|
For Immediate Release Senator Brubaker Praises Local Groups for Focus on Floodplain RestorationRecognizes F&M professors, LandStudies, Inc., for environmental leadership LITITZ – Several Lancaster County groups are currently working on various projects that will ultimately help to restore floodplains, state Senator Mike Brubaker said today. "Our County's water resources are being given prominent consideration as part of local and regional planning efforts," Brubaker said. "Many organizations are focusing on these issues, and in doing so, can help to address floodplain issues as well." Brubaker said floodplain restoration, following years of sediment deposits and other factors that changed the natural functions of many waterways, can restore the connections and functions of a healthy stream system. Both Lancaster County's Water Resources Plan and Green Infrastructure Plan initiatives are working to improve water quality through different, but related, means, Brubaker noted. The Water Resources Plan is concerned primarily with groundwater supplies, specifically focusing on water supply planning and wellhead protection, and provides information to the County, municipalities, authorities and water companies so that resources can be managed on a regional basis. The Green Infrastructure Plan embraces the goals of environmental quality, community health and a sustainable economy through preservation, conservation and stewardship of natural resources, restoration of natural resource systems, and improved community health. In addition, Brubaker has facilitated several meetings of the Lancaster County Task Force on the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy, which brings together local stakeholders to develop innovative, cost-effective and practical strategies to help the County address its role in meeting the requirements of the Strategy. "All of these initiatives are seeking a way to make environmental progress economically feasible," Brubaker said, "and floodplain restoration can ultimately result from and be a benefit to their goals." Considerable research has been done on local floodplains and "legacy sediments," sediments that started accumulating more than three centuries ago behind dams that early settlers built on nearly every stream. Earlier this year, LandStudies, Inc., a Lititz-based company headed by President Mark Gutshall, was awarded a Smart Growth Leadership Award at the Envision Lancaster County educational event sponsored by the Lancaster County Planning Commission. The company's 30-page booklet won in the Infrastructure Category, and tells the story of stream systems in the area, including how they are supposed to work, how historical activities have changed them and how restoring them to their natural configurations provides significant economic and environmental benefits. In April, Brubaker introduced a resolution in the state Senate honoring the accomplishments of Franklin & Marshall College professors Robert Walter and Dorothy Merritts for their extensive research on legacy sediments and the publication of their five-year study in the journal Science. Senate Resolution 283 has been approved by the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is before the full Senate for consideration. Brubaker said he is encouraged by community efforts to realize the benefits of restorative activities. "I am very pleased to see Lancaster County coming together to address water
quality and floodplain restoration issues," Brubaker said. "Thanks to the
talents of people like Mark Gutshall and Professors Walter and Merritts, we are
able to learn more about how our waterways have changed over time and how we can
develop the most effective means of preserving our local water resources." Contact: Kristin Crawford, Executive Director
| ||
|
Privacy Policy |
|||
