Date
Legislator
Address
Dear:
County conservation districts bring a local perspective to balancing environmental protection
with growth, and have a history of responsible and efficient delivery of state environmental
programs at the local level. We urge you to restore $3.875 million in General Fund dollars to the
conservation districts, which were zeroed out in the Governor’s FY 2013-2014 budget proposal,
to assure that they have the necessary resources to continue providing these important services to
our communities.
The _____ County Conservation District, in cooperation with county, state and federal agencies,
serve as the local environmental link, encourages smart growth and implements a variety of
planning and conservation initiatives for the use, development and protection of land and water
resources. [Please note: Note all districts offer all of the following programs in this paragraph.
Please edit to fit your local circumstances.] For instance, our district reviews and approves
erosion and sedimentation permits and offers services related to storm water management,
nutrient management, dirt and gravel road pollution prevention and monitoring of the county
farmland preservation programs. Our conservation districts have also been actively engaged in
the development and implementation of Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Implementation Plan to help meet the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) goals set by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
The General Fund dollars from the Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental
Protection, totaling $3.8 million in FY 2013-2014, provide critical funding for staff salaries,
including the district manager and two technicians, as well as certain administrative expenses.
Already, district managers often cite low salary and uncertain funding as a reason for high staff
turnover, particularly for these technical positions. Eliminating the General Fund dollars to the
___________ County Conservation District as proposed would have a detrimental impact to the
level of services that we are able to offer our communities.
Specifically, in FY 2012-2013, our DEP and PDA funding provided $________ for staffing
positions. If these dollars were eliminated, [offer local examples of impact].
Following several years of reduced and flat funding, the enactment of Act 13 of 2012 brought
conservation districts a much needed increase in resources, with $2.5 million distributed in late
2012 throughout the state. While conservation districts will receive $5 million in Act 13 fees in
2013, the Act 13 distributions do not fully address the shortfalls the districts have dealt with over
several years of decreasing funding levels and increasing responsibilities. It is also important to
note that the addition of the Act 13 dollars brought the total funding for conservation districts to
$6.375 million for FY 2012-2013; if General Fund dollars were eliminated in FY 2013-2014, this
would in fact represent an overall cut to the districts from the current fiscal year.
Further, half of the Act 13 dollars come directly through the PUC, in an equal amount to each
county. The other half is allocated through the State Conservation Commission, and the formula
for distributing those funds may change from year to year, so that counties can plan only for
approximately $38,000 from the PUC next year with no idea what may supplement that through
the SCC.
[Provide any other local impacts or funding issues]
The General Fund dollars for conservation districts are critical to the ________ County
Conservation District’s ability to remain fully engaged as the foundation for local conservation
and environmental problem-solving efforts. We urge you to restore this funding to the districts as
you work toward development of a final FY 2013-2014 state budget.
Sincerely,