A26-Lancasler Farming, Saturday, May 4, 1991
Debate Mired: Preserve Wetlands Or Rights Of Property Owners?
The first part of this article on
wetlands appeared in last week’s
issue.
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Fanning Staff
QUARRYVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) Grant Troop echoes the
sentiments of many farmers when
he said, “It seems like a real lack of
coordination and cooperation
among DER, the Corps, and
farmers.”
The frustration of paperwork,
phone calls not returned, and con
flicting advice given among the
agencies that issue permits to those
who want to make changes to their
property, has caused landowners
to petition the goverment to make
changes in the regulatory program.
The two main regulatory agen
cies are the Department of Envir
onmental Resources and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. The
Corps got involved in regulating
farmland gradually. At first, the
federal government authorized the
Corps to regulate only public
waterways. The prime focus was
to protect navigation and the
navigable capacity of the nation’s
waters. In 1968, permit applica
tions received a “Public Interest
Review” to include a consideration
of fish and wildlife values, conser
vation, pollution, and ecology
factors.
In 1972, the Federal Water Pol
lution Control Act also known as
the Clean Water Act gave the fed
eral government control over
inland wetlands. It established a
permit program to be administered
by the Corps. The Corps would
regulate the dredge and fill activi-
POURED SOLID CONCRETE SYSTEMS
Far Left: 1-Million Gallon Circular
Manure Storage Tank
Far Right: 2 Silage Pits
In-Barn Manure Receiving Pit
300’ Long Manure Pit For Hog
Confinement
Ail sizes
available
round
or
rectangular
ties in the waters of the U.S. Initial
ly, the Corps interpreted its jurisd
iction to include only navigable
waters, but in 1975, environmental
groups challenged this position. A
resulting court decision redefined
navigable waters to include wet
lands. Regulations to administer a
wetlands permit program were
published in 1977.
According to Roger Fickes, who
is chief of the division of rivers and
wedands conservation of the DER,
the agency received jurisdiction of
wetlands through the Dam
Encroachment Act of 1978.
To get an application to conduct
activity in wetlands, a joint permit
application must be completed in
triplicate. Applications should be
submitted to DER who sends
copies to Corps, the Fish Commis
sion, and retains one for their own
use.
The Corps jurisdiction only cov
ers dredge and fill activities, while
DER covers any activity in a wet
lands area. The Corps, EPA, DER,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, PA
Game Commission, PA Fish Com
mission and eight DER bureaus
may review a permit application.
The average time it takes to
“Sometimes I scratch my head. I went
through all the details and tried to do
everything the way it was supposed to be
done , and then I look around the area and
see a backhoe tearing things apart without
permits or consideration to anything and
nothing every comes of it. Is it really neces
sary to go through all the paperwork for a
few acres?”
17 Years Exi
Take the questions out of your new construction.
Call Baimer Bros, for quality engineered walls.
receive a permit is nine months to
two years.
Grant Troop crop farms three
small farms of about 100 acres in
erience In Pourin
Construction Of Partially In-Ground
Liquid Manure Tank - 400,000 Gallons
425,000 Gallons
Invest in Quality -
CONCRETE WORK, INC.
Grant Troop of Quarryvllie stands in front of wetlands that he was allowed to partial
ly convert to farm land. Trupe said that attaining permits is a slow, frustrating process.
He advises farmers to start on the paperwork for wetlands long before they intend to
begin the work on It.
It will last a lifetime.
the Nickel Mines area of Lancaster
County. He majored in agronomy
major at Penn State and had work
ed with the Lancaster County Con
servation District and as a part
time farmer for two years before
becoming a fulltime farmer and a
substitute ag and science teacher
for the county.
On the one farm, he had a few
acres of land that had previously
been drained and converted to crop
land. Over the years, the drainage
tile shifted and was crushed and
failing.
Troop said, “In dry weather, the
com crop did great, *mt otherwise
the area was often too wet to get
much of crop.”
Concrete Manure Pits!
He had to plan tillage, spraying,
and harvesting around the mois
ture level in field, which often
meant doing things late in the
season.
In the fall of 1989, Troop
decided to refurbish the tile sys
tem. The Soil Conservation Ser
vice had completed plans that did
not designate and wetlands on his
property other than a pond.
When Troop checked into the
necessary steps to refurnish the
tile, he was astonished. He said,
“At that time, I learned startling
details of when you can or cannot
drain, the process of contacting
(Turn to Page A 27)
CONCRETE PUMPING
SERVICE AVAILABLE
* 1
’ME? T
243 Miller Road
Akron, PA 17501
(717) 733-0353
6:30 AM - 3:30 PM
(717) 859-2074
After 6:00 PM