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Pennsylvania Handbook of Best Management Practices for Developing Areas

How to Order

To order a copy of the handbook, please complete and submit the order form along with a check or money order payable to PACD.

About the Handbook

The Pennsylvania Handbook of Best Management Practices for Developing Areas is a tool created to assist developers, engineers, municipal officials, conservation district personnel and others involved with the planning, design, review and approval or building development projects. It describes practices and principles that are aesthetically pleasing and space efficient, while protecting water quality and improving wildlife habitat.

Thirty-seven practices are described in the handbook, including smaller, less obtrusive practices that can be used alone or in combination with larger conventional structural practices. While the handbook is not intended to be a comprehensive site planning and practice design manual, it can be used to develop site plans that meet the Pennsylvania requirements for erosion and sediment control and address local storm water control regulations. More so, it summarizes state-of-the-art site planning and best management practice (BMP) alternatives from the Northeast United States and other areas, and tailors them to Pennsylvania conditions.

BMPs Offer an Alternative to Conventional Approaches

Conventional development plans often rely on a few large structural practices such as lined waterways and detention basins to collect and store sediment and storm water. Designs using BMPs may also use basins and waterways, but as a first choice employ smaller practices singly or in combination to maximize a site’s natural storage, infiltration, and pollutant filtering capacity.

BMPs Can Benefit Developers

Several factors strongly encourage use of BMPs, including:

Green thinking;
Liability concerns involving larger practices; and
Increasing regulatory concerns for water quality.

Using BMPs in site planning and design has marketing benefits as well. Developers who use BMPs, for instance, demonstrate sensitivity to environmental concerns and show willingness to take reasonable measures to protect the environment.

In addition, the cost of BMP-based site plans can be equal to or less than conventional designs.

Handbook Development and Other Information

The Pennsylvania Handbook of Best Management Practices for Developing Areas was developed as a joint effort of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD), the Keystone Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Special thanks is given to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for providing a major portion of the initial funding required to develop this handbook.

Proceeds from the sale of the handbook benefit conservation and education programs sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.

	PACD Building Note Cards This beautiful image of the PACD Headquarters Building at 25 North Front Street in downtown Harrisburg, PA, is from an original watercolor painting by Sara W. Fox. Proceeds from sales of the note cards go to the PACD Capital Fund. Please consider purchasing a pack. They make great gifts, too! Order Form
Bruce Johnson “We All Live Downstream” T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, and Prints Display or wear a piece of art and help protect a National Treasure…. The Chesapeake Bay. Now famous throughout the Susquehanna River Basin, the whimsical, colorful, pen and ink drawing “We All Live Downstream” by Annville, PA, artist Bruce Johnson depicts how human actions on a local level can have both a positive and a negative impact on water quality. Every time you look at the print, something new emerges. Proceeds from the sale of these products benefit conservation and education programs sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.
	The Print This special “We All Live Downstream” limited edition Bruce Johnson print has been published to further the efforts of the PA Chesapeake Bay Education Office.”We All Live Downstream” has been printed on 80lb. Vicksburg Archiva Cover, a high quality, long lasting, acid-free paper. The paper size is 24″x 28″ and the print image size is 18″x 21.”Each print is hand signed and consecutively numbered by the artist.Posters of the same print are also available.Order Form
	T-Shirts and Sweatshirts I Haven’t a Thing to Wear…Well now you do! Show your conservation chic with these Bruce Johnson “We All Live Downstream” T-shirts and sweatshirts. T-shirts are a tightly woven knit of 100% cotton in bright white and feature a reinforced crewneck and full cut dimensions. Sweatshirts are a blend of 50% cotton and 50% polyester in white with a soft fleece lining, set-in sleeves, and a full body cut.T-shirts and sweatshirts are available in Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large sizes. Clothing Order Form

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Pennsylvania Handbook of Best Management Practices for Developing Areas

PACD Building Note Cards

Bruce Johnson “We All Live Downstream” T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, and Prints