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2013 Annual Report

WATERSHEDS

We work closely with watershed associations across the county. Shown here are (l-r): Mike Barrick and Patty Miller of Jacobs Creek Watershed Association; Larry Myers of Sewickley Creek Watershed Association; Susan Huba of Loyalhanna Watershed Association; Bev Braverman of Mountain Watershed Association; and Craig Barras of Turtle Creek Watershed Association.

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J. Roy Houston Conservation Center, 218 Donohoe Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 Phone: 724-837-5271 Admin. FAX: 724-552-0143 Tech. FAX: 724-834-4127 email: [email protected] website: www.wcdpa.com Westmoreland County Watersheds Dear Friends:

The theme of this year’s annual report, watersheds, puts attention on the natural The size and shape of a watershed is determined by nature – by the way water flows across the land. land divisions of our county. The watershed boundary will more or less follow the highest ridgeline around the stream channels and meet at the bottom or lowest point of the land where water flows out of the watershed. But another way to think of watersheds is in terms of those major turning points in the course of history that change everything – the watershed moments. A few in the District’s history that come right to mind are: • October 21, 1949 when the Westmoreland County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution establishing the entire county as a “soil conservation district” Allegheny River Watershed and the District was born. Kiskiminetas River Watershed • The day in 1968 when former, long-time District Chairman Roy Houston’s boss at Peoples Natural Gas told him he was “going to a meeting” that turned out to be a District board meeting and the start of a 40-year Pucketa Creek Watershed

friendship. Conemaugh River Watershed • The period of the late 1990s, when the prevailing philosophy for managing stormwater shifted from detention Loyalhanna Watershed (merely holding the water in large man-made holes in the ground) to infiltration (rain gardens, porous

pavement, infiltration swales). Turtle Creek Watershed Of course there are many others, including some that aren’t as well-known or publicized. Like the decision Sewickley Creek Watershed in the mid-1990s to do something that few Districts even today do: Apply for grants from private foundations. Since that watershed moment, we have applied for and received more than $5 million in private funding, and Youghiogheny River Watershed that allowed us to do things we never otherwise could have done, including: Monongahela River Watershed • building our barn headquarters, Jacobs Creek Watershed • expanding our stormwater and education programs, • establishing statewide and countywide annual conservation awards, Indian Creek Watershed • revitalizing the GreenForge building, • undertaking a comprehensive strategic plan with the respected Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management, and • many other important projects that have strengthened our District and promoted conservation in our county. Watersheds are often named for the single waterway that water from the surrounding land and Throughout the course of our history, we have been very fortunate to have had strong and consistent support streams flows into. from the Westmoreland County Commissioners, whose yearly budget allocation provides not only the foundation Some Westmoreland County watersheds most often referred to include: Loyalhanna, Jacobs Creek, for our operations, but also the leverage to attract additional outside funding, including more than $1.9 million in Sewickley Creek, Turtle Creek, and Indian Creek. additional funds we secured for conservation projects that were put on the ground in 2013 and planned for 2014. Each of these watersheds can be divided into smaller watersheds by isolating a smaller stream and the surrounding land that drains into it. Nine Mile Run Watershed, for instance, is a small watershed We are very grateful to the County Commissioners, the private foundations and individual donors, and the within the Loyalhanna Watershed. businesses and government grantors who support the work of the District and partner with us to keep our streams Likewise, each watershed can be identified as part of a larger watershed. So…the Loyalhanna clean, our soils stable, our farms productive, our forests healthy, and our communities sustainable. Watershed is a part of the larger, Kiski-Conemaugh River Watershed. And the Kiski-Conemaugh River Watershed is a part of the larger, Allegheny River Watershed. And the Allegheny River Watershed is part of the larger, Ohio River Watershed, and so on.

Ronald J. Rohall Want help locating the Westmoreland County watershed that you call home? View the major county watershed map on our website: Chairman http://wcdpa.com/tech-services/watershed-restoration/

On the cover - see page 33. 1 Humans have found a lot of different Westmoreland County Streams ways to divide up the land. All Streams They’ve used… There are 2,307.5 miles of streams in Westmoreland County, according to the calculations of the Pennsylvania Department of • Political subdivisions – Do you live in North Huntingdon Township or the Environmental Protection, whose definition includes brooks, creeks, City of Monessen? and even a few wetlands and lakes.

As you can see from the map to the right, that’s a lot of streams! • Post Office routes/ZIP Codes™ – Is your address in 15628 or 15083? You can’t travel very far in Westmoreland County without encountering • School Districts – Are you a Cougar from Yough or one of the Bucs from a waterway – which leads to a lot of interactions between humans and streams, and the need for good conservation practices. Lower Burrell? And even though these divisions give us a sense of place, all of them are man-made and most of them are somewhat arbitrary. If you want a truly 100% natural way to identify your ‘’place,’’ you have to use watersheds. A watershed is all the land that “sheds” or drains its water to the exact same place, such as to a single lake, stream, river, or ocean. Impaired Streams The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection classifies So, by this definition, if you – a stream as “impaired” when human activities have caused damage to • poured some water on the street at the Summit Drive home of a Greensburg-Salem the point where the ecological value of the stream is impaired. The primary cause of impared streams in Westmoreland County Golden Lion in the City of Greensburg, ZIP Code 15601…and today is sediment. Sediment is essentially soil that has been dislodged • poured some more water on the street at the Sixth Street home of a Hempfield and is now in the stream. Spartan in the Borough of Youngwood, ZIP Code 15697…and Sediment can get into waterways from earthmoving sites that don’t have adequate erosion controls, agricultural or forestry activities that • poured some more water on the street at the Marguerite Road home of a Latrobe aren’t employing conservation methods, eroding unpaved roads, or Wildcat in Pleasant Unity, ZIP Code 15676…and flooding. • poured some more water on the street at the Brokers Lane home of a Norwin Knight Another serious source of stream impairment in our county is water that has drained through abandoned coal mines, picking up pol- in North Huntingdon Township, ZIP Code 15642…and lutants. This map shows clusters of impaired streams around Brush • poured some more water on the street at the Turkeytown Road home of a Yough Creek, Turtle Creek, lower Loyalhanna Creek, and lower Sewickley Cougar in South Huntingdon Township ZIP Code 15089… Creek, where the major problem is abandoned coal mine drainage. In all, about 677 miles of streams in Westmoreland County are all that water would eventually end up in exactly the same place – in Sewickley Creek! considered “impaired,” which is about 29% of our total stream miles. So even though all these places are on different streets, in different towns, in differ- ent school districts, and have different ZIP Codes, they actually are all part of the very same watershed – the Sewickley Creek Watershed. High-quality Streams Which means that watersheds sometimes connect us in ways we often aren’t aware There also are streams in Westmoreland County that have of. And what someone does in one part of our watershed affects many others down- extremely good water quality. stream in that watershed. By definition, a high-quality stream is one that supports a wide variety of aquatic organisms. It has a high level of dissolved oxygen, Westmoreland County’s Major Watersheds by Region a low level of pollution, a balanced pH, a good food supply for invertebrates, and a range of habitats for aquatic organisms. As you look at the maps on pages 6-11, you’ll notice some place names (such as Mount One of the biggest factors in affecting good water quality is for- Pleasant Township) stretch across more than one watershed. That’s because that particular ests. Forests serve as natural sponges, collecting and filtering rainfall township (or municipality or borough) has more than one watershed in it. In the case of Mount and releasing it slowly into streams. Notice in this map how many of Pleasant Township, parts of it are in two different watersheds – Sewickley Creek Watershed or the the streams with good water quality are in the eastern part of the Jacobs Creek Watershed. county, along the forested ridges. Forest cover has been directly linked Each of the watershed maps on pages 6-11 also is keyed to show the variety of conservation to lower drinking water treatment costs – the more forest in a source work that occurred there in 2013. water watershed, the lower the treatment costs. The Westmoreland Conservation District is directly involved with most of this work, either About 625 miles of streams in Westmoreland County are consid- because we initiated the project or because we are part of a partnership. ered exceptional or high-quality streams or fisheries, which is about Of course, many other conservation projects other than those shown on the following maps 27% of our total stream miles. have been implemented all across our county over the years, and more are planned for 2014 and beyond. To learn more about the condition of a particular stream, contact our Watershed Specialist, Rob Cronauer, at [email protected]. 1 2 3 PENNSYLVANIA Vandergrift

New Kensington

Blairsville Seward

Pittsburgh Delmont

Bing Maps W E S T M O R E L A N D C O U N T Y Irwin Latrobe 819 Greensburg

Ligonier 119

West Newton

In this aerial photo, you can see the mixed land use in a six square Mount Pleasant mile area of the Sewickley Creek Watershed, just east of Greensburg: farm fields in the upper right corner (note the grass strips, a conservation Monessen measure that helps to reduce erosion)…housing developments, one of the fastest growing land uses in the county, in the lower left corner…and Scottdale commercial development clustered along the major highways and the main line of the Norfolk Southern Railroad (bottom right). Donegal The yellow circle shows the location of the J. Roy Houston Conservation Center.

n this satellite view of Westmoreland County, because they’re covered in forests…the winding You can also see some of the ways the land is the county’s major east-west highways…and the you can see the different natural land forma- rivers that outline parts of the borders of our county being used – the more urbanized areas, which show pockets of agriculture in the north central and south tions – the two long, parallel ridges to the east, and the major streams that flow all through it (water up as silver or gray because of the concentration of central areas, which often can be identified by the Ithe highest points in the county and the greenest absorbs light so it usually looks black or dark blue). concrete and building materials, tend to track near geometric shapes of the growing fields (see inset map).

4 5 2013 Westmoreland Conservation District Projects

r e West Leechburg in the Northwestern Westmoreland County Watersheds: i v Hyde Park R y n e 0 1.5 3 6 Miles Allegheny River, Kiskiminetas River, Pucketa Creek, Turtle Creek h g e ALLEGHENY ll A harti C ers Watersheds in this part of Westmoreland County include such features as: R un Vandergrift

• aging communities working to reinvent themselves, such as New Kensington, the Oklahoma former home of Alcoa (Allegheny River Watershed) Arnold ttle Pu Li c ke K • the drinking water supply for some 150,000 people in our county, the Beaver Run t i a C ek sk Reservoir (Kiskiminetas River Watershed) New LOWER re im ine Kensington BURRELL tas • historically flood-prone areas such as those near Valley High School in New Kensington R Be iv a er (Pucketa Creek Watershed) UPPER BURRELL v e r P

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• a highly urbanized and growing commercial area along Route 22 through Murrysville, ck u e n ta WASHINGTON Avonmore Export, and Delmont (Turtle Creek Watershed). C r e ek BELL R o u t e

6 LEGEND 6 Watershed groups in this part of Beaver Run Westmoreland County include: Allegheny River Watershed Reservoir • Kiskiminetas Watershed Association – c/o Kiskiminetas River Watershed P.O. Box 83, Leechburg, PA 15656 Pucketa Creek Watershed

Turtle Creek Watershed B • Pucketa-Chartiers Watershed Association e

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– Tony Farina, president, Victoriafarina@ Municipality Border MURRYSVILLE e

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verizon.net R Stormwater Best Management u

Practice Funded n SALEM • Turtle Creek Watershed Association – Export Stormwater Basin Retrofits Funded Jim Brucker, president, [email protected] urtle by Growing Greener T C Delmont reek Route 22 P Permitted Earthmoving Sites A Tu Greater than One Acre rn p ik Dirt and Gravel Road e Project Funded Trafford PENN Nutrient Management Plan NORTH HUNTINGDON Resource Enhancement and Protection Ro State Tax Credits for Agricultural Best ut e Management Practices 66 Manor Agricultural Best Management Irwin Practice Funded by Growing Greener Jeannette Rou te 30

6 7 2013 Westmoreland Conservation District Projects in the South-Central Westmoreland County Watersheds: LEGEND Sewickley Creek, Youghiogheny River, Sewickley Creek Watershed Monongahela River, Jacobs Creek Youghiogheny River Watershed Monongahela River Watershed Watersheds in this part of Westmoreland County include Jacobs Creek Watershed such features as: Municipality Border

• the second-largest watershed in the county, which includes R 9 o 1 Stormwater Best Management u 1 all or parts of one city, seven boroughs, and seven t Practice Completed e te

6 u o townships and most of the county’s main highways, 6 R Stormwater Best Management including the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and U.S. Routes 30 Practice Funded and 119 (Sewickley Creek Watershed) Stream Bank Stabilization Funded by Penn DOT Mitigation and Act 13 • one of our region’s most popular biking, hiking, and water Permitted Earthmoving Sites NORTH HUNTINGDON sport recreation centers (Youghiogheny River Watershed) P Greensburg Greater than One Acre A

0 T u 3 Dirt and Gravel Road • one of the most industrialized areas in the country, r e n t u Project Funded p o

Monessen (Monongahela River Watershed) i R k

e Landowner Reclamation Project 9 Completed • one of the best remaining pockets of agriculture in the HEMPFIELD 1 UNITY 1 county (Jacobs Creek Watershed). Arona te Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment u o System Funded ek R Little Sewickley Cre Youngwood Resource Enhancement and Protection State Tax Credits for Agricultural Best Watershed groups in this part of Westmoreland Madison Management Practices k County include: Sutersville SEWICKLEY e Agricultural Best Management r e y C Practice Funded by Growing Greener ickle • Sewickley Creek Watershed Association – ew S www.sewickleycreek.com New Stanton Forest Stewardship Plan

• Mountain Watershed Association (Greater ek West Newton re C y Hunker R P Youghiogheny River) – Sew ckle o A i u Tu t rn www.mtwatershed.com Y e p o i 1 k u 1 e g 9 • Jacobs Creek Watershed Association h MOUNT PLEASANT i o ROSTRAVER g – www.jacobscreekwatershed.org h e n y

R nga iv o hela e SOUTH HUNTINGDON on River r Mount Pleasant M 0 Smithton Monessen e 7 tat ers EAST HUNTINGDON Int J obs Cr ac eek

North Belle Vernon

Jaco bs 0 1.75 3.5 7 Miles C Scottdale re ek

8 9 2013 Westmoreland Conservation District Projects in the Eastern Westmoreland County Watersheds: Conemaugh River, Loyalhanna, Indian Creek LOYALHANNA Loyalhanna Dam Watersheds in this part of Westmoreland County include such features as: Co nem augh 2 River • up until recently, one of the most polluted streams in Westmoreland County in the te 2 Seward ou amount of sediment and nutrients it contained (Conemaugh River Watershed) SALEM R Bolivar • the largest watershed in Westmoreland County, including 300 square miles of land and New Alexandria some of the largest expanses of forest in the county (Loyalhanna Watershed) L 9 o New Florence 1 y DERRY 1 a l • more than 130 discharges from abandoned coal mines in a single, 125-square-mile te h u a ST. CLAIR Ro nna watershed* (Indian Creek Watershed). C r e

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k Derry LEGEND FAIRFIELD Conemaugh River Watershed Latrobe Watershed groups in this part of Westmoreland County UNITY Loyalhanna Watershed include: Ro ute 30 • Conemaugh Valley Conservancy (Conemaugh River) Indian Creek Watershed – http://www.conemaughvalleyconservancy.org/con- Municipality Border servation/kcst.html Stormwater Best Management Practice Funded Ligonier • Loyalhanna Watershed Association – www.loyalhannawatershed.org Stream Bank Stabilization Funded by Penn DOT Mitigation and Act 13 • Mountain Watershed Association (Indian Creek) – LIGONIER Permitted Earthmoving Sites www.mtwatershed.com Greater than One Acre k e e r Dirt and Gravel Road Project C

a Completed n COOK n lha MOUNT PLEASANT ya Dirt and Gravel Road Project Lo Funded

Resource Enhancement and Protection State Tax Credits for Agricultural Best Management Practices ike urnp PA T Agricultural Best Management Donegal Practice Completed k e Agricultural Best Management e r DONEGAL

Practice Funded by Growing Greener C

n i a d Forest Stewardship Plan In 0 2 4 8 Miles Forest Stewardship Plan Funded *Note: This watershed crosses into Fayette County and many of these discharges are located there.

9 10 11 the incorporation of more site-appro- priate best management practices. Encouraged by the success of this new process, we also began this year to encourage more pre-construction meetings – not only for National Dear Conservation Friend: Pollutant Discharge Elimination Like the satellite view of Westmoreland County on pages 4 and 5, when things are System permits – but for other earth- disturbance activities as well. These observed from a distance, overall patterns and trends are easier to see. meetings are held on the project site The theme of the District’s annual report this year, watersheds, presents this more after plans are approved and just before earthmoving begins. Especially global way to look at our county – the natural physical characteristics of the land for large or complex projects, pre-con- (Are there mountains? Open fields? Lots of feeder streams?) … as well as the domi- struction meetings help ensure that nant ways that humans are using the land (Are there sizeable clusters of agriculture? Older towns with aging the work will be done in compliance infrastructure? Miles of unpaved roads? Discharges from abandoned coal mines? Acres of open space or forest?). with permits and regulations such as the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law By looking at these natural and use aspects, we can see the problems and potentials of each watershed “community,” The newly relocated section of Sherrick Run in Mount Pleasant Township, Jacobs Creek and so reduce the potential for violations. and identify where conservation efforts can be most effective. Watershed, is shown here just a few months after construction of a 100-plus-foot riparian These new initiatives have stream- buffer with micropools and plantings for habitat and wildlife, both of which also will help lined the permitting and inspection The watershed model is not a new approach to conservation. In fact, the very first conservation project in to protect water quality. process, and have been very well Westmoreland County was a watershed-wide effort on almost 200 farms in the Beaver Run Watershed. The received. STABLE SOILS applications. enormous success of this effort in 1935 proved the efficacy of this approach – Beaver Run today is a source of In the first months of enacting this The largest construction project A proposed pipeline to carry drinking water for thousands of Westmoreland County citizens – and paved the way for many more to follow, initiative, we found that pre-application in the county in 2013 was the work ethane and propane from Western including work in the Jacobs Creek Watershed to create one of the nation’s only watershed-wide flood control meetings were especially valuable to being done to improve the highway Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region the new process. At these meetings, projects…and in the Stony Run Watershed to install conservation methods on seven farms and improve the cloverleaf area where Routes 819 300 miles eastward to a terminal near an engineer or architect presents quality of that stream, which until recently was one of the highest in sediment and nutrient pollution in and 119 meet in Mount Pleasant Philadelphia needed the District’s a roughly sketched out plan of the Township. help in obtaining permits to cross Westmoreland County. project and discusses it with District This junction near major commer- through central Westmoreland technical staff members. By having One of the many projects on deck for 2014 – the McGee Run Watershed project – will address the impaired cial shopping centers required many County, and so our technical programs this opportunity for input before formal hours of District technical staff time administrator coordinated with 24 streams in this portion of the Conemaugh River Watershed, and will be the most comprehensive conservation plans are drawn up and submitted, we to review and inspect the work on site, different agency contacts to help get project ever undertaken in the District’s history, involving every one of our conservation programs (see page 22). are reducing the number of reviews which also involved the relocation the necessary permits issued. and revisions needed and encouraging As you’ll see in the following pages, we did a lot of work in 2013 to obtain funding for conservation from a wide of Sherrick Run, a stream that flows along state Route 119 and that is one variety of sources, and I’m excited to say that 2014 is shaping up to be a record year in terms of the number of of two streams in the Jacobs Creek 2013 Erosion & Sedimentation Control Plan Reviews new conservation projects that we will be able put in place throughout our county. Watershed most heavily impacted by Watershed with abandoned mine drainage. Sewickley Creek Watershed - 59

This year, we began to initiate the Turtle Creek Watershed - 47 state Department of Environmental Loyalhanna Watershed - 35 Protection’s new “permit decision Jacobs Creek Watershed - 16 Gregory M. Phillips guarantee” initiative, which sets Kiskiminetas River Watershed - 16 District Manager/CEO specific timelines that we and the en- Conemaugh River Watershed - 10 gineers submitting plans must comply Youghiogheny River Watershed - 7 with in the process of issuing/obtaining Pucketa/Allegheny Watersheds - 9 permits. The purpose of the new initiative Indian Creek Watershed - 4 is to insure that permit decisions are Monongahela River Watershed - 3 timely and to improve the quality of 12 13 The pipeline, called Mariner East, will disturb about 204 acres in West- moreland County. It is a multi-com- pany project whose partners include 2013 Earth Disturbance Acres by Municipality Sunoco Logistics Partners LP and Range Resources. The companies plan to export half of the natural gas the Adamsburg Borough 1.61 pipeline carries to Europe. Allegheny Township 23.78

Arnold City 3.38 The Pennsylvania Department of Bell Township 1.38 Environmental Protection conducted Cook Township 16.5 its five-year evaluation of how well Delmont Borough 17.35 the District is carrying out the statutes Derry Borough 0.91 in the Pennsylvania Code that the Derry Township 21.96 state agency delegated to us for han- Donegal Township 17.59 dling – specifically, the regulations in East Huntingdon Township 45.52 Chapter 102 (erosion and sediment Fairfield Township 7.05 control) and Chapter 105 (dams and Greensburg City 5.41 waterways) – and found that we met Hempfield Township 281.30 all 19 of the required output measures. Westmoreland Conservation District Technical Programs Administrator Kathy Fritz Irwin Borough 0.50 State environmental protection (center) stamps final approval on the erosion control plans for the Mariner East pipeline Jeannette City 62.16 officials looked at such things as the after our staff reviewed this comprehensive document, one of the largest erosion and sedi- Latrobe City 2.99 time it takes us to process plans, the mentation control plans the District has ever received. The Mariner East pipeline will cross Ligonier Township 17.32 through parts of the Youghiogheny River, Sewickley Creek, Turtle Creek, and Kiskiminetas completeness of our permit reviews, Lower Burrell City 4.37 and the quality of our field inspections. River watersheds in our county. Shown with Kathy are project representatives Rob Simick, PE and Ellen Berklite, PE. Loyalhanna Township 4.97 In their written evaluation, the Manor Borough 25.20 officials commented that the District on proper erosion controls, cleaning striving to be on the cutting edge of Mount Pleasant Borough 0.08 “does an outstanding job of handling out detention ponds, and permits conservation practices.” Mount Pleasant Township 0.53 complaints, achieving compliance, required for specific projects. Murrysville Municipality 91.88 and making a positive difference in The workshop was led by our tech- Some 30 members of the Hemp- New Kensington City 5.33 their county.” They also added, “[The nical staff and the information shared field Township Public Works staff New Stanton Borough 20.66 District] use(s) unique and innovative will no doubt have many positive attended a half-day training session North Huntingdon Township 78.29 methods of outreach and (is) always conservation benefits, as Hempfield Penn Township 144.26 Township encompasses 90 square Rostraver Township 70.56 miles and is one of the largest town- 2013 Erosion & Sedimentation Control Inspections Salem Township 248.62 ships in Westmoreland County. by Municipality Scottdale Borough 8.98

Sewickley Township 64.57 Hempfield Township - 50 More than 300 people attended our South Greensburg Borough 9.78 North Huntingdon Township - 24 2013 Engineers’ Workshop, which South Huntingdon Township 89.10 Ligonier Township - 21 focused on implementing the MS4 St. Clair Township 0.80 program, watershed monitoring, Unity Township - 19 Trafford Borough 2.28 engineered soils, modeling with GIS Murrysville - 16 Unity Township 57.06 for stormwater management, perme- Upper Burrell Township 7.24 East Huntingdon Township - 14 able pavements, and updates from the West Newton Borough 1.38 Mount Pleasant Township - 13 Pennsylvania Department of Environ- Youngwood Borough 1.42 Derry Township - 12 mental Protection. The event was held in March at Penn Township - 8 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Saint Vincent College. 050 100 150 200 250 300 Fairfield Township - 6 Misc. Townships 5 and under - 56

13 14 15 PRODUCTIVE from the Pennsylvania Five-Acre FARMS Corn Club winner and the National Corn Grower winner for his soil type, David Wolfskill; from Sjoerd Duiker, A five-year effort to improve water the head Soil Management Special- quality in the Stony Run Watershed ist from Penn State; and from Farm in Derry Township – formerly one of Service Agency Director John Lohr the highest in Westmoreland County and Natural Resources Conservation in the amount of sediment and nutri- Service District Conservationist Tom ent pollution – was completed during Sierzega, who spoke on the intertwined the year. Department of Agriculture programs Seven farms received a total of Bing Maps that they oversee, plus how farmers nearly 40 separate conservation The circle in this photo highlights the area of the Clevenger Farm in the Stony Run Watershed near Blairsville where conservation best management practices were installed need to be careful to prevent erosion improvements, including streambank to help control sediment and nutrient pollution. Farm family co-owners Helen Clevenger in their crop fields. fencing, animal walkways, stream and Rick and Mary Duncan were awarded the 2013 Conservation Farmer of the Year Some 120 people attended the crossings, stabilized pads, gutters and award for their many conservation improvements. event at Saint Vincent College in downspouts, spring developments Latrobe. with water troughs, diversion ditches, farmers during the year, often sug- from a manure spreader – to have Conference sponsors were: Penn’s and heavy-use areas. gesting specific measures they could and follow a written plan for how Corner Charitable Trust, Penn State The improvements were financed implement on their property to the manure will be managed. Cooperative Extension, Natural Re- with a Growing Greener II grant of improve animal health, production Each of these farmers created a sources Conservation Service, and the some $133,500, funding from the yields, and/or water quality. manure management plan according Westmoreland Conservation District Natural Resources Conservation Service’s to guidelines in a manual developed Contract workers install a porous concrete sidewalk over a stone and perforated pipe and other conservation districts in the infiltration bed along Diamond Street in Mount Pleasant Borough, Jacobs Creek Watershed. Environmental Quality Incentives Our nutrient management special- by the state. This document is kept on the farm and, although it does not southwest region of Pennsylvania. Trees also were planted here and will be watered as rain and melting snow and ice infiltrate Program, and contributions by the farm ist/agricultural conservation techni- through the sidewalk. owners. cian also worked with more than 20 have to be reviewed or approved, it does need to be available if asked for. area farmers to explain new state CLEAN STREAMS quality benefits. of the past few years in stormwater Our nutrient management special- regulations that require any farm The Frick Park rain gardens were retrofit work in Mount Pleasant. ist/agricultural technician provided that has manure on the land – either The new shift to manure manage- AND WATERWAYS added to capture stormwater runoff technical assistance to some 48 from a production animal or ment plans, which are developed at and reduce icing problems caused by A late August storm travelled in no cost to the farmer, resulted in a The final elements in the Mount water from the park running down a rare north-to-south route along temporary decrease in the number Pleasant stormwater retrofit proj- the sloped municipal parking lot next the west side of Chestnut Ridge and of nutrient management plans sub- ect were completed during the year, door. dropped four to six inches of rain mitted in 2013. and included two rain gardens and a Likewise, the new porous concrete in just a few hours. Many streams The District board approved only water-quality basin at Excela Health sidewalk along Diamond Street was flooded, and high amounts of erosion two nutrient management plans dur- Frick Hospital, two rain gardens in designed to capture downspout water took place. ing the year: one, a renewal for the Frick Park, and a porous concrete from commercial businesses along In the aftermath, our District staff 1,590-acre Heinnickle farm in the sidewalk along Diamond Street near West Main Street and to reduce winter met with state legislators and area Loyalhanna Watershed, and the other, Veterans’ Park. icing in that heavily travelled area. citizens, and visited impacted sites a newly developed plan for the 250- The new water-quality basin and Despite the harsh conditions in the in Mount Pleasant, Donegal, Salem, acre Craig Lash farm in the Sewickley rain gardens at Frick Hospital intro- winter of 2013-2014, neither of these Loyalhanna, Unity, Derry, Ligonier, Creek Watershed. duced the first-ever stormwater man- locations experienced its historical Latrobe, Hempfield, and South Nutrient management plans, once agement on this 14-acre site. Now, icing problems. Huntingdon. Reducing the amount of plowing done to a field before planting, a practice called approved, are valid for three years. In instead of a 24-inch pipe channeling “no-till,” has many benefits for the farmer and for the land, including reducing erosion As part of the Diamond Street We were able to help design solu- addition to the two plans approved runoff from the hospital roof and and so the amount of sediment that ends up polluting nearby streams. project, trees also were replaced with tions and obtain needed permits to in 2013, there are 23 other approved parking lot directly into the neighboring Some 120 people attended the Southwest Regional PA No-Till Conference in January small, fruited crabapples, which will remedy many of the stream erosion to promote and learn about this conservation farming method. Shown at the conference are nutrient management plans being township, it is directed to a forebay provide color and beauty, can handle problems, such as one along Slate Run (l-r): District Associate Director Bob Pore; District Director Fred Slezak; Keynote Speaker followed on farms in the county. and then into a larger retention basin the volume of water runoff better, and * Funding was provided by Growing Greener David Wolfskill; Farm Service Agency County Executive Director John Lohr; Natural with a micropool. The new design won’t grow so tall that they interfere Resources Conservation Service District Conservationist Tom Sierzega; Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania Department of Environ- The annual Southwest Regional covers about one acre, the same area a with the overhead wires. Agronomist Alicia Spangler; District Nutrient Management Specialist/Agricultural conventional basin for the site would, mental Protection through Section 319 of the Conservation Technician Dan Griffith; and Natural Resources Conservation Service PA No-Till Conference was held More than $475,000 in government Federal Clean Water Act administered by the but provides much greater water Soil Conservation Technician Mike Hamilton. in January and included presentations funding* was invested over the course U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 16 17 near the Brookside Apartments in project, but also the resources to build it. of the project plans. Hempfield Township. A company that builds power For one of the more major site Plans for a proposed natural-gas- plants as an investment initiated the concerns, such as where Welty Run fired power plant in South Hunting- project, and also must obtain a num- eroded to within three feet of a home, don Township and a legal challenge ber of federal and state permits before we enlisted the assistance of a stream to the project from a local citizen construction can begin. specialist from the Pennsylvania required our technical staff to spend Department of Environmental Protec- a good deal of time answering ques- During the year, we prepared and tion because doing so would not only tions, visiting the 100-acre site, and submitted a grant application for an result in the design of a bank protection doing several comprehensive reviews urban stormwater retrofit in the

2013 Stormwater Management Plan Reviews by Municipality

Adamsburg Borough 1 Allegheny Township 3 Arnold City 1 Bell Township 1 Delmont Borough 2 Derry Township 3 Donegal Township 1 Located behind Excela Health Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant Borough, Jacobs Creek Watershed, a newly installed basin improves East Huntingdon Township 4 water quality in nearby streams as well as manages stormwater. Fairfield Township 1 The design was a collaboration between the District and the Borough Engineer McCormick Taylor Inc. and includes a number of features Greensburg City 4 to enhance water quality, including an infiltration forebay, a flow-directing berm, and a micropool at the outlet riser, which prevents resuspension of sediment. Hempfield Township 30 Irwin Borough 1 town of Delmont. and a more restrictive outlet so that managing stormwater as the more Jeannette City 2 The proposal to Growing Greener runoff is reduced. traditional, and more costly, computer Latrobe City 2 Plus was successful and will provide modeling. Ligonier Township 2 $128,000 to install grassy swales at Because of this, we are planning Lower Burrell City 1 We also made some inquires into Shields Farm, a recreation and festival to work with the state to see if West- Loyalhanna Township 1 what other counties had been doing site uphill from the residential area of moreland County could also use the Manor Borough 1 in regard to preparing and adopting Delmont. same approach and prepare a similar Mount Pleasant Township 1 watershed-based stormwater man- The work we plan to begin in 2014 “Integrated Water Resources Plan.” Murrysville Municipality 10 agement plans and found that York should significantly reduce erosion Our county has collected the same New Kensington City 2 County had taken the novel approach and flooding issues and improve water type of data used by York County New Stanton Borough 6 of using collected data on ground quality in the unnamed stream that for each watershed in Westmoreland North Huntingdon Township 5 cover, soil types, rainfall rates, and runs through the historic town on County. Penn Township 4 other observable features to identify its way to Beaver Run Reservoir, the Rostraver Township 4 the specific stormwater management source of drinking water for thousands Salem Township 4 actions needed to create better quality We sponsored several webinars, of county residents. Scottdale Borough 3 of life, including less risk of flooding. produced by the Center for Watershed Protection, on the latest innovations Sewickley Township 3 More traditional countywide We did some design work during in stormwater management. South Greensburg Borough 3 stormwater management plans, pre- the year for stormwater management pared in response to Pennsylvania’s The webinars presented a variety of South Huntingdon Township 3 projects that will get under way in 2014. stormwater management act (Act green applications and showed what Trafford Borough 1 One of these projects will replace 167), use sophisticated computer communities such as Philadelphia, Unity Township 7 paved parking places at South Greens- models to identify stormwater Portland, and Prince Georges County Upper Burrell Township 1 burg Commons (the former PPG site) management needs. Maryland are doing to creatively man- Youngwood Borough 2 with infiltration parking, and another The Pennsylvania Department of age stormwater. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 will retrofit a detention basin at West- Environmental Protection validated In addition to being informative 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 moreland Industrial Park 3 in Penn York County’s approach as having sessions for our technical staff, we Township with a sediment forebay the potential to be just as effective in opened these webinars to area engineers, 17 18 19 during the year through workshops, 2013 Stream Encroachment Permits by Category clinics, webinars, personal visits, and telephone technical assistance. Utility Line Stream Crossing - 41 Some examples of this outreach Temporary Road Crossing - 27 include an onlot septic workshop that Minor Road Crossing - 13 reached 90 people in Westmoreland Bank Rehabilitation, Bank Protection County with information on the proper & Gravel Bar Removal - 10 care of these necessary devices… Fish Habitat Enhancement three safe drinking water clinics that Structures - 7 reached 75 residents with key ways to Intake & Outfall Structures - 5 insure the quality of wells or springs… Agricultural Activities - 3 and three workshops on pond and Agricultural Crossings & Ramps - 3 lake management that reached a total Small Docks & Boat Launching of 89 individuals with ways to effec- Ramps - 1 tively care for these water features on their properties. municipal officials, and others interest- Allegheny County. With the help of consultants, we ed in stormwater treatments for water The events showcased projects expanded the original two-sided quality. that the Westmoreland Conservation poster, “Bioretention in Clay Soils,” In all, 66 people attended the four District has implemented, and also to an 80-page, searchable web events. featured a speaker from the Philadel- document that provides updated area rainfall data, detailed instructions A brisk but sunny winter day brought some 30 people to our campus and nearby Ann Rudd Saxman Nature Park for a woods walk phia Water Department who showed and tree identification program sponsored with the Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association, and led by District Forester Tony for creating rain gardens, “lessons In conjunction with the Allegheny the major strides that historic city has Quadro (shown) and Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry Service Forester Mike DiRinaldo. learned” with various types of biore- County Conservation District and been able to make in implementing tention applications, and photos of Three Rivers Wet Weather, we hosted green stormwater management. HEALTHY FORESTS immediate personal needs, but for a very savvy intern, we have been able area stormwater projects. two stormwater management work- In all, some 43 local officials attended. future generations. to update and expand our woodlot The document is accessible shops for municipal officials, one in owner list to some 8,500 individuals, through the District’s home page at Our forester completed three for- North Huntingdon in Westmoreland Our shared water-quality educator and to have the additional ability to www.wcdpa.com. est stewardship plans in 2013, two During the year, our forester County and one in Greentree in reached more than 1,300 people benefitting the Loyalhanna Watershed participated with loggers in 18 further identify these owners accord- (Mill Creek, Fourmile Run, and Nine pre-harvest meetings, reviewed 18 ing to the number of forested acres Mile Run), and one benefitting the timber-harvesting plans, and visited they hold. Tubmill Creek/Conemaugh River logging sites 39 times. Now that we have this compre- Watershed. These efforts are critical because, hensive and sortable list of contacts, One plan was for a seven-acre when good conservation controls are we plan to reach out with targeted woodlot, one for a 232-acre forest, in place before a harvest starts, there information on the specific steward- and the third was for a 234-acre forest. is less impact on the soil and water. ship practices that are relevant for One of the property owners who Our forester also evaluated 12 their properties. For instance, a small requested the voluntary plans is an privately owned woodlots and woodlot may benefit from a single individual who we have worked with prepared written suggestions for their timber sale while larger properties before on forest stewardship, and two stewardship. may want to have several sales, ac- were first-time stewardship contacts. cording to compartment or stands. Working with property owners is A forest stewardship plan lays out With the help of technology, we’ve critical to forest health, as 91% of the a series of steps over a 10-year pe- come a long way since the early 1990s New and expanded information on design, woodlands in Westmoreland County sizing, and benefits of rain gardens and other riod that the landowner can take to when we developed our first database are privately owned, and forests make proven bioretention applications is available with a systematically manage any or all of the of woodlot owners in the county… up about 50% of the land use in our click on the “Bioretention in Clay Soils” graphic on the interconnected elements that make up with each of its 3,000 names and ad- District’s home page, www.wcdpa.com. county. the woods – trees, wildlife, wildflow- dresses painstakingly obtained. Bioretention is yielding major benefits to water quality in ers, waterways, deer, insects, diseases, This year, with access to Westmore- watersheds all across our county. We began working with the Penn- special features, deadwood, and even land County’s database and the help of recreation potential – for not just our sylvania Department of Conservation 20 21 and Natural Resources Bureau of SUSTAINABLE county with a need for stormwater Forestry to update our long-standing COMMUNITIES management; and Memorandum of Understanding. • the township with the highest This document outlines how we will number of Marcellus Shale permitted Late in 2013, we were awarded a work together on conservation issues. and drilled sites. $300,000 state grant to improve the The Foundation for Pennsylvania water in the McGee Run Watershed, The District and the Westmoreland Watersheds, a non-profit, grant-mak- which encompasses 27 square miles in Woodlands Improvement Association ing organization supporting the water Derry Township and Derry Borough hosted a “Woods, Waters & Wildlife” quality needs throughout Pennsylvania, and whose streams the Pennsylvania conference in October that, for the also has committed $20,000 to this Department of Environmental Protec- first time ever, provided two parallel project. tion lists as being “impaired,” mean- tracks for attendees to choose from: ing they are polluted with sediment, one for woodland owners with larger siltation, and nutrient loading. Pennsylvania has more than 20,000 tracts, and one for those with smaller Over the next two years, this miles of unpaved public roads. Many woodlots and backyard forests. project will seek to improve this area of these contribute significant pollu- Topics discussed included disease, Top left: The Irwin Discharge is the largest abandoned mine drainage by installing a variety of conserva- tion, especially sediment pollution, to discharge in Westmoreland County in terms of flow – 9 million gallons per insect, and other backyard tree prob- tion measures from each one of the nearby streams and rivers. day into Tinkers Run, then Brush Creek, Turtle Creek and the Monongahela lems; tackling invasive species in larger District’s programs – forestry, erosion In 2013, one of the largest dirt River. Top right: Craig Barras, a member of the Turtle Creek Watershed woodlots; attracting wildlife and Association, in the clean, fishable waters of Brush Creek above the Irwin control, stormwater management, and gravel road improvement proj- birds while thwarting undesirables; Discharge. Bottom right: Putting together a study to determine how to treat agriculture, and dirt and gravel roads. ects in Westmoreland County was young forest habitat, the golden- the Irwin Discharge are (l-r): Ted Weaver, Hedin Environmental; Scott The McGee Run Watershed is undertaken on Larimer Trail Road winged warbler, and other upland Hamilton, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection mining notable in that it contains: in Washington Township. For many engineer; Pete Alfieri, landowner; Rich Beam, Pennsylvania Department of birds; and why it is important to have a • the largest privately owned forested years, Larimer Trail Road, a horse- Environmental Protection geologist; Dr. Bob Hedin, president, Hedin Envi- forest management plan. The confer- tract (approximately 6,000 acres) in shoe-shaped feeder road near Routes ronmental; George Watzlaf, environmental engineer, Hedin Environmental; ence ended with participants’ choice and Ron Horansky, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection the county; 66 and 356 in Washington Township, between two field trips: Hannastown watershed manager. • the longest and most eroded road had been eroding badly, and was often timber harvest or stormwater man- in the county (the four-mile-long muddy and difficult to travel. agement around Donohoe Center. local funding; local landowner, Ted the program’s scope so that it also will forcing the discharge to occur some- Fire Tower Road); Today, thanks to the work of a The event was funded with a mini- Kuckuck; Washington Township; the include low-volume, paved public where else or by actively pumping the • the largest township by area in the partnership that included state and grant from the Pennsylvania Associa- Westmoreland Conservation District; roads. These changes will be effective discharge to another location. tion of Conservation Districts and the Foundation for PA Watersheds; July 1, 2014. Cost estimates for construction and presented with support from the PA and the Center for Dirt and Gravel 40-year operation of the various treat- Association of Conservation Districts, Road Studies at Penn State University, The Irwin Discharge in North ment options range from $12 million PA Department of Conservation and not only is Larimer Trail Road signifi- Huntingdon Township is the largest to $53 million. Natural Resources, PA Game Com- cantly easier and safer for motorists to abandoned mine drainage discharge mission, Penn State Extension, and PA travel, but it also will be less costly for in Westmoreland County in terms of A five-year project to reclaim Bureau of Forestry. Thirty-eight people the township to maintain from this flow – 9 million gallons per day – and some 59 acres of property in Wyano attended. point forward. pollutants – 5,388 pounds of iron per that had been both deep- and strip- An added bonus of the road- day – all of which goes into Tinkers mined was completed this year. improvement partnership project is Run, which flows into Brush Creek, The property, which essentially was In March, our forester and Mike the significant decrease – a reduction then Turtle Creek, and then the a large coal-refuse pile, was systemati- DiRinaldo, state Bureau of Forestry of more than 40 tons of sediment a Monongahela River. cally returned to a “green” condition service forester for Allegheny and year – in pollutants that enter Beaver During the year, a Growing-Greener- by being covered over with soil from a Westmoreland counties, led a Run and then further impact the funded $279,000 study was completed nearby hillside and planted with grass. “Winter Woods Walk & Tree Identi- Allegheny River and other waterways to determine how much land and An existing sediment basin on the fication” program for the Westmoreland downstream. money it would take to treat this water property was retrofitted to capture Woodlands Improvement Association. When the state transportation bill and improve its quality. sediment while the restoration work Some 30 people participated and became law in late November, a Because the area around the dis- was going on and to protect nearby spent a pleasant late winter afternoon significant increase in funds for charge is highly developed with indus- Hunter’s Run, a tributary of Sewickley in Ann Rudd Saxman Nature Park. Improvements to Larimer Trail Road in Washington Township will not only make travelling Pennsylvania’s Dirt and Gravel Road trial buildings and infrastructure, the Creek. easier for motorists but, by reducing erosion, will keep more than 40 tons of sediment out Maintenance Program was set in first step will be to move the discharge The landowner also created a tree- of waterways in the Kiskiminetis Watershed each year. motion, along with a broadening of either by drilling a borehole and covered mound to visually shield the 21 22 23 property, where he stores his busi- era barn headquarters was officially from the District. programs, which also bring cost-re- nesses’ equipment, from the town. named The J. Roy Houston Conservation GreenForge, a 1980s-era building covery funds (see chart on page 26). Center. located just steps away from the The commissioners continued their In March of 2013, we worked with Roy was the guiding force of the Houston Conservation Center, was history of strong support for conser- Jacobs Creek Watershed Association District for 40 years; a level of service retrofitted in the past decade with a vation and approved this request, to stabilize more than 2,000 feet of unparalleled in the organization’s 64- variety of green and sustainable allowing us to keep up with the in- eroded stream banks along Shupe year history. materials and practices. creasing demand for District services. Run as it flows through Willows Roy was an employee of Peoples In addition to innovating such Park in Mount Pleasant. Natural Gas Company in 1968 when things as the first green roof in The strong show of support for In all, the project stabilized six the company encouraged its workers Westmoreland County, the building our work that the Westmoreland reaches of Shupe Run and added to volunteer with area organizations. provides working office space for a County Commissioners’ allocation 2,000 feet of riparian buffers. Some He became a member of the District’s number of grassroots conservation provides also was a key factor in our 275 trees also were planted along the board that year, and was elected chair- organizations. ability to obtain funding from other banks. man of the board in 1970. He held sources – state government, federal This project will prevent an esti- that volunteer post until November Our board presented a budget to government, foundations, businesses, mated 33,000 pounds of sediment 2010 when he passed away at age 82. the Westmoreland County Commis- and individuals – for conservation from eroding into Shupe Run each sioners that, for the sixth consecutive projects. year. Peoples Natural Gas generously year, reflected no increase in the By leveraging Westmoreland funded a number of interior im- amount requested. County’s previous allocations, we had For the third consecutive year, we provements to the Houston Conser- We were able to continue to hold in-hand about $1,000,000 in additional hosted a workshop to help people vation Center, including enclosing the line on the amount requested state and federal governmental fund- repair the heavy toll that rain, snow, a former deck and incorporating it because of the success of our ongo- ing in 2013, and we used it to put runoff, and flooding can take on into our existing main meeting space, ing efforts to diversify our sources of The new exterior sign for the J. Roy Houston Conservation Center symbolizes our many of the conservation projects unpaved driveways, farm lanes, and greatly improving our functionality funding (which include user fees for organization’s heritage and current programs by combining once-working elements from highlighted in this annual report on other private access roads. agricultrue (left and right moldboard plows, and two large farm wagon wheels) and and allowing us to accommodate bigger service and community sponsorships), the ground. Sixteen people, including a borough foresty (a saw blade from a lumberyard in Champion). events and education workshops. by improving our cost-recovery of official from a nearby county, joined Funding from Peoples Gas also expenses related to the administration We also were able to use the Com- us for the March event, which offered allowed us to improve the lighting, of grants, and by assuming additional missioners’ more recent allocation solutions that have the added bonus of ORGANIZATIONAL storage area, both of which signifi- add a projector, speakers, and micro- responsibility for state regulatory cantly reduce erosion of the pastures to apply for new grants and contracts reducing maintenance and preventing DEVELOPMENT phones; and create a serving area with recurring problems. (sediment) and the amount of animal cabinets and appliances. Our watershed specialist taught the contaminants (nutrients) that wash We held a reception at our barn class and offered to visit participants’ into the stream on the property, which Funding from Peoples Natural Gas headquarters in September to recog- locations to assess their specific condi- is a tributary of Stony Run. also was used outside to update our nize the year’s outstanding conserva- tions and to create a diagram showing The Jacobs Creek Watershed signage, including the addition of a tionists and to dedicate the building the flow of water and the recom- Association was recognized for its new exterior monument sign that is in honor of our long-time chairman mended placement of conservation decades of important conservation a one-of-a-kind sculpture, made from J. Roy Houston. solutions. Seven participants signed work, including helping to realize historical items used in agriculture Helen Clevenger, and Rick and up for the follow-up visits this year. one of the most significant conserva- and forestry. Mary Duncan were honored as Farmer tion improvements in Westmoreland The new sign includes a unique set of the Year and the Jacobs Creek County, the Jacobs Creek Watershed The 2013 Envirothon was held at of left and right moldboard plows, two Watershed Association received the Protection and Flood Prevention Twin Lakes Park and 17 student teams large farm wagon wheels, and a saw J. Roy Houston Conservation Part- Project. This project, which includes from nine area high schools participated. blade from a local lumberyard. nership Award sponsored by Peoples Acme Dam, Bridgeport Dam, Greenlick Yough Senior High School took Natural Gas. Dam, and the Scottdale Channel, has first place in the competition, which Clevenger and the Duncans have been protecting area residents and In October, we entered into a tested students’ knowledge of the installed many conservation measures businesses from flooding and provid- formal agreement with the Westmore- natural world and the year’s special on their 180-acre Derry Township ing recreation opportunities since the land County Industrial Development topic, “Grazing livestock for improved Corporation in which that organiza- beef farm, including a large, roofed early 1970s. It is one of only a few (l-r) Members of J. Roy Houston’s family — his sister Lou Houston, and his daughters herd health and land management.” tion will take over management of heavy-use area, which provides a such efforts in the United States to Tracy Halleck and Kathy Heider — join Peoples Natural Gas Manager of Communications place for the herd to stay in inclement address an entire watershed. GreenForge, further enhancing that and Community Affairs, Barry Kukovich, in September for the official naming of our build- weather, and a dry-stack manure- Also at the reception, our 1880s- building’s operating independence ing after our long-time chairman. 24 25 operational reserve for the past few Associates, P.C. of Greensburg was going to print. When the audit is years to support daily operations and recommended that the District’s complete, we will post it on the District to restructure staffing (see staffing future audits come into compliance website, www.wcdpa.com. item on page 28). with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement 34. In December, we hosted our first- We were involved in some prelimi- The basic rationale behind GASB is ever Partner Breakfast, in which nary meetings to discuss the update that separate accounting and financial we invited some 45 of the organiza- to the Westmoreland County Com- reporting standards are essential for tions and agencies that we work prehensive Plan that will take place governments because they operate with most closely to join us for a few in 2014. differently from business enterprises. hours of networking and discussion Extensive public input was gathered GASB contends, for example, that about projects that we might work on when the first-ever county compre- measures of net income have no together. hensive plan was developed some 10 meaning to users of governmental The event was very well-received years ago, and citizens overwhelmingly financial reports, who instead need and we are planning to host two more expressed their desire to maintain the information to assess the stewardship pleasing rural character of the region of public resources. and to conserve key natural resources. Although conservation districts In response, we developed a list of are quasi-governmental agencies 2013 Private Donors specific action steps and have been and, in Pennsylvania are not required working on them steadily. These to implement GASB 34 as long as it Amcom is addressed within their audit, the include: promoting good forest stew- Scott Churbock ardship by offering workshops with Westmoreland Conservation District Community Foundation Westmoreland County Commissioners (l-r) Ted Kopas, Charles Anderson, and Tyler Courtney in front of the main entrance to the county the Westmoreland Woodlands Im- board voted in December to convert of Westmoreland County courthouse. The Commissioners have been staunch supporters of the District, consistently providing the foundational funding that allows provement Association and building a its financial statements to conform to us to serve the needs of our residents as well as to attract significant, additional sources of revenue to raise conservation efforts to the next level. this standard, beginning with the 2013 Conrad Donovan database of woodlot owners; promot- year. This decision set in motion a ing innovative stormwater manage- Charles Duritsa in 2013 and we successfully secured from the Act 13 Commonwealth in additional, private funding from ment, especially in older communities number of significant changes, includ- GAI Consultants an additional $940,000 in govern- Finance Authority – for the McGee foundations, businesses, and indi- such as the City of Greensburg and ing the introduction of a management ment funding that will be used Run Watershed project (see page 22). viduals for conservation in 2013, Mount Pleasant Borough; and help- discussion and analysis, government- Jennifer Halperin beginning next year to put even more including two donations from Peoples wide financial statements, and major With these robust resources, 2014 ing to form a new organization, the Hampton Office Plus conservation improvements in place is shaping up to be a record year for Natural Gas (see box on page 27). Westmoreland Land Trust, which in fund reporting. Maryann Hibbs throughout the county. conservation enhancements in our just five years has preserved some 200 The numerous changes required In 2013, we were able to success- county. The District’s allocation of acres of open space in our county. by the conversion to GASB slowed Karen Jurkovic fully secure: the District’s 2013 audit process and Marcellus-shale-gas funds (distrib- Joseph Kalinowski is the reason why this audit was not • two grants – one for $80,000 and The county’s allocation also uted through the state) were used to In the course of preparing the completed before this annual report Kensko Construction one for $128,000 from the State helped us procure almost $30,000 replenish the funds drawn from our District’s 2012 audit, Delisi, Keenan & of Pennsylvania’s Growing Greener Keytex program – to install best management Nancy Page practices on dirt and gravel roads 2013 Westmoreland Conservation District Funding by Source 2013 Technical Assistance by District Program in the Beaver Run Watershed and Peoples Natural Gas to retrofit stormwater basins in Erosion Control - 944 Jim Stossel Lower Burrell, Penn Township, Stormwater Management - 846 Westmoreland County - 58% Joseph Tarara and Murrysville; Watershed Restoration - 122 • two contracts – one for $231,000 Commonwealth of PA - 17% Charlotte Tharp Stream Encroachment - 102 and one for $180,000 – from Grants - 14% Water Quality - 77 John Turack PennDOT for work in Sewickley Fees - 8% Forestry - 59 Creek and Jacobs Creek watersheds, Workshops - 2% Corabelle Walter Nutrient Management - 48 and Sponsorships - 1% John Ward • two grants – one for $20,000 from Dirt & Gravel Roads - 21 the Foundation for Pennsylvania Miscellaneous - 7 Watersheds and one for $300,000

26 27 such events during 2014.

un sparkles off the Loyalhanna Creek New additions to our associate S board in 2013 included Emil Bove, as it flows just east of Latrobe. president of Bove Engineering Com- The water in this area of the stream is clear pany; Christopher Bova, deputy direc- tor of the Westmoreland County and cold, the perfect habitat for trout and Department of Planning; and area other desirable sport fish that need these farmer Robert Pore. quality water conditions.

Staff additions and realignments Water quality throughout the Loyalhanna during the year included Jen Novak Watershed benefits from the many acres of joining us as part-time conservation forest that surround its streams and act like education coordinator, Christie Sebek filters to remove pollutants. moving to full-time secretary for technical programs, Sandy Donovan Photo by Stephen Simpson joining us as full-time receptionist/ secretary, and Dana Rizzo shifting to full-time water-quality educator with our partner organization, Penn State Cooperative Extension Westmoreland County. Dana will continue to work together with our staff and provide information on pond management, on-lot septic systems, and safe drink- ing water to county residents. Our adjustments in staffing will help meet the growing demand for conservation services and ensure long-term, quality organizational leadership by, among other things, creating a clear path for staff succession.

In reviewing our policies in 2013, the Board of Directors voted to pay the costs of professional registration and certification for our staff, such as our hydraulic engineer’s professional engineer license renewal. After reviewing health care expenses, our board also determined that it would save the District money to offer a reimbursement to staff mem- bers who transfer their coverage to their spouses’ plan. This benefit will become effective in 2014. istrict

J. Roy Houston Conservation Center BOARD OF DIRECTORS STAFF ADVISORY COMMITTEES CONSERVATION EDUCATION STORMWATER Gregory M. Phillips These committees are made up of community 218 Donohoe Road Ron Rohall Wayne Baughman Andrew Blenko District Manager/CEO volunteers, District board members, associate Chairman Tim Fyock Chris Bova Greensburg, PA 15601 board members, and staff members. We very Anthony P. Quadro, Jr. William Doney much appreciate all the volunteers who provide Jen Novak Emil Bove Phone: 724-837-5271 Vice Chairman Assistant District Manager/Technical Pro- their professional expertise and give their grams Director/Forester Ann Powell Lucien Bove Admin. FAX: 724-552-0143 Conrad Donovan time to help develop and sustain the District’s programs. Dana Rizzo Kevin Brett Tech. FAX: 724-834-4127 Treasurer Karen Barnhart Fiscal Administrator Theresa Rohall John Campfield email: [email protected] Kim Edward Miller AGRICULTURE Secretary Sandra Dzendzel Carol Wright Robert Cronauer website: www.wcdpa.com Wayne Baughman Director of Administration Joseph Dietrick Joseph Dietrick, PE William Clouser Mark Jackson DIRT AND GRAVEL ROADS Christopher Droste Charles Duritsa William Doney Visual Communications Specialist Robert Cronauer Kathleen Fritz County Commissioner Ted Kopas Rita Coleman Sandra Donovan Matthew Kauffman Larry Gasparato Paul R. Sarver Receptionist/Secretary Daniel Griffith Ron Rohall Kathryn Hamilton Fred Slezak Dustin Heeter Technical Staff Thomas Sierzega Donald Hixson Albert Barnett, Director Emeritus Jim Kennedy James W. Pillsbury, PE Charles Kubasik Hydraulic Engineer John Lohr EROSION CONTROL COMPLIANCE Associate Directors Brian Lawrence Kathryn Hamilton, RLA Kim Edward Miller Matthew Kauffman Christopher Bova Dallas Leonard Stormwater Technician/Landscape Architect Gregory Phillips Robert Cronauer Emil Bove, PLS Suzy Meyer Matt Zambelli Robert Pore Charles Duritsa Bruce J. Corna, Jr. Stormwater Technician/Landscape Designer Kim Edward Miller Betty Reefer Kim Edward Miller Alexander J. Graziani Robert D. Cronauer Les Mlakar Paul Sarver Anthony Quadro Karen Jurkovic Watershed Specialist Ken Murin Gary Sheppard Joseph Kalinowski Chelsea Walker Ken Orie Thomas Sierzega FORESTRY Watershed Technician Stephen Pilipovich Ellen Keefe Fred Slezak Robert Ackerman Christopher Droste James Pillsbury Larry Larese Senior Erosion Control Specialist Edward Callahan Anthony Quadro Barbara D. McMillan COMMUNICATIONS Mike DiRinaldo Jessica Thornton Bob Regola Robert Pore Erosion Control Specialist Tom Fitzgerald Mark Jackson Ron Rohall Theresa Gay Rohall Daniel Griffith Anthony Quadro Karen Jurkovic Darl Rosenquest Nutrient Management Specialist/ Jesse Jon Salensky Ted Kopas Ron Rohall Agricultural Conservation Technician Robert Scheib Dwight Sarver Jen Novak Kathleen Fritz Thomas Sierzega GOVERNMENT RELATIONS John Turack Technical Programs Administrator Gregory Phillips Tamira Spedaliere Keith Walters Christie Sebek John Turack Joseph Dietrick Matt Zambelli Technical Programs Secretary David Uhrinek Charles Duritsa Educational Staff Matt Zambelli Ted Kopas Jen Novak Ron Rohall Conservation Education Coordinator Fred Slezak

30 31 You could advertise here! Contact Sandy Dzendzel at the Westmoreland Conservation District to discuss advertising and promotional opportunities. 724-837-5271 or [email protected]

Special Thanks On the Cover... District technical staff are making increased We greatly appreciate the assistance use of sophisticated digital watershed maps of Ralph DeStefano in the as they plan on-the-ground conservation proj- development of the graphs and ects, including pasture management on farms, charts throughout this report. stormwater management in urban areas, and Ralph has been interning with us improvements to dirt and gravel roads. during summer breaks from Pictured looking at a close-up section of the his environmental studies at the digital Youghiogheny Watershed are District University of Pittsburgh. stormwater staff members Kathy Hamilton and Matt Zambelli.

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