On March 18, 2026, PA Department of Agriculture (PDA) Secretary Russell C. Redding and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey met at Flinchbaugh’s Orchard in York County. The two agencies signed a letter of understanding on collaborative efforts. PACD Executive Director Amy Brown attended the event.

 

PACD has $180,000 remaining to fund the current round of APRP and is accepting applications for farming operations in the Delaware, Ohio, and Chesapeake Bay watersheds on an ongoing basis through June 30, 2026, or until all funds are spent, whichever comes first. Plans eligible for reimbursement include:

• New or updated Manure Management Plans
• New or updated Agricultural Erosion and Sediment Control Plans (Ag E&S Plans)
• New or updated Act 38 Nutrient Management Plans or NRCS 590 plans
• New or updated Conservation Plans

Click here for more information. 

Financial and other support for the Ag Plan Reimbursement Program is provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission.

 

 

PACD is again partnering with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful for the annual Conservation District Trash Champion Contest. To participate in the contest, PA’s conservation districts are invited to register and pick up trash between April 1 and May 31, 2026.

Register for your event now and report your results, upon completing your trash pick-up efforts, at Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Receive free bags, gloves, and safety vests as supplies last. Free or reduced disposal is available at participating landfills during the month of April.

The winning district will receive $500 from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. New for 2026, an additional prize will be awarded for the most volunteer hours!

Click here to view the flyer. Click here to register. Questions? Contact Michelle Dunn at mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

PACD will randomly spotlight one social media post from a conservation district each week. Don’t forget to share or tag other districts to share good news or something others could learn about.

This week’s feature is the Centre County Conservation District’s Facebook post on building a Toad Abode for a photo contest. Follow the district at https://www.facebook.com/centreccd/.

 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has invested an additional $15.2 million in the environmental restoration of 15 abandoned mine land (AML) projects as part of the Abandoned Mine Land and Abandoned Mine Drainage Grant Program.

Conservation districts that received grants are:

Clearfield County Conservation District – $1,133,928

Chestnut Grove North – This project is the second and final phase in treating the KORB4 abandoned deep mine discharge in Bloom Township, impacting the Little Anderson Creek within the Anderson Creek Watershed. Grant project work includes constructing a vertical-flow pond, a drainable limestone bed, and a flush pond.

Schuylkill Conservation District – $6,632,829

Schuylkill Haven East – Over 247,000 cubic yards of waste coal slurry will be removed from an abandoned dredge desilting basin located along the Schuylkill River in North Manheim Township. These reclamation efforts will restore nearly 21.5 acres of the Schuylkill River floodplain.

Somerset County Conservation District – $112,986

Rock Tunnel Discharges – Project work includes the development and engineering design of a future abandoned mine drainage abatement project. Project development and engineering design will be completed to determine the most effective method for removing coal refuse and to prepare a design plan to expand the Rock Tunnel Outfall passive treatment system in Conemaugh Township to treat additional abandoned mine drainage discharges that impair South Branch Bens Creek.

Click here to read the entire press release. 

 

State Senator Tracy Pennycuick’s office helped the Berks County Conservation District obtain a PA Department of Community and Economic Development Watershed Restoration and Protection Program grant in the amount of $143,703. The grant funds will be used to restore a wetland and a tributary to Oysterville Creek in Pike Township, Berks County.

Currently, the tributary is routed along the road shoulder and is a traffic concern, especially in winter, when it causes ice buildup. With that come road salt issues, namely road salt entering an exceptional-value, wild brown trout stream. The Berks County Conservation District plans to return the tributary to its original channel and restore the wetlands. 

Highlighting PA conservation district employees who go above and beyond. Conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff may highlight outstanding district employees in our weekly e-newsletter by using this form. 

PACD will randomly spotlight one social media post from a conservation district each week. Don’t forget to share or tag other districts to share good news or something others could learn about.

This week’s feature is the Indiana County Conservation District’s Facebook post on AmeriCorps. Follow the district at https://www.facebook.com/iccdpa/.

On March 10, 2026, PACD and the PA Society of Professional Engineers, in conjunction with the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), hosted an Engineers Workshop: Permitting and Compliance Lessons Learned and Best Practices for Chapter 102. One hundred and thirty attendees met in Middletown, PA, for the daylong training.

The presentations will be available on the Clean Water Academy for conservation district access, including:

• Chapter 102 Compliance and Enforcement
  Krista Brown, DEP Bureau of Clean Water, and Linda Mackey, DEP
• E&S Sequence of Construction – Best practices and lessons learned
  Luke Graver, DEP Bureau of Clean Water, Bill Himes, PE DEP Bureau of Clean Water
• ABACT vs. Standard E&S Controls
  Matt Gordon – Allegheny County Conservation District
• PCSM MRC Facilities Design
  Amanda Hess, Villanova, and Len Bradley, PE, NSPE, CSI RGS Associates

 

Highlighting PA conservation district employees who go above and beyond. Conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff may highlight outstanding district employees in our weekly e-newsletter by using this form.