Summarizing legal soil conservation requirements for Pennsylvania farmers.
Controlling soil erosion is important to protect farmland productivity. However, soil eroded from farm fields can also end up in streams, causing harm to the natural environment beyond the farm. Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law therefore prohibits discharge of pollutants (such as sediment) to surface or groundwater except when the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) allows it.
Pennsylvania’s Erosion and Sediment Control regulations (Ag E&S) are meant to guarantee that the waters of the Commonwealth are not polluted by sediment by requiring farmers to implement Best Management Practices to control erosion on cropland and Animal Heavy Use Areas (AHUAs, also called ACAs, Animal Concentration Areas). When those activities total 5,000 square feet or more, the regulations require farmers to have and implement an Agricultural Erosion and Sediment Control Plan. So, in fact, all Pennsylvania farmers are required to have an E&S plan on file and put it into practice, except if they only have fields that have a permanent dense perennial cover (such as permanent pasture). However, if a pasture is renovated, an Ag E&S is required, and if it is denuded or overgrazed, it is considered an AHUA and the landowner/operator is also required to develop and implement a written Ag E&S plan for the field.
Both landowners and operators are responsible for having and implementing Ag E&S plans. Plans may be developed by the landowner or operator themselves or by soil conservation professionals. Many farmers have a Conservation Plan that was developed by the USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that may satisfy Pennsylvania’s Ag E&S requirements. However, you should confirm with NRCS that your plan meets Pennsylvania regulations. Ag E&S Plans need to be readily available for review and be applicable to current farming conditions. It is therefore important to update Ag E&S plans when things change, such as if the landowner or operator changes, if land is added to an operation, or if land use changes (such as crop rotations or tillage practices change, Best Management Practices change, or new AHUAs are planned or form on the property).
If you see gullies or rills on your operation, your soil loss already exceeds requirements and you should contact your local Conservation District, NRCS, or Commercial Planner for help.
For more information on how to develop an Ag E&S Plan, consult Pennsylvania’s Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Manual for Agricultural Operations and the online resource PAOneStop listed in the references section below. The bottom line is that most Pennsylvania farmers are responsible for having a current Ag E&S Plan on file and implementing it.
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