VOL 36 NO. 24
Brightbill Offers Wetlands Preservation Legislation
A goose in a field does not a wetlands make. However, waterfowl are associated
with wetlands, such as those created in and around Middle Creek Wildlife Refuge In
northern Lancaster County. Legislators are currently working on creating protection
laws for wetlands. Photo by Vernon Achanbach Jr.
Debate Mired: Preserve Wetlands Or Rights Of Property Owners?
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
This is one in a series of arti
cles. Consequent articles will exa
mine how DER and the Army
Corps of Engineers gained jurisd
iction over wetlands and the pro
At the Pennsylvania Poultry Federation’s annual fund
raising banquet, John Hoffman, president of the Federa
tion, greets Pa. Poultry Queen Kristi Mummert, center, and
Lancaster Co. Alternate Poultry Queen Bev Cinder. About
1,660 people attended the $125 a plate banquet at Hershey
Convention Center. Photo by Lou Ann Good.
INDEX
Sec, A Market Reports
& General News.
Sec. B Women's .News,
Public Sales & Mailbox
Four Sections
cess they use to review a permit,
when farmers must apply for per
mits, and a farmer's story on suc
cessfully gaining a permit to make
changes to his wetland.
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
“Existing wetlands regulations
have allowed the state to confis-
Market
Sec. C. ....Business News
& Classified 4-36.
Sec. Classified 1-3.
See Story Index Page A 3.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 27, 1991
cate our ground without any com
pensation,” said Eva Foster.
Foster and her husband were
planning to erect a pole bam and a
poultry house to cbmply with
township setback requirements in
Chester Co.
The Department of Environ
mental Resources told them that
since the pasture might constitute a
wetland, it may be too close to a
wetland to do any building. The
Fosters were told to do delineation
studies to determine if the wetland
would be too close to the building.
Cash Is Grand Showman At Expo
JUDY PATTON
Centre Co. Correspondent
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Penn State livestock
enthusiasts held two big events
last weekend the 20th annual
Stockmen’s Club dinner-dance
and the 74th Little International
Livestock Exposition.
Lori Cash of Centre Hall
walked away with the all-around
grand champion showman honors
at the Expo last Saturday in the
Penn State Ag Arena. The Penn
State Block & Bridle Club spon
sors this annual showing and fit
ting competition with beef, horse,
sheep, and swine classes.
A sophomore in ag business
and the daughter of Penn State
animal science professor Erskine
Cash, Lori was the champion
horse showman with her yearling
quarter horse.
Reserve all-around champion
showman was Henry Zerby of
Beavertown. He won the champ
ion sheep showman trophy with
his dorset ewe.
509 Per Copy
VERNON ACHENBACH, JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) A proposal for wetlands legislation
that has been offered by the chairman of the state Senate Environmental
Resources and Energy Committee deals with issues at least one farm
organization said must be included before it will reasonably consider it.
A public hearing on the 57-page proposal is to be held 10 a.m. May 8 in
Room BE-B of the East Wing-Capitol Building, in Harrisburg.
Wetlands protection has been an issue of contention with many land
owners for many years, especially within the last half of a decade when
federal authorities have been enforcing laws in an effort to slow down the
loss of the habitat.
Among problems that landowners face are varied and unclear defini
tions of wetlands. Also, enforcement jurisdiction has also been a problem
for landowners, since several different agencies, at the state and federal
level, have varying responsibilities according to the differing regulations
they are charged with enforcing.
In an effort to coordinate efforts, stale Sen. David Bnghtbill, R-
Lebanon, has introduced a three-part comprehensive wetlands protection
plan aimed at establishing uses of wetlands.
“Pennsylvania now has no comprehensive wetlands protection law,”
Brightbill said. “The program we have now is not effective in protecting
wetlands and doesn’t give landowners the help they need to preserve wet
lands. We have the worst of both worlds.”
The first part of the proposal seeks to adopt the “no net loss” principle
for wetlands protection; requires the Department of Environmental
Resources (DER) to map wetlands, county by county; classify wetlands
according to value of function; sets deadlines forDEß’s review of permit
applications; creates a seven-member “Wetlands Preservation Trust” to
oversee education programs and purchasing programs: doubles fines and
penalties; and provides about $2 4 million annually for protection.
Foster said that it would cost thou
sands of dollars to have the study
done.
Since the Fosters can’t expand
their farming operation, and the
wetland cannot be used for farm
ing or grazing, they would like to
move. But realtors told them that
the properly is greatly devalued
because of the wetlands. One real
tor said the wetland ground has no
value, which reduces the value of
their non-wetlands ground.
Foster said, “Restrictions on
how we use farmland we own very
Barry Sands, a senior from
Montrose, managed the show with
assistance from Kevin Vander
vort, Harrisonville.
All-around champion Lori Cash with her yearling quarter
i horse, Jons Dancing Water, at the Little Livestock Expo.
(Turn to Pago A 25)
clearly infringes upon our consti
tutionly guaranteed properly
rights, cxpecially considering that
no such restricUons existed when
we bought the ground in the
19705.”
From the property owners point
of view, it matters little whether
his land is condemned or whether
it is restricted by rcgulauon to us
use if the effect in both cases is to
deprive him of all beneficial use.
“Why should the government
buy wetlands to preserve if they
(Turn to Page A2O)
This year’s show was dedicated
to Keith Bryan, an animal science
instructor at Penn Slate. Having
(Turn to Page A4O)
19.00 Per Year