ANNUAL REPORT Indiana County Stormwater Education Partnership Formed. In This Issue. To promote sustainable agriculture and commu-

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1 ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Annual Report 2015 Indiana County Conservation District Indiana County Stormwater Education Partnership Formed To promote sustainable agriculture and commu- Stormwater management has been a priority for Indiana County officials since the adoption of the Indiana County Comprehensive Plan in 2012 and has recently gained more momentum with the formation of a Watershed Planning Advisory Committee to initiate Phase I of Act 167 stormwater planning in the County. nities This momentum led to a grassroots stormwater education partnership being formed from a group of dedicated volunteers from the Indiana County League of Women Voters, Evergreen Conservancy, and Indiana Community Garden, working with Indiana County Conservation District, Indiana County Office of Planning & Development, White Township, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania to pursue a Water Resources Education Network (WREN) grant to formalize their efforts. County. Through WREN grant and matching funding, the Stormwater Education Partnership was able to host a very successful workshop with nearly 150 participants, including municipal officials, engineers, landscape professionals, highway and public works officials, water resource professionals, farm owners, watershed and conservation organizations, etc. Also, as part of the project, an interpretive rain garden sign was developed for White Township. while protecting and wisely using the natural resources of Indiana - Our Mission Indiana County hosted its first ever Stormwater Education Workshop on March 13, 2015, through a WREN grant. In This Issue Indiana County Storm- water Partnership Formed Improving County Roads Robinson Wins Employee Excellence Award Record Numbers Partici- pate in Envirothon ICCD Hires Agriculture Specialist Delegated Programs OSM/VISTA Success Indiana County Stormwater Education Partnership members at the White Township Rain Garden dedication and sign unveiling, June 3, 2015.

2 Canoe Township s contractor, Force Inc., placing Driving Surface Aggregate on DunmIre Road. Improving County Roads With over $540,000 from the Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road (DGLVR) Maintenance Program, the District worked with 21 municipalities on 41 road projects. These projects help achieve our goals to reduce non-point source pollution while also building a better public road system. Our District is proud to have a high level of local participation in the program and will continue to seek projects with maximum environmental benefits for future years. The District proudly hosted its first annual road workshop for municipal officials. This one-day refresher training highlighted changes to the program, showcased local projects, and featured guest speaker Eric Nevel (Penn State) who presented new road maintenance technologies. Education and outreach is an important component of our mission and we strive to involve our local road owners in our efforts. Project Highlight Ernest Borough, Mine Hill Road As the program expanded to include Low Volume roads, or roads with less than 500 vehicles per day, Ernest Borough went to training and applied for grant funding. With a $20,000 Low Volume Road grant, the Borough successfully made drainage improvements on Mine Hill Road. Borough Manager Jerry Lingenfelter worked closely with District staff and a contractor to achieve the goals of cleaner streams and better roads. Runoff from Route 110 traveled a long distance down Mine Hill Road before finding an outlet causing ditch erosion (left). The Borough installed a stormwater system (middle) to capture the water and safely outlet it at the bottom of the hill. The finished product will protect the roadway and prevent sediment from reaching McKee Run (right).

3 Stumpf Honored for Service as PACD s Envirothon Representative The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts recognized ICCD s board Chairman Richard Stumpf for his years of service as PACD s Envirothon representative. Stumpf stepped down from the Envirothon board in 2015 after 17 years of service, but continues to volunteer in the public education system serving on the United High School Agriculture Advisory Board. Rick is an active volunteer with Aging Services delivering meals and checking in on elderly residents twice a week. He also keeps busy doing consultant work for the Department of Education for vocational education and in his role as ICCD s Chairman. Robinson receives the Employee Excellence Award from PACD President Glenn Seidel. Robinson Wins Employee Excellence Award The Conservation District Employee Excellence Award is given to a conservation district employee for his or her outstanding efforts that have furthered the activities and accomplishments of Conservation Districts on a statewide basis. In 2015, ICCD s Office Administrator & Envirothon Coordinator Tammie Robinson was honored with the award. She has been with the district for 31 years. A regular volunteer for the Pennsylvania Envirothon for many years, Tammie spearheaded the creation of the Indiana County Senior Envirothon, visiting local school districts to recruit teams and increase teacher awareness, soliciting local sponsorships, and coordinating the annual event from start to finish. Stumpf and Robinson display their PACD awards. Tammie was also instrumental in developing the Indiana County Junior Envirothon, and is responsible for administering the Indiana County Environmental Education Fund, which provides scholarships for the winning Senior Envirothon team, and has awarded $18,000 for students to use toward post-secondary education.

4 The winning team from the 2015 Indiana County Envirothon was the United High School Hellbenders. Record Numbers Participate in Envirothon A record number of students participated in the 29th annual Envirothon held at Blue Spruce Park. The Indiana County Conservation District hosted nearly 100 students from Indiana, Marion Center, Penns Manor, Saltsburg and United High Schools for the competition. Students begin preparing months in advance by studying immense amounts of materials for the competitive event. Five member teams participated in a series of field-oriented tests that focus on aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife, and a current environmental issue. The 2015 current issue focused on Urban and Community Forestry. The teams experience a variety of testing formats including some type of identification, such as wildlife skulls, tracks or scat, bird calls, frog calls, furs, fish, macroinvertebrates, trees, plants, insects, soil textures and soil horizons, as well as written questions. The stations are staffed by personnel from various cooperating agencies. Not only do these experts provide assistance with preparing and administering tests, they also provide an opportunity for students to become familiar with and interact with different organizations and agencies working to conserve and protect our natural resources right here in Indiana County. Agencies that assisted the Conservation District with the Envirothon include Indiana County Parks and Trails, PA Department of Environmental Protection, PA Fish and Boat Commission, PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and PA Game Commission. Each of the five members of the winning team were awarded a $500 education grant to be used toward post-secondary education. $18,000 in Envirothon education grants has been earned by Indiana County students since the grant program began in The education grants are funded by donations from local businesses, conservation organizations and private citizens. This year s contributors are Don Bowers, Crooked Creek Watershed Association, Elderton State Bank, HDR Engineering Inc., Indiana Insurance, Indiana Moose Lodge #174, MaryJane Javornik, J.H. Hickman Surveying, Keller Engineers, Stiffler McGraw, Joe Yackuboskey, and the Indiana County Conservation District. Students identifying specimens at Aquatics station. Financial sponsorship and donations for the event were provided by Homer City Generating Station, Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Turner Dairy.

5 Manure Management Efforts Continue The revised DEP Manure Management Manual, released in October 2011, requires every farm in PA that produces or applies manure to develop and implement a written Manure Management Plan (MMP). ICCD continues to host regular workshops to educate and assist farmers in writing a MMP for their farms. Through 2015, ICCD has hosted nine workshops and assisted 60 farmers. ICCD s Agriculture Conservation Specialist, Leya Ramer ICCD Hires Agriculture Specialist Indiana County Conservation District is pleased to announce the addition of their newest employee, Leya Ramer. There are many lessons learned growing up on a farm that cannot be learned in any other way and this is certainly true in Leya s case. She grew up on a 400 acre beef cattle farm in the heart of Armstrong County. Her experiences growing up on the family farm lead her to pursue her passion for agriculture and animal production. She graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2014 where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and a minor in Equine Science. She is a member of the American Society of Animal Science, as well as the Penn State Alumni Association. As a student at Penn State she attended a multitude of agricultural classes including animal nutrition, welfare, and husbandry, as well as courses in soil science and crop management. Through this education her interest in agricultural education, conservation, and sustainability were sparked. I believe in conservation, with education as the key to its success; we must help the earth care for itself. With the knowledge and resources available to us, there is no reason not to care for the land and soil in a way that will leave it useable for centuries to come. I want to be there to assist farmers and landowners in making this a reality. I am excited to get my hands dirty and help the agricultural community to the best of my ability. Leya currently resides on her family's beef cattle farm. She enjoys spending time on the farm with her family, horses, and dogs. She spends her spare time outdoors snowboarding, riding dirt bikes, hiking, camping, kayaking, fly fishing, and shooting archery. Leya is passionate about educating the public on agricultural sustainability and conservation, and is excited to begin her career here at the Indiana County Conservation District.

6 Delegated Programs Summary PennDOT District 10-0 kept ICCD busy with NPDES permit reviews in 2015 as they prepared for many bridge replacement and road realignment projects in the county. Although oil and gas drilling activity has declined, transmission pipeline work is expanding. Stream Permits: 34 Individual NPDES Permit Issued: 1 General NPDES Permits Issued: 16 Plan Reviews: 53 ESCGP Permit Issued: 1 Disturbed Acres: 405 Technical Assistance: 114 OSM/VISTA Success Continues ICCD continues to partner with the Evergreen Conservancy and Crooked Creek Watershed Association to host an AmeriCorps OSM/VISTA volunteer to assist with capacity building, volunteer recruitment, grant writing, environmental education, and similar efforts. The OSM/VISTA also assists ICCD with outreach and monitoring efforts in the South Branch Plum Creek, where the District has grant funding to implement a Section 319 Watershed Implementation Plan. Former ICCD OSM/VISTA s include current District Manager, Adam Cotchen, and Watershed Specialist, Brooke Esarey. In November 2015, Indiana County native Cassandra Allen completed her year of VISTA service and another local candidate was selected as her replacement. For the upcoming year, ICCD and its partners are excited to have not only another Indiana County native, but also a resident of the South Branch Plum Creek as their new OSM/ VISTA volunteer. New OSM/VISTA Sara Beatty will have the unique opportunity to assist in the District s stream improvement efforts in her home watershed. Staff Adam Cotchen District Manager Tammie Robinson Office Administrator / Envirothon Coordinator Andrea Frustaci Resource Conservation Technician Brooke Esarey Watershed Specialist / DGLVR Program Administrator Leya Ramer Agriculture Conservation Specialist Directors Richard Stumpf Chairman J. Scott Overdorff Vice Chairman Edward Kuckuck Treasurer Rodney Ruddock Commissioner Member Donald Bothell Beth Marshall David Orr Associate Directors David Babyak LeeRoy Vatter John Somonick David Frick Contact Us 625 Kolter Drive, Suite 8 Indiana, PA Phone: Fax: info@iccdpa.org iccdpa OSM/VISTA Cassandra Allen receiving the Outstanding Conservation Educator Award from Armstrong Conservation District Associate Director, Pam Meade.