POTTSVILLE — If the ground has been disturbed, they’ve probably had their hands in it.
Earth-moving activities, like the demolition of the Schuylkill Mall in Frackville for the new Northpoint Development industrial buildings and Route 61 improvements near Deer Lake, are examples of properly implemented projects that the Schuylkill Conservation District’s erosion and sediment control program staff has addressed.
Ryan Michlovsky, conservation program coordinator, and Stephanie Lubinsky, conservation program technician, recently outlined their department’s services. They work to “protect soil from accelerated erosion and water resources from sediment pollution,” Lubinsky said.
The county conservation district in Pottsville is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, and this is the latest in a series of Republican Herald articles focusing on how the district serves the community.
It’s about pollution
“Sediment is a pollutant. It fills in streams and can affect fish gills,” Lubinsky said. “It can make the water cloudy so underwater plants can’t use sunlight. Soil can carry other pollutants and the sediment can make the velocity of the water quicker, causing more erosion.”
Accelerated erosion is the result of the natural process of erosion exacerbated by actions of people when conservation measures are not employed. Through this accelerated erosion process, disturbed and unsterilized soil is lost and carried from an area by runoff during rain events. If adequate erosion and sediment controls are not in place to capture and filter the sediment, it may be deposited in streams or wetlands.
Michlovsky also oversees the dirt and gravel and low volume road program. He showed photos of a project completed last month over Codorus Creek in Ryan Township.
“Two 24-inch pipes were clogged and full of sediment, which would cause the stream to overflow and run across Back Road,” he said. A $100,000 grant obtained through Penn State University through a training program for municipal workers enabled a new aluminum arch culvert to be put in place over the creek. National Trout Unlimited worked with Michlovsky on the project and conducted a site visit with him, he said.
Busy with plans, projects
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic slowing construction projects and canceling routine inspections, the Erosion and Sediment Control office has been busy. Staff has still been conducting complaint investigations. The district performs routine inspections to verify that E&S plans are being properly implemented.
Michlovsky said over the past two years, more than 120 E&S plans have been approved and there have been more than 80 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit submissions.
Over the past 19 years, Lubinsky said, she’s seen the types of plans change. Initially, E&S plans involved many residential properties. Today, there are more commercial projects involving water withdrawal for bottling, energy projects like wind turbines, poultry and swine operations and an emphasis on trail development and upstream restoration.
The E&S program is administered by the Schuylkill Conservation District through a “delegation agreement” with the state Department of Environmental Protection. The program draws its authority from the PA Clean Streams Law, Title 25, Chapter 102 of the Pennsylvania Code and the Federal Clean Water Act.
“Although the program is regulatory in nature, the SCD is a level 2 district, which means that voluntary compliance is sought when violations are cited during an inspection. DEP assists the conservation district with compliance issues, if needed,” Lubinsky said.
Other duties
E&S staff also operate the soil station at the annual Envirothon competition at the county fairgrounds in Summit Station.
Looking forward, the E&S department has hired a new technician, Rachel Galloway, and staff is undergoing training for a digital “e-permitting” process the state DEP is rolling out this summer.
For more information, visit www.schuylkillcd.com.
Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007
