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Twenty-eight thousand miles of unpaved roads provide local service to Pennsylvania's rural residents and the major enterprises of agriculture, tourism, mining/mineral industries, and forest products. Although they are inexpensive to maintain, loss of fine materials from the roads and their drainage areas creates dust and sediment.
Dust is both a nuisance and a pollutant. Sediment is one of the greatest sources of pollution to waters of the Commonwealth. Excessive amounts of sediment can adversely affect aquatic life in many ways. Sediment can smother species of plants, insects and fish eggs, and destroy the habitat they require.
Section 9106 of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code -- Dirt and Gravel Road Maintenance was signed into law on April 17, 1997. The program came into being in response to concerns voiced by members of Pennsylvania Trout (a council of "Trout Unlimited") over problems cause by sediment pollution from unpaved roads in the state's premier trout streams. Subsequent follow-up efforts included creation of a Task Force on Dirt & Gravel Roads that was a cooperative working group consisting of state department personnel, sportsmen, environmental resource agency officials, local government representatives, private companies, Penn State researchers, legislative staff, and citizen environmental group members. Both Pennsylvania Trout and the Task Force recommended a locally based, locally controlled, cooperative approach to eliminate non-point source pollution occurring along these rural roadways.
A Quality Assurance Board (QAB) has been created in Potter County by the Conservation District to establish and administer the grant program. The QAB is responsible to encourage local cooperation with environmental quality goals, to provide adequate opportunity for public input, and to ensure participation amongst a wide spectrum of environmental expertise at all levels of government.
The four-member QAB is comprised of:
Monies are provided to the municipality to fund safe, efficient and environmentally sound maintenance of sections of dirt and gravel roads that have been identified as source of dust and sediment pollution. The conservation district also coordinates training for road crews on techniques of dirt and gravel road maintenance that minimized negative environmental impacts. Funding for this program is provided through Pennsylvania’s Liquid Fuels Tax.
Contact: For more information on Dirt and Gravel Road Program in Potter County, Potter County Conservation District, 814-274-8411 ext 4. For additional information on the Pennsylvania Dirt and Gravel Roads Program visit the PA-Center for Dirt and Gravel Roads