Nutrient Trading Program Announcement - Is Nutrient Trading Right for You? (5/2006) - Click here to read the article.

DCCD is implementing an Ag-Compliance Initiative strategy through an Agriculture, Communities, and Rural Environment (ACRE) grant. This initiative is based on and is an extension of the District’s existing Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy. The initial focus of the Ag-Compliance Initiative will be the Little Wiconisco Creek and Conewago Creek watersheds; the program will eventually extend countywide.

The primary goal is to voluntarily improve agricultural compliance with erosion control and manure management regulations. To accomplish this, we will identify areas of non-compliance, focus educational programs, and develop a comprehensive, geographically-based roadmap to water quality improvement. Our second goal is to develop landowners’ understanding of why compliance is a worthwhile goal, both environmentally and financially.

A geographic database system is being used to help District personnel merge individual components of this compliance strategy together. A comprehensive picture of the watershed can then be used to gauge agricultural compliance and water quality improvements. Examples of data being stored include: conservation and nutrient management plan status, number and species of livestock, crop rotation and tillage practices, and Best Management Practices (BMPs) proposed or installed. The District will use this information to track its efforts to control nonpoint source pollution and improve water quality. Another use will be to secure funding for the installation of BMPs to implement conservation planning.

Landowners without a conservation plan, or those whose plan has not been updated in the last 10 years, will be contacted by letter outlining the need for a conservation plan and the consequences of not having a plan. Non-respondents will be contacted by District personnel for follow-up from the initial letter to demonstrate the environmental impact of the operation and the benefits of compliance. Workshops will be conducted with a focus on existing conservation plan implementation, manure management strategy, condition of streambanks and riparian buffers and environmental impacts.