The DEP Chesapeake Bay Technical Assistance Program provides funding toward Technicians at conservation districts within the Pennsylvania portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The focus of the program is to ensure that conservation district staff are available to provide technical assistance to agricultural landowners and operators to implement best management practices, develop and verify Agricultural Erosion and Sediment Control Plans and Manure Management Plans, verify and report best management practice implementation, and provide compliance assistance and compliance assurance through the Chesapeake Bay Agriculture Inspection Program (CBAIP). Funding for this program comes from the EPA Chesapeake Bay Regulatory Accountability Program (CBRAP) grant and the DEP Chesapeake Bay Abatement Fund.
Chesapeake Bay Engineer Program
The DEP Chesapeake Bay Engineer Program provides funding toward Engineer Specialists and Engineer Assistants at conservation districts within the Pennsylvania portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The focus of the program is to provide direct technical assistance to agricultural landowners and operators as well as to assist the Chesapeake Bay Technicians with the planning, design, procurement, installation, and maintenance of agricultural best management practices. These staff also provide design, survey, computation, material testing and implementation of agricultural waste management systems and other structural best management practices and provide construction quality assurance checks and documentation of implemented practices. Funding for this program comes from the EPA Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant (CBIG).