Ad Crable reports for Lancaster Online:
For months now, farmers in Lancaster County and Pennsylvania have been warned about how much more they have to do to reduce runoff of manure and soil.
On Tuesday, state and federal officials produced the carrot to match the big stick.
Pennsylvania, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced they will spend $28 million on aid directly to farmers as well as technical assistance specifically in south-central Pennsylvania.
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This new federal and state funding will allow more farmers in the Commonwealth to plant streamside buffers, reduce runoff from barnyards, get the required management plans, and other measures critical to the health of Pennsylvania waters and the Chesapeake Bay.
The money will help Lancaster farmers avoid potential penalties from state and federal agencies for not having some required pollution-reduction plans — farming is blamed for widespread death of aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay, the country’s largest estuary.
