2. State Conservation Commission Role

The Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission (SCC) is a 14-member commission that has a primary mission to ensure the wise use of Pennsylvania’s natural resources and to protect and restore the natural environment through the conservation of its soil, water, and related resources. The SCC provides support and oversight to the state’s 66 conservation districts for the implementation of conservation programs in an efficient and responsible manner.

The SCC administers several state conservation programs including the Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program, the Nutrient Management and Odor Management Program, Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP Tax Credit) Program, Conservation Excellence Grant (CEG), Agri-Link, Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP), and the Leadership Development Program. Staff also provide oversight and professional certification for nutrient management specialists, odor management specialists and manure haulers and brokers.

The SCC is a departmental administrative commission under the concurrent authority of the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the PA Department of Agriculture (PDA). The SCC is administratively housed with PDA. The SCC accomplishes its mission by working cooperatively with local, state, and federal government agencies, numerous industry and professional associations and nonprofit organizations.

The SCC approves all policies affecting the districts regarding the Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program. The state-level staff consists of a program director and support staff that provides oversight to the program.

The SCC, through the program director, is responsible for the administration of the program. Districts and CDGRS staff are encouraged to contact the program director for answers to administrative questions on topics such as program policy interpretation, funding advances, replenishment requests, questions on state policies, questions on two-year spending requirements, questions about setting local policies, administrative issues regarding local projects, ombudsman issues – conflict resolution, and other general administrative issues.

The SCC works closely with local districts to implement the Program through a five-year agreement. The SCC allocates funds to the districts, answers administrative and policy questions, and acts as an ombudsman to resolve any disputes that arise. The SCC will periodically visit each district to perform a quality assurance/quality control (QAQC) evaluation to ensure that the Program is administered properly in each individual county.

In addition to QAQC evaluations, the SCC requires an annual audit of all district funds including Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program Funds. The SCC may require other reporting to ensure that the Program is properly administered.

The SCC also works closely with the Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies (CDGRS) through a multi–year agreement, primarily for education, outreach, and technical assistance to potential grant applicants. The CDGRS role is detailed in Chapter 6 of this manual.

The SCC works with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), mainly through DEP’s conservation district field representatives (field reps). Field reps attend district board meetings and answer programmatic questions on a local level. Field reps also assist with programmatic activities such as the Annual Workshops. The SCC, DEP, conservation districts, and the CDGRS work together on other programmatic issues such as permitting, erosion and sediment controls, etc.

The SCC also partners with other state and local agencies and organizations such as: PA Fish and Boat Commission; Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), PA Game Commission; PA State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS), PA State Association of Boroughs (PSAB), PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Trout Unlimited (TU), and others.

Funding is apportioned by the SCC to conservation districts through a five-year contract that allows the funding transfer without initiating annual contracts or contract amendments. For more information on this arrangement, please contact the DGLVR Program Director at the PA State Conservation Commission.

Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road funding is allocated based on formulas developed by staff with input from advisory work groups and approved by the SCC. Conservation districts will receive one allocation based on these formulas with a minimum amount required to be spent on Low Volume Roads. The Dirt and Gravel Road (DGR) formula considers miles of dirt and gravel roads, length of identified pollution sites (worksites), local cost of limestone, and the miles of dirt and gravel roads in HQ/EV watersheds. The Low Volume Road (LVR) formula currently considers the actual miles of low volume state roads, the potential miles of low volume local roads, the distance of roads to a stream, and whether a road is in an urban or rural environment. The SCC approves district allocations annually. A copy of the formula and an explanation of how the formula works can be found on the Center’s Conservation District Allocations page. The SCC publishes the allocation of funds to the individual counties on the Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies website.

The SCC may advance up to 50 percent of a district’s allocation as advanced working capital. Districts have two years from State budget approval to spend funds (details in section 3.3.4). Details on the apportionment of funds from the SCC to districts are detailed can be found on the Center’s Conservation District Allocations page.

The SCC will periodically review districts’ Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program to ensure that they are in compliance with the enabling legislation, regulations and policies. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the district’s finances, administration/functionality, and project work within the Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program. The SCC will select districts for QAQC visits and notify them accordingly. The QAQC team is typically composed of personnel from the SCC, the Center for Dirt and Gravel Roads Studies, and DEP. The outcome of the QAQC process will be documented in a written report.

QAQC Visit:

Prior to the QAQC visit, the SCC will send out a pre-visit letter detailing the overall QAQC process as well as any pre-visit information the district is required to submit. The QAQC team may interview the QAB members and any district staff. The visit typically consists of one or two days at the conservation district to review project documents and visit field sites. After the conclusion of the interviews and site visits, the QAQC team will prepare a preliminary report that will describe the results of the team’s visit for district staff to review and provide feedback before the report is finalized.

QAQC Follow-up:

The final report of the evaluation may include a written list of recommendations or requirements that need improvement. SCC staff will communicate with districts regarding any required actions needed because of a QAQC visit to ensure they are implemented. For a district to remain compliant with Program guidelines and to remain eligible for future allocations, required actions, if any, must be addressed to the satisfaction of the SCC in a timely fashion.