Significant investments through the Clean Water Procurement Program improve water quality in Pennsylvania and help Pennsylvania to meet its obligations under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load.
Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania’s Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget, Act 54 of 2024, allocated $6 million of non-lapsing funds to the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) for the purchase of verified nutrient and sediment reductions through the Clean Water Procurement Program. PENNVEST issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on January 6, 2026, and on October 19, 2026, PENNVEST issued Notices to Proceed for three Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Purchase Agreements being awarded under the RFP for the purchase of up to 34,757.87 pounds of verified nitrogen reductions, and the associated 5,236.17 pounds of verified phosphorus and 10,181,279.29 pounds of sediment reductions annually for a maximum purchase price of $5.6 million.
“The Clean Water Procurement Program takes a results-driven approach to promoting best management practices that reduce nutrient pollution and improve water quality in local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay,” said PENNVEST Executive Director, Robert Boos. “By investing in these practices, PENNVEST expands its suite of financing solutions, providing an additional tool to support clean water initiatives across the Commonwealth.”
A list of the successful bidders follows:
Conservation Innovation Fund – received a maximum contract award of $1,491,942 for the purchase of up to 12,719.03 pounds of verified nitrogen reductions along with the associated 1,068.87 pounds of verified phosphorus and 2,094,709.55 pounds of sediment reductions annually. This project, taking place at 6 farms across Bedford, Bradford, Franklin, Fulton, and Lancaster Counties, will achieve pollutant reductions through the planting of cover and alternative crops over 534 acres of land located in areas near the Conococheague Creek Watershed, Sweet Root Creek, Paterson Run, Bear Creek, and Johnson Creek. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) used in this project have an estimated 5-year lifespan.
Conservation Innovation Fund – received a maximum contract award of $3,946,117 for the purchase of up to 19,794.92 pounds of verified nitrogen reductions along with the associated 3,967 pounds of verified phosphorus and 7,549,380.74 pounds of sediment reductions annually. This project, taking place over 3 small dairy farms across Juniata, Perry, and Lancaster Counties, will achieve pollutant reductions through the construction of waste management systems and barnyard runoff controls, installation of forest buffers and associated land conversion, and planting of cover crops aligned with rotations located in areas of the Chesapeake Bay and Conodoguinet Creek Watersheds. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) used in this project have an estimated 5-year lifespan.
Keystone Streams – received a maximum contract award of $232,043.77 for the purchase of up to 2,243.92 pounds of verified nitrogen reductions along with the associated 200.30 pounds of verified phosphorus and 537,189 pounds of sediment reductions annually. Planting 9.49 acres of riparian buffer restoration will take place on a small dairy farm, consisting of two sites within .5 miles of each other, within the watershed of West Branch Little Conestoga Creek in Lancaster County. The project includes the planting of 13 species of native trees, with a density of approximately 300 trees per acre, and the buffer will be approximately 100 feet wide from the stream on each side, exceeding 35 feet in all planted areas. The BMPs used in the project will have an estimated 40-year lifespan.