The Pennsylvania Most Effective Basins Program will fund projects that accelerate implementation of cost-effective agricultural best management practices (“practices”) in selected basins of the Chesapeake Bay watershed of Pennsylvania.
EPA and NFWF have identified a list eligible practices for the PA-MEB program, based on the demonstrated ability of these practices to yield relatively low-cost reductions in agricultural nitrogen loading. Notably, these eligible practices include both annual (i.e., “management”) practices that require ongoing implementation to yield creditable load reduction benefits in future years, as well as structural (i.e., “engineered”) practices that, once implemented, generate multiple years of creditable load reductions based on their continued performance on the landscape. Eligible practices include:
Tillage Management
Tree Planting
Wetland Restoration
Prescribed Grazing
Animal Waste Management Systems
Manure Incorporation
Manure Injection
Manure Transport
Barnyard Runoff Control
Loafing Lot Management
Alternative Crops
Retirement of Highly Erodible Land
Cover Crops – Traditional
Cover Crops – Commodity
Forest and Grass Buffers
Forest and Grass Buffers with Stream Exclusion Fencing
Core Nutrient Management – Nitrogen
Supplemental Nutrient Management – N Rate
Supplemental Nutrient Management – N Placement
Supplemental Nutrient Management – N Timing
Soil and Water Conservation Plan
The Most Effective Basins Program will follow these priorities:
Cost-Effectiveness for Agricultural Nitrogen Load Reductions
Readiness to Proceed
Conservation and Farm Management Co-Benefits