Pennsylvania Launches Community Clean Water Toolbox to Expand Local Engagement in Reducing Pollution

 About 200 leaders from municipal governments, county conservation districts, agriculture, environmental groups, water companies, and other entities participated Tuesday in a meeting hosted by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), to expand local engagement in Phase 3 of the state plan for improving water quality in Pennsylvania’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The toolbox presents a draft set of local data, resource, engagement, planning and tracking tools available to counties for developing and implementing action plans to reduce nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment from streams and rivers.It quantifies the amount of pollutants reduced so far, current pollutant levels and further reductions needed for each county.“Rather than a regulatory requirement, the aim is to have counties use these numbers to define their pollutant reduction goals and identify existing and proposed local initiatives that can help meet them,” said McDonnell. The goals are measurable and trackable to ensure progress.