Conservation district details cover-crop program, USDA-style grants and stormwater enforcement

Carl Gaucher, a representative of the Cumberland County Conservation District, told county commissioners Tuesday that the district’s six‑month update showed continued growth in public outreach, conservation projects and program revenue.

The presentation highlighted the district’s scholarship and fundraising work, a cover‑crop program that enrolled more than 11,000 acres, and several Conservation Assistance Program (CAP) projects that rebuilt pasture, replaced aging manure lagoons and added heavy‑use areas and manure storage to reduce runoff. “They can start applying in September,” Gaucher said of the cover‑crop signup period, noting a December 1 deadline.

The update matters because the district enforces delegated parts of Pennsylvania’s NPDES stormwater permitting program and conducts plan reviews and field inspections that affect new earthmoving and development work across the county. Gaucher said Cumberland is a Level 3 conservation district with post‑construction stormwater management delegation from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and that few districts in the commonwealth hold both delegations.

District staff described specific CAP projects completed or under construction last year: a winter paddock and manure handling improvements for a horse operation on Game Lands Road; replacement of an old manure storage lagoon at Barracks Farm in Penn Township with added safety features and a loader ramp; and a roofed heavy‑use area at a North Middleton Township dairy intended to stop contaminated runoff reaching a nearby unnamed tributary. The district also said it conducted water testing at at least one farm site before and after construction of improvements to track water‑quality changes.

Gaucher showed financial trends tied to permitting work: an unusual $65,000 rise in fee revenue in 2024 after about 160 NPDES general‑permit renewals produced a $500 renewal fee each, and a steady need to bridge program expenses with permits and other fees. “The total expenses to administer this program is roughly $650,000,” he said, and the district receives about $160,000 from the state, with the remainder covered by fee revenue and fund balance.

The district also described education and outreach: a design‑engineer workshop that drew 39 in person and 88 online attendees, question‑and‑answer materials posted online, and statewide awards won at a CAP conference — including an innovative‑project award and a statewide “rookie of the year” recognition for Emily Stambaugh. The district said such outreach helps both small projects and large developments meet erosion‑and‑sediment control requirements.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the district’s delegation status, revenue trends and inspection workload; Gaucher and colleagues explained that renewal cycles can skew single‑year numbers and that smaller projects typically require less staff time for review and inspections. “That might just be a trend that we have some smaller projects this year,” he said when comparing early‑2024 and early‑2025 permit activity.

Ending: Commissioners accepted the update and moved on to the fiscal budget roundtable.