: SOCIAL & POLITICAL• Long term funding picture - dark?• Consumers: animal welfare and chemicals, not

water quality• National ag groups push back• Structure of food system: feed imports=nutrients• Leadership on TMDLs

CBF’s WorkEducation: for students, adults

Advocacy: regulations, legislation

Restoration: forested buffers

Agriculture: programs, funding

Fisheries: trout, crabs, oysters

“The Clean Water Blueprint will finish the job.”

Geographic scope

Major highlights

7,773 acres of forested buffers 824 miles of forested buffers

1,635 landowners CREP Partners and CBF assisted many more

Buffer Bonus Program Conservation with Plain Farmers

1970s Identification of the nutrient problem

1983 Ches Bay Agreement- formed Executive Council

1987 Ches Bay Agreement –2010 40% nutrient reduction

1992 Amendment –Outreach to u/s sources - NY, DE, WV

1999 Settlement Federal Court sets 2010 or TMDL goal

Chesapeake 2000 - voluntary actions to meet 2010 goals.

2007 Executive Council announce failure

2008 Milestones Exec Council commit to 2 yr milestones

2009 Executive Order - Federal Leadership Committee

May 2010 Final Federal Bay Policy

July 2010 draft State and Basin allocations

Sept - Nov 2010 Bay States Phase 1 Watershed Implementation Plans

Sept 2010 draft TMDL(92 TMDLs)

December 2010 EPA Final Chesapeake Basin-wide TMDL

2011 Ph 2 WIPs; TMDL Revision (?) & New CWA Rulemaking

TMDL will be needed

Bay degradation studied

C2KActions to achieve goals Headwater partners join

Commitment for two year milestones & accountability

1983

1987

1992

1970s

1994

2000

2007

2008

2009

Goals set for 2000

CBPO formed

1st Chesapeake Bay Agreement

Commitment for new Federal policy

2010

2010

2010

2010

2010

2011+

Final TMDL

Local Sub-Allocations

New Regulatory Tools

States commitments to TMDL implementation

• 2010 AWRA National Conference, Loews Philadelphia Hotel

The Chesapeake Bay Blueprint for PA

Bay TMDL + Pennsylvania’s Watershed Implementation Plan

Pollution Levels

We’ve made progress in Pennsylvania,

but not enough

  Nitrogen Phosphorus Sediment

  (millions of pounds)

1985 pollution levels 124.28 5.96 2,999

2010 pollution levels 112.75 4.94 2,472

2025 Goal 78.82 3.60 1,945Progress (1985-2010) toward 2025 goal 25% 43% 50%

What’s the Health of PA Streams?

19,600 miles of PA streams are excessively polluted or “impaired.” Source: PA DEP 2012 Integrated List of Waters

What are the leading sources of impairment?

Key Pollutants: Sediment, Metals, and Nutrients

Agriculture = 5,705 miles Abandoned Mine Drainage = 5,596 milesUrban/Suburban Runoff = 4,103 miles

7,200 Miles have TMDLs

Recent CBF Ag Projects

• Pennvest projects using stimulus funds• Buffer Bonus Program – Bradford County• Plain Farmer Initiative – Lancaster and

Chester Counties• Advancing Ag Compliance

CBF’s “Plain Farmer Initiative”

• Involve 50 farms – dairy a priority• TMDL level change vs incremental• Use USDA conservation programs• Raising the Bar:

– Wider, forested buffers vs. stream fencing– Address runoff “hotspots”– Whole farm planning and compliance

Buffer Bonus Program

• Farmers earn up to $4000 per acre of buffer restored - $20,000 max per farm

• This voucher can only be spent on BMPs

Total Manure Nitrogen in Chesapeake Bay Watershed Counties

Pounds of Manure Nitrogen

Photo by Lancaster County Conservation District

Plain Farmer Initiative

Core Partners:Chester Co Conservation District

Comprehensive Land Services, Inc.

Lancaster Co Conservation District

Lancaster Farmland Trust

LandStudies, Inc.

Red Barn, Inc.

TeamAg, Inc.

USDA - NRCS

USDA - FSA

Before Project

After Project – note spray circles around tree tubes

Barnyard improvement

Before: Barnyard waste flowed directly to stream

After: Barnyard waste and all liquid manure contained

Before – full animal access to headwaters stream

After: Improved crossing through

CREP buffer

Before – unimproved barnyard and milkhouse waste directly to creek

Location of stream

After–storm & milkhouse water contained

5 acre buffer restored including wetland

Before:

Barnyard runoff

uncontrolled.

Inadequate

storage for

manure and

milk house

waste

After: All clean rainwater redirected offsite and barnyard runoff collected

Gutters, downspouts

Curbs to collect barnyard waste

After: Barnyard runoff, milk house waste, and manure all collected in new manure storage system. Farm is 100% continuous no-till, all fields cover cropped, and stream protected by CREP buffer.

Funnel vs filter – forest will restore wider channel & more substrate for treatment

Project Results

• 60+ Cooperators (most Amish)• All farms with conservation/manure plans• 367 ag BMPs• 47 farms w/ forested buffers > 35 ft wide• Many used USDA and Pennvest funding• Old Order Mennonite farms less engaged

Q&A

For more information, visit

www.cbf.org

Lamonte Garberlgarber@cbf.org

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Harrisburg, PA

717.234.5550

Solutions - Capacity

Solutions - Practices

Solutions - Accountability

Solutions – Farmers as Clients