Spring 2024
Farm Funding and Stopping a Hydroelectric Facility are Priorities
As Pennsylvania's fiscal year 2024-25 budget continues to take shape, CBF is calling for funding that could extend the Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP), that supports agricultural practices to reduce pollution to local rivers and streams.
CBF is concerned that ACAP might dissolve if the initial investment of $154 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds through the Clean Streams Fund are spent by the end of 2026 and not replenished.
In another matter, CBF filed a motion to intervene as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was considering a preliminary permit to York Energy Storage LLC, to build a $2.5 billion pumped-storage hydroelectric facility. It could flood 580 acres and displace 40 families at Cuffs Run near the Susquehanna River in York County.
The motion allows CBF to receive notice of all the filings and ultimately seek an appeal before circuit court if the permit is granted.
Project Accelerates Work in Pequea and Halfmoon Watersheds
Conservation coordinators Isabel "Izzy" Snee and Mariah Saunders are working to accelerate progress towards bringing impaired streams back to health in parts of four Pennsylvania counties.
Goals during the new five-year Pequea and Halfmoon Creeks Watershed Renewal Project are to reduce pollution and restore streams in both watersheds that are impaired by nonprofit source runoff, like certain agricultural activities.
Efforts by Snee and Saunders continue momentum created by Pequea and Halfmoon Creeks Watershed Implementation Plans coordinated by CBF.
Funding acquired by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), is moving the renewal project forward. The senators requested $2.18 million for the Pequea Creek plan. Senator Casey sought an additional $1.06 million for the Halfmoon Creek plan.
Funding for the development of both plans was made possible by the Richard King Mellon Foundation.
The Pequea Creek watershed is in Lancaster and Chester Counties. Halfmoon Creek watershed is in the Centre and Huntingdon Counties.
Pennsylvania Students and Teachers are Learning Outside
The 2024 spring season continues the 30-year legacy of 54,000 Pennsylvania students having participated in CBF Environmental Education programs.
The programs create foundational experiences that build critical thinking skills and expand perspectives and meaningful connections to ecosystems.
The Pennsylvania Rivers and Streams Environmental Education Program allows students in grades four through 12 to explore their connections to local waterways and the Bay. Many for the first time spend the day paddling in canoes, collecting macroinvertebrates, and investigating the health of waters within their communities.
In the Student Leadership Program for grades nine through 12, students travel the watershed, exploring the unique ecosystems while gaining experiences to inform community engagement. CBF student leaders coordinated a successful advocacy campaign designating the Eastern hellbender as the official state amphibian of Pennsylvania.
For teachers and schools, the Chesapeake Classrooms Program helps build efficacy in increasing student achievement and engagement while also building foundational knowledge in environmental literacy that is aligned with state standards.
—Julia Krall
Pennsylvania Executive Director
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
