Jeff Swinehart, Deputy Director, Lancaster Farmland Trust

1. Improving Surface and Ground Water
Quality via Agricultural Lands:
Two Lancaster County Case Studies
Jeffery E. Swinehart Stephanie A. Smith
Deputy Director Municipal Outreach Coordinator
Lancaster FarmlandTrust Lancaster FarmlandTrust

2. Case Study #1
West Lampeter Township
BMP (Best Management Practices)
Assessment

3. The Context for the Assessment
Why is water quality at the forefront of the conversation?
Lancaster
CHESAPEAKE BAY CLEANUP

4. Lancaster County’s
Impaired Streams
West Lampeter
Township
West Lampeter is comprised of
• Pequea Creek watershed
• Mill Creek watershed
• Slight portion of Conestoga
River watershed

5. **From 2003 Comprehensive Plan**
Case Study: West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, PA

6. West Lampeter’s MS4 Permit and TMDL Plan
 Notice of Intent for
renewal of MS4 Permit
Submitted to PA DEP in
Sept. 2012
 RequiresTownship to
provide a MS4 Total
Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL) Plan to achieve
the required reductions
outlined inTMDL Plan for
Pequea Creek (2006)
o Phosphorus
Reduction 57%
o Sediment Reduction
83%

7. West Lampeter Township’s TMDL Strategy for the Pequea Creek Watershed
West Lampeter’s MS4
Area is 629 acres
• Developed Area
398 acres
• Agricultural Area
231 acres

8. Long Term Stormwater Management Costs
UMD’s Environmental Finance Center
completed the Lancaster County Municipal
Stormwater Management Financing Feasibility
Study in 2013
Worked with 6 Lancaster County municipalities
(listed on left)
The objective of this effort was to:
- Identify the current level of stormwater service
- Determine the future level of service needed to
deliver a comprehensive stormwater
management program
- Highlight any and all opportunities to work
collaboratively across the collective
municipalities

9. Scope includes visiting all of West LampeterTownship’s ag-use properties 10 acres
or more to get a baseline of the following:
- In compliance?
- Document BMPs
- Listen and understand farmers’ concerns
- Find opportunities for partnership between farmer and municipality
What is the West Lampeter BMP (Best Management Practice)
Assessment Project?
A partnership betweenWest LampeterTownship and Lancaster FarmlandTrust to
cost-effectively improve local water quality through baseline
documentation, education and outreach toWest LampeterTownship farmers.

10. A New Model to Improve Water Quality
 Farmers are implementing good practices! Just not documented.
 Green infrastructure BMPs happening all over Lancaster County
 West Lampeter’s current and future land use
 Rising maintenance costs for existing (and future) infrastructure
 Opportunities to build relationships with farmers
 Reinvest in region’s biggest industry, agriculture
Agriculture can assist in alleviating water quality issues!

11. Identified Properties

12. West Lampeter Township BMP Assessment Timeline
Jan
2013
Feb
2014
Farmer’s
Meeting
Feb
2013
Oct
2013
Nov
2013
Dec
2013
Jan
2014
Farm Assessments
Data
Analysis
Report
Results
Mtgs.

14. Results
Conservation Practices
 2,582 acres in no-till
 1,316 acres of cover crops
 2,619 acres of contour farming
 38,103 linear feet of grassed waterways
 107,487 linear feet of terracing
Conservation Plans/Nutrient Management Plans
• 47% have a Conservation Plan/Ag E&S Plan
• 53% have Manure/Nutrient Management Plan
About 50% of BMPs found were NOT documented
in a conservation plan!

15. Streams on Farms
• 80% of properties
have a stream
• 63% of properties
with a stream have
buffer on at least a
portion of the stream
• 59 properties (63%)
have 700+ feet of
stream

16. Future Partnership
Opportunities Identified

17. PHASE II: Planning, Compliance, and
Implementation
• Design possible BMPs to implement
• LandStudies completed Big Spring Run
floodplain restoration extension feasibility
study
• Follow up with farmers to have discussion
about their future plans and implementation
goals
• Board of Supervisors approved to create
local Conservation Plan cost-share program
($250/plan)
• Match $$$ for partnerships: National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant to get
farmers in compliance AND go above
baseline (CIP program)

18. Other Ways to Utilize Baseline Information
Baseline information can be used for
MapShed modeling (GIS-based
watershed modeling tool)
• To get accurate picture of
ground conditions for better
results and to identify best
BMPs to implement
• LFT using BMP Assessment
information in East Cocalico to
enter data into MapShed.
LandStudies contracted to do
the work.
Agriculture – Animal Data (screen shot of model input)

19. A Model for Replication
Municipality
3rd Party
Verification/Outreach
(Land Trust,
Non-Profit)
Engineer
And/or
Consulting Firm
Landowner/
Specific Land Use
(ie. Farmers)

20. Challenges/Barriers to Approach
- How to quantify BMPs (how does
a BMP not in a plan get counted?
- How to monitor and maintain
BMPs
- BMPs happening outside of MS4
area but still drain into same
watershed - change DEP’s offset
policy?

21. Case Study #2
ELANCO
(Eastern Lancaster County)
Source Water Protection Collaborative

22. ELANCO Region
• This part of Lancaster
County historically has high
nitrate levels (averaging
around 8 ppm). Treatment
levels for public water
suppliers start at 10 ppm
(maximum contaminant level
- MCL).
• Large conservative
Mennonite community that is
very closed off to outside
organizations and agencies.

23. National Source Water Collaborative Pilot Project
Lancaster County chosen as one
of three national pilot projects
• Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
• Sheridan,Wyoming
• State of Wisconsin
Objective
To conduct outreach to farmers to
promote conservation practices that
reduce nitrate levels in the region

24. ELANCO Source Water Protection – a True Collaborative
• EPA Headquarters (Washington, DC) and Region 3 (Philadelphia
• USDA/NRCS
• Lancaster County Conservation District
• ELANCO municipalities (East Earl Township,Terre Hill Borough, CaernarvonTownship, Brecknock
Township, and Earl Township)
• PA Department of Environmental Protection (Office of Drinking Water)
• Pennsylvania Rural Water Association
• WREN
• Western HeightsWater Authority
• Lancaster FarmlandTrust
• Lancaster County Conservancy
• Susquehanna River Basin Commission
• Private consulting firms:Team Ag, SMS Group (did ELANCO SourceWater Protection Plan), LandStudies,
Becker Engineering
• Most importantly, representatives from the Mennonite Community
• Amos Zimmerman (farmer)
• Aaron Hurst (small business owner)
Headed by Lancaster County Planning Commission, partners included:

25. Phase I: Education and Outreach to Farmers
Goal
To conduct outreach to farmers to promote
conservation practices that reduce nitrate
levels in the region
Education and Outreach
Organized workshop at Shady Maple with Ray
Archuleta, noted NRCS soil health expert.
Local connections key!
Used Mennonite hotline to get the word
out about the event.

26. 400 FARMERS ATTENDED!

27. THEWORD IS
OUT.
NOWWHAT?
FORMALIZING
THE
COLLABORATIVE

28. Ag Committee
• Lancaster County Conservation
District
• Lancaster FarmlandTrust
• Team Ag Consulting
• Jeff Stoltzfus,Adult Educator
• DEP Office of Drinking Water
• EPA Region 3
• Amos and Aaron, Mennonite
Representatives
Next Steps
• Conservation District 1-on-1 visits
• Focus groups
• Pasture management
• Manure/Pesticide Management
• Free well water testing
• Implementation assistance!
Collaboration, open communication,
and program streamlining key to
keep consistent messaging!

29. STAY TUNED FOR INITIAL RESULTS.
COMING SPRING 2015.