Proposals are requested no later than 4:00 p.m., EDT, Monday, April 9, 2012, and should be submitted to: George Kobryn, Chairman Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative c/o Southeastern PA Resource Conservation & Development Council (SEPA RC&D), P. O. Box 539, Silverdale, PA  18962-0539

You may request a copy of the RFP by contacting the SEPA RC&D Council by phone at 877-610-6603, or via email at chairman@separcd.org.

To down load the RFP click here.

To learn more click here. Applications within the SEPA RC&D Council service area should be mailed to the SEPA RC&D current mailing address.

Date : March 29, 2012

Time : From 9:30 am until 12:00 pm.

Location : Meadowood Retirement Community, 3205 Skippack Pike, Worcester PA, 19490

A half day session to review the Conservation Planting Trailer – Sponsored by the Southeastern PA. Resource Conservation and Development Council.   Conservation District Watershed Specialist are invited to learn how the trailer is set up, and take any questions.  There will be discussion on future equipment purchases based on Watershed Specialist input. Ed Magargee will review trailer locks, hook up, operating procedures, and checklists, 

Eastern Delware County Stormwater Colaborative Members

On Thursday, December 1, 2011, Eastern Delaware County municipalities celebrated an exciting milestone.  The Boroughs of Collingdale, Sharon Hill, Yeadon and Upper Darby Township were recognized for signing on Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative Inter-governmental Agreement.  Elected Officials formally adopted the agreement at public meetings in November.  The four municipalities were recognized by the Southeastern PA Resource Conservation and Development(RC&D) Council, Project Sponsor, the County and other partners for their joint initiative across municipal boundaries to manage stormwater and comply with Pennsylvania’s stormwater permit requirements.

The Collaborative municipalities will be able to more efficiently and economically address stormwater problems and comply with DEP stormwater permit requirements.  Through this partnership, the four municipalities will work together to conduct required training programs for municipal staff and contractors, host education and outreach events, enlist involvement from residents and other constituents, take advantage of economies of scale for educational publications and other permit related activities.

Collectively, these practices and programs will help prevent water pollution and protect streams like the Darby Creek from Degradation that can result from uncontrolled and polluted stormwater runoff.  The four municipalities are the first members to sign the agreement and formalize their commitment to work together to undertake regulatory requirements to prevent water pollution in the Darby Creek Watershed.

Southeastern PA RC&D Council has led this effort over several years. The project focused on urbanized communities in Delaware County to formalize joint municipal stormwater management activities.Karen Holm, Southeastern PA RC&D Board Member and Delaware County Planning Department Manager said “I am encouraged by the dedication shown over the many months of working together to prepare and inter-governmental cooperative agreement; it signals readiness among municipalities to work together to more efficiently address the challenges of storm water management.  Starting in 2012, the Collaborative will be well positioned to conduct combined training events and education projects for the four partners.  This collaboration will help member municipalities meet their permit goals and obligations in a more cost -effective manner, avoid inefficiencies that can occur under the municipal permit, and present a more unified and consistent educational messages to communities and constituents.”

Funding for this innovative project has been provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and The William Penn Foundation. The Southeastern PA Resource Conservation and Development Council, a regional nonprofit organization helped organize the collaborative and obtained the grant funding for this unique project. The Delaware County Planning Department and the Delaware County Conservation District have been actively involved in organizing and assisting the Collaborative with assistance and participation from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Specific Dates are as follows:

January 24, 2012

March 27, 2012

May 22, 2012

July 24, 2012

September 25, 2012

November 27, 2012

Participants had the opportunity to see farmland conservation practices being implemented, including those benefiting soil, water, and pollinator habitat preservation. Participants toured  the Longview Center for Agriculture, a 90 acre certified organic farm, which showcases how a wide array of conservation-oriented techniques, such as cover crop rotations, seasonal high tunnels, integrated pest management, and organic orchard management, can be utilized to holistically address a wide range of natural resource concerns.

Andrew Frankenfield, Penn State Extension Educator for Montgomery County, provided participants with a dynamic presentation on expert cover crop management techniques, including cover crop species selection and rotation as it relates to improving overall soil health. No till systems, as they relate to sustainable practices, were also be addressed.

Information about the financial and technical resources available to growers interested in adopting conversation practices which support organic agriculture systems were presented by Austin Drager, Natural Resource Specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Additionally information was provided by Rick Fonda, Production Manager for the Longview Center for Agriculture.

Ian Phelps speaking about Transitioning to Organic Practices

A common problem facing community conservation groups is not having the right tools, or not enough of them, to prepare the sites and do the planting. The Southeastern PA Resource Conservation and Development Council Conservation Planting Trailer will provide groups with the shovels, rakes, planting bars, augers, pruners, etc. necessary to do projects in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Counties of Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton. With the right tools provided, more buffers will be restored, a greater number of plants will be planted, fewer tools will be broken from misuse, and volunteers will be safer.

The Conservation Planting Trailer is an innovative conservation project, to best of our knowledge; no similar trailer exists in Southeastern Pennsylvania or possibly in the state.

Three major goals of the project are:

1. Increase environmental restoration and community plantings in the region
2. Increase the number of volunteers who participate in planting projects
3. Provide volunteers with safe and proper tools

Three expected outcomes of the project are:

1. More of the region’s riparian buffers and environmentally sensitive areas will be stabilized and restored
2. People will feel better by investing their time and energy to protect and improve their community and the region’s natural resources
3. Other groups, organizations, businesses, and agencies will be inspired to donate for environmental restoration projects because of the availability of the conservation trailer

This project will help meet several of the goals listed in Pennsylvania’s Nonpoint Source Management Program Update and the Watershed Restoration Action Strategy for the State Water Plan.

Conservation Planting Trailer Sponsors:

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

11:00 AM – 3:30 PM

Lehigh County Agricultural Center

Map and Directions | Register

Description:

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Resource Conservation & Development Council is sponsoring a Grants: Researching grants and preparing a quality proposal Workshop for regional watershed volunteers, staff and board members.

The  cost to attend is $25. Lunch is included.  Come early to network and enjoy light refreshments.

This step by step, user friendly guide will walk novice grant seekers through the proposal planning, research, writing and submission process. Discussion will include how to define funding needs, what types of grants exist and how they differ, how to conduct funding research, steps in writing a proposal, and how to approach different funders. Emphasis will be on determining which grant opportunities best match your organization’s programs so that you can focus your
energy on preparing clear and persuasive proposals that are most likely to succeed.

Currently, many municipalities in Pennsylvania are faced with implementation of a number of federal and state program requirements associated with watershed-related permits and issues.  Each of them is separately responsible for undertaking much of the same work, often within the same watershed boundaries. Southeastern PA RC&D recognizes that stormwater management issues could be better addressed in a more holistic planning forum.

The municipalities involved in this project are MS4 municipalities. They are older, highly urbanized, mostly very small, and have serious technical and financial constraints in dealing with stormwater-related regulatory requirements and and implementation of other stormwater-related activities identified in regional watershed plans.

Funding for this innovative project has been provided by US Environmental Protection Agency and the William Penn Foundation.

The results of this project will provide the Darby-Cobbs Watershed municipalities and neighboring watershed municipalities with a model program for dealing with stormwater management issues, and specifically assist them with implementation of stormwater-related programs and activities such as those identified in the Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan (CCIWMP). It is hoped that this project will be duplicated in other areas of Pennsylvania, as well as the nation, where there is no centralized entity (i.e., city or county) responsible for undertaking stormwater issues in a coordinated fashion.

Expected outcomes of the project include:

1. The creation of  a multi-municipal collaborative to address stormwater management in the project area communities
2. Initiation of joint programs and common stormwater practices under the guidance of a stormwater manager
3. Municipal officials and residents thinking beyond their political boundaries
4. Better implementation of common stormwater management practices by the study area communities
5. Long-term implementation of a self-sustaining funding mechanism
6. Joint/common public education and outreach plans and programs
7. State and federal environmental officials using this project as a model