restoration and agriculture by lamonte garber, pa agriculture manager, chesapeake bay foundation
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Restoration and Agriculture by Lamonte Garber, PA Agriculture Manager, Chesapeake Bay FoundationTRANSCRIPT
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 [email protected]
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Harrisburg, PA
717.234.5550
Solutions - Capacity
Solutions - Practices
Solutions - Accountability
Solutions – Farmers as Clients