Purpose of Restoration Fund
In the mid-1980’s the Valley Creek watershed was contaminated by PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) from the Paoli Rail Yard Site. The contamination caused the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) to stop stocking trout in Valley Creek, establish a catch-and-release only requirement, and issue a health advisory regarding the consumption of trout. As a result, angling in Valley Creek suffered significantly. In a legal settlement, rail companies operating facilities at the Paoli Rail Yard Site paid monies to the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) to compensate for the lost angling and other recreational uses of Valley Creek. These monies were placed into the Restoration Fund which is administered by the Valley Creek Trustee Council (VCTC) for the purpose of planning and conducting appropriate restoration of natural resources within the Valley Creek watershed. The VCTC consists of representatives of both the Valley Forge National Historical Park (VFNHP), acting on behalf of the DOI, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
The VCTC’s detailed program is contained in an August 2004 document entitled Valley Creek Restoration Plan. The Valley Creek Restoration Plan presents restoration strategies and projects that can be implemented to enhance natural resources within the Valley Creek watershed and improve the Valley Creek fishery. This document was developed by the VCTC under National Environmental Policy Act guidelines and requirements. The VCTC encourages the community’s involvement in this program by applying to implement the types of projects envisioned under the Restoration Plan.
Projects Eligible for Funding
The VCTC has identified five broad categories of projects that are likely to compensate for past lost uses of the Valley Creek watershed (e.g. angling) through improvements in habitat, water quality, and flow regime and by improving public access to the stream.
Projects eligible for funding must fall into one of the following categories:
Managing stormwater helps reduce stormwater runoff that erodes stream banks and causes the greatest amount of sediment buildup in Valley Creek Watershed. By permitting greater amounts of precipitation to evaporate or enter the soil and supplement the base flow to Valley Creek, the volume and velocity of storm flow in Valley Creek would diminish and result in a corresponding reduction in both eroded streambanks and flooding. There are three project categories for managing stormwater: retrofits of detention basins, infiltrating on lands suitable for infiltration (LSI), and infiltration using low-impact technology projects on small parcels of developed land (LID).
Poor fish cover, bank instability, lack of riparian vegetation, and excessive sedimentation are four issues that would be addressed by stream channel stabilization projects. Two types of stream channel stabilization are generally possible: stream improvements and streambank stabilization. Stream improvements consist of creating pools to provide deeper cool spots for fish when water warms up during summer, providing cover for fish to escape natural and human predation, and narrowing stream channels to keep waters deeper and cooler and to provide sediment transport that removes excess sediment bars and deposition. Stream stabilization reduces erosion and sediment generation by reestablishing a balanced sediment transport process for the stream.
Project categories to achieve greenways include:
- Land preservation from development or from activities that would cause increased runoff or pollution in the stream.
- Conservation easements on private lands – includes the placement of easements on lands in order to prevent the use of impervious surfaces on that land
- Stream buffers in riparian corridors that have a variable width depending on type of growth
This category would make it easier for anglers and other visitors to access or view the streams.
Methods include:
- Reducing the amount of posted (no trespassing) land unavailable to anglers
- Creating more fishing points and increase parking availability (without increasing runoff) for stream visitors and anglers
- Creating trails that would enhance access to streams
Crabby Creek (Unnamed tributary to Little Valley Creek in PFBC records) had a wild brook trout population as late as 1995. On October 2, 2002, surveys of two 150 meter stretches of Valley Creek produced no brook trout. The PFBC believes the brook trout population has been extirpated primarily due to scour. Hurricane Floyd in September 1999 may have had a significant impact on the brook trout population. The PFBC recommends re-establishing brook trout upstream from S.R. 252 as an appropriate restoration goal.
Prioritization of projects by location in the watershed was addressed by VCTC in the Valley Creek Restoration Plan. The VCTC favors stormwater projects that are in first order streams. The VCTC has determined that stream channel stabilization projects should be implemented after upland stormwater projects have been considered and/or implemented. Applicants should check the Valley Creek Restoration Plan posted on the PFBC website to determine the location(s) of various projects that have been recommended for funding.
The VCTC will not approve projects which solely involve research, education, or outreach associated with the water resources of the Valley Creek Watershed. Education or outreach for projects funded by the Trustee Council is encouraged, and in some cases is fundable; however, such work should be ancillary to the primary watershed restoration objectives indicative of the five aforementioned project categories that are further described below.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include Chester and Montgomery counties, municipalities, municipal authorities, county conservation districts, councils of governments, other local government agencies, and educational institutions. In addition, nonprofit watershed organizations, sportsmen’s groups, conservancies, and organizations involved in water resource restoration and protection are eligible. Individuals may also be eligible if the project will be implemented on their own property. Organizations claiming to be nonprofit may be asked to provide substantiating documentation that they have obtained 501 (c) (3) tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service.
Although the eligible agency or organization does not have to be located in the Valley Creek watershed, the project must be implemented in the watershed. Funds from this grant may not be used for the design and installation of Best Management Practices or other environmental impact mitigation measures that are required by law, regulation, or permit.
For-profit companies, individuals, or organizations are ineligible to apply for grants; however, such providers of goods and services may be contracted by eligible grantees or directly by the Valley Creek Trustee Council.
Terms, Amount, Fund Match, and Conditions of Grants
Although there is no specific limit regarding the maximum amount of funding awarded for selected projects, the VCTC’s decisions regarding particular applications may be limited by the amounts available in the Restoration Fund and the need to accomplish certain objectives. The VCTC may award less or more funding than requested within a grant application. NOTE that the minimum funding request amount of $30,000 is required for grant application consideration.
Matching funds of at least 25 percent of the estimated total project cost are required. This requirement became effective on March 20, 2014. While evaluating grant applications, greater match amounts will accrue more points when the application is scored.
All applicants will be required to obtain necessary environmental and building permits from appropriate local, state, and federal agencies. Where necessary, applicants must also conduct appropriate archeological and historical surveys and all surveys for wetlands and endangered and threatened species. As required, additional terms and conditions of grants will be developed for projects on an individual basis. Costs associated with obtaining required permits and conducting necessary surveys may be reimbursed to applicants, if requested in the application and approved within the Cooperative Grant Agreement prepared following a grant award, or such costs may be considered a matching or in-kind contribution.
The VCTC will generally withhold up to ten percent (10%) of the total approved amount of funding until all terms and conditions of the grant have been successfully accomplished and the VCTC has determined the project is complete.
Process Used to Evaluate Applications
Applications will first be reviewed for completeness. Although the VCTC will attempt to obtain missing information from the applicant, it is the applicant’s responsibility (and not that of VCTC) to ensure that application packages are complete. Incomplete applications will not be considered in the evaluation process. The VCTC may request supplemental information and/or a site visit if it determines that such information is necessary to assist them in evaluating an application. Applications will be scored using the system described below in Part C.
A potential applicant may submit a 1-2 page letter of inquiry to the grant program administrator prior to submitting a full application. This letter should describe the project and provide an estimated cost and outcome. The resource coordinator will then discuss with the potential applicant whether the described project qualifies.
Pre-Application Contacts
Applicants may contact Jeff Schmid, PFBC staff person and grant program administrator, by phone or email if they have questions about the program or the application process.
Jeff Schmid
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
595 East Rolling Ridge Drive
Bellefonte, PA 16823
Application Instructions
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
“Landowner Letter of Commitment” - Landowner authorization to the project grantee and Valley Creek Trustee Council for property access, project implementation, operation, monitoring, and maintenance on their property. It includes lines for signatures by both the grantee and the landowner(s), as well as for notary signature and stamp.
“Landowner-Grantee Agreement” - Subsequent to a grant award. Note that it will be for a specified term/duration (typically 20 years), and includes by reference and attachment the “Operation, Maintenance, and Repair Plan.”
Date and Location for Submission of Applications
Applications will be reviewed according to the schedule included in a Request for Proposals announcing a new grant round. For the current active grant round, all grant applications must be received by the grant administrator no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 24, 2020. If only paper copies are being submitted, then four copies of the completed application package must be submitted to Mr. Schmid at the address shown above. An electronic copy of an application using MS Word software is acceptable and preferred over hard copies and may be delivered via e-mail attachment or snail mail on a CD or thumb-drive.