Virginia Logan Named Executive Director of the Brandywine Conservancy

November 8, 2011 – 10:56 AM

The Board of Trustees of the Brandywine Conservancy announced today the appointment of Virginia A. Logan as the next executive director of the organization.  Ms. Logan will assume the position upon the retirement of the current executive director, James H. Duff, on December 31, 2011.

Ms. Logan will take leadership of the Brandywine Conservancy, founded in 1967, as the organization prepares to move forward with the next phase of its important work in preserving the region’s natural and cultural legacy.

“I am honored to become Executive Director of the Brandywine Conservancy, which is one of the region’s most significant stewards of art, culture and the environment,” said Ms. Logan. “The Brandywine River  Museum’s unparalleled collections, exhibitions, and programs are widely admired. Through its Environmental Management Center, the Conservancy has done tremendous work in open space preservation , advocating for responsible land use and preservation of water quality. Working together with its accomplished staff, I look forward to building on the Conservancy’s many strengths as we begin a new chapter in its history.”

Ms. Logan brings to the Brandywine Conservancy business acumen and leadership skills sharpened in both the corporate and nonprofit worlds. Her executive experience in the nonprofit sector includes nearly a decade on the board of directors of the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale (PBCC). During her seven years as chairman of the board, Ms. Logan led the 40 year-old organization through a key period of strategic planning which prepared the PBCC for a new phase of growth.

During her 25-year career at Sunoco, Inc., a Fortune 100 company, Ms. Logan held a variety of roles most recently managing a public affairs organization that included communications, corporate philanthropy, government affairs, and community relations.  Prior long-term roles were leading operations with profit and loss responsibility for a large segment of the company’s retail marketing business and overseeing a commercial law practice group.

Commenting on Ms. Logan’s qualifications and background, George A. Weymouth, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Brandywine Conservancy said, “We had an extensive search for Mr. Duff’s successor. Ms. Logan brings a unique set of skills to the Brandywine Conservancy.  We are very fortunate to have found an individual with Ms. Logan’s varied experience as our next leader.”

Ms. Logan, a Rosemont, Penn., resident, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lafayette College and a Juris Doctor degree from the Villanova University School of Law.

The Brandywine Conservancy began in 1967 to protect from industrial development two parcels of land in the historic village of Chadds Ford.  It has developed a variety of innovative programs to conserve the natural and cultural resources of the Brandywine watershed and other selected areas with a primary emphasis on water quality and quantity.  Through its Environmental Management Center, it provides assistance to local governments in pursuit of these goals.  The Conservancy has preserved–through conservation easements and other methods–more than 44,000 acres.  It owns and manages more than 2,600 acres in Pennsylvania and Delaware that include many historic properties and structures.

The Conservancy’s Brandywine River Museum opened in 1972 in a renovated Civil War-era grist mill.  The museum features a renowned collection of American art-with primary emphasis on the Brandywine region, American illustration, landscape and still life work.  The museum also owns and conducts public programs at the N. C. Wyeth studio and house (with approximately 9,000 objects that aid interpretation of that site) as well as the Kuerner Farm, which inspired nearly 1,000 works of art by Andrew Wyeth.  

By conserveland | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Conservation Pioneer, Eleanor May Morris, Passes Away

October 27, 2011 – 8:48 AM

Eleanor May Morris, a pioneer in using conservation easements to save open space, died peacefully at her home in Pughtown on Sunday, September 11, 2011. She was 92. Mrs. Morris’ interest in preserving land, streams, and history coalesced when the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust acquired an 18th century flour mill and the land surrounding it in Chester Springs to save the property from development. She was a founding member of The Mill at Anselma Preservation and Education Trust when the mill, now a National Historic Landmark, was spun off as a separate not-for-profit organization. (Read more)

By conserveland | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Clifford David Begins New Venture

October 26, 2011 – 8:45 AM

Clifford C. David, Jr. served as President of the Heritage Conservancy for 24 years.  He recently left his position at Heritage to begin his new role as President of Conservation Economics Enterprises.  In this role he will serve as chief strategist and leader of short and long-term financial entrepreneurial projects based in land and historic resource conservation.  These projects include carbon sequestration, sustainable woodland management, conservation based development, adaptive reuse of historic structures, sustainable agriculture, and wetland and stream mitigation banking.  

By conserveland | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Jeffrey Marshall Elevated to Heritage Conservancy’s Chief Preservation Office

October 24, 2011 – 3:19 PM

Jeffrey Marshall, Vice President of Resource Protection and Planning, recently celebrated 30 years of service to Heritage Conservancy.  As part of this milestone Jeff has been elevated to a new position as the Chief Preservation Officer.  His primary responsibility is to serve as the Conservancy’s project leader on initiatives including Lasting Landscapes, historic preservation, land transaction negotiation, and high-level strategic master planning.   

By conserveland | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Lauren Imgrund – Newly Appointed DCNR Director of Recreation & Conservation

October 21, 2011 – 11:46 AM

Lauren Imgrund has been appointed as DCNR’s Director of Recreation and Conservation, replacing Brenda Barrett who retired at the end of July.   

In her new role, Lauren will be responsible for providing strategic leadership of the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation which is responsible for developing local parks, comprehensive planning, education and partnerships to effectively address the recreation, conservation and heritage needs of Pennsylvania.  This work involves advancing DCNR’s mission by leading Conservation Landscape Initiatives (CLIs), other statewide and regional initiatives including the Statewide Recreation Plan and the Greenway and Heritage Program, operating the Community Conservation Partnership Grant program, and developing funding plans and budgetary allocations to fund these programs.     

By conserveland | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Going Solar – Lessons Learned

July 27, 2011 – 11:57 AM

For years, my husband and I dreamed of having solar panels installed to generate cleaner electricity and lessen our overall impact on the environment.  This past July, our dream became reality when we flipped the switch of our 8.96 KW ground system, large enough to generate 100% of our electricity.  We’ve acquired some knowledge throughout the process and I thought I might share some of the more valuable lessons learned.

The Sales Pitch

With the establishment of the PA Sunshine Program, solar installation is more feasible and affordable than ever. Even in the final phase, step 4, of the program, which pays back $.75 per watt, homeowners are finding the state grant and the federal tax breaks (about 30% tax deduction) more than enough incentive to take the solar plunge. There is no short supply of solar installation companies in Pennsylvania (see DEP’s Approved Solar Electric Installers) and as if to attempt to prove this point, we met with five of them. Each company conducted an onsite visit to determine if our site was suitable and to discuss logistics and of course price.  Each salesman gave their obligatory pitch and we received varying answers to some very important questions.   My advice is to have a set of questions ready to ask each company representative, request several references and have anything that you agree upon, above and beyond their basic contract, in writing before moving forward. Some questions to ask:

  • How long have you been installing solar systems? How many systems have you installed in Pennsylvania?
  • Please provide specification sheets for inverters and panels.
  • Describe your installation process.
  • Provide details on warranties  in regards to both materials and labor. Note: Most panels include a manufacturer-issued warranty of 80% efficiency for 25 years, 90% efficiency for 10 years.  Inverters typically come with a 10-year warranty though micro-inverters may have a longer warranty.
  • What date do you anticipate the system will be completely installed?
  • Will you acquire the necessary permits from our local municipality?
  • Are you an aggregator of Alternative Energy Credits (AECs)  and if so what are your fees? Are you licensed to sell AECs outside of Pennsylvania? (Note: currently Pennsylvania AECs are not trading very high due to such an increase in installed solar systems – DC and OH currently allow PA trading and may offer a more competitive market.)
  • Please provide 3-5 references.
Our decision for choosing the installer we did came down to reliability, price and timeline for getting the system installed as quickly as possible.

The Process

Each company may have their own procedures for installation but certain steps are required per the PA Sunshine Program. Here is an idea of how the process will take place:

  1. Once a contract has been signed with a qualified installer, the company will submit a reservation form to the PA Sunshine Program – this reserves your state rebate money;
  2. The installer, prior to installation, should acquire all the necessary permits that your municipality requires – any permit fees will be added to your installation costs;
  3. The installer will contact you regarding installation dates – most likely they’ll need access to your home at some point during the installation process;
  4. Once your system is installed, the company must have an independent inspector inspect the system;
  5. Upon the inspector’s approval, your installer will acquire your electric utility company’s approval of the system. Once this occurs, the homeowner has permission to power up the system;
  6. In order to begin generating SRECs, you must register your system with PJM; if you have signed a contract with an aggregator, than they should handle this step; [learn more]
  7. Within 3-6 months (perhaps longer), you should receive your rebate from the state;

The Pay Off

As altruistic as we’d all like to be in making our homes more green, the reality is that the financial details must be considered.  As we delved into our research, we uncovered additional costs we were unaware of that extended our pay off.  The state and federal incentives are tremendous but these benefits most likely inflate the costs of materials and labor as the demand has of course increased.  We learned that the rebate obtained through the PA Sunshine tax program is taxable income, and the SREC income is taxable as well.

Your homeowner insurance will increase since the warranty on the equipment only applies to certain circumstances. Most panels come with a warranty that guarantees efficiency over a certain period of time and damage from wind up to approximately 90MPH. If you’re panels are damaged in a wind storm from the wind itself, you’re warranty should cover the cost of replacement. However, if a tree falls on your solar panels due to a wind storm, you must go through your insurance company.

When determining your system payoff, consider the following:

Adding to your costs:

  • Total cost of system or price per watt DC
  • If financing, calculate the amount of interest to be paid on the loan
  • Additional home insurance costs (once your system is fully installed, you should contact your insurance provider and add your system to the plan since the system’s warranty will only cover so much)
  • Annual decrease in efficiency (crystalline photovoltaic solar panels will lose function at a rate of about 0.7% per year)
  • Repair costs beyond the warranty – some homeowners may decide to set aside money for potential repair costs down the road that may be required after the warranty has run out

Subtracting from your costs:

  • Electricity savings
  • Federal tax incentives
  • State rebate (please note that you’ll be required to pay federal taxes on this amount since it is considered income)
  • SRECs income (please note that you’ll be required to pay state and federal taxes on this amount since it is considered income)
  • increase in electricity rates

You can use this Solar & Wind Estimator to estimate the system size you’ll need, projected installation costs and length of payoff.  Please note that this calculator averages SREC values at $220 in Pennsylvania, which is much higher than the current trading price and does not take into account required taxes.

Did You Know?

  • You are not off the grid when you install solar panels unless you actually have purchased battery cells to store the energy and a backup generator to feed the energy to your home.
  • You’re electricity will turn off during a power outage just like everyone else tied to the grid, unless, again, you have a backup system.
  • The PA Sunshine Program is a reimbursement program and your system must be fully installed, paid for in full, and properly inspected before your request for reimbursement can be submitted.
  • The state reimbursement you receive is taxable income and recipients will have to pay federal taxes on this amount.
  • The inverters tend to last 10-15 years and they are typically only covered under warranty for 10 years.
  • The efficiency of a solar cell actually decreases with increasing temperature, which could mean the sunnier the day is the less efficient your panels will be. A solar cell efficiency decreases about .5% for every 1.8 °F above 77°F.

Final Thoughts

We’re very glad we made the decision to go solar and are looking forward to zeroing out our electric bill and decreasing our carbon footprint.  It’s a huge investment, even with all the incentives, so proceed with caution, ask lots of questions, interview several companies, do your research and make a decision that is best for you.

By Nicole Faraguna | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Building restrictions and Use restrictions

July 20, 2011 – 8:36 AM

New users of the model conservation easement often ask why restrictions on Improvements are addressed separately from restrictions on activities and uses — isn’t that redundant? The answer (that a restriction on a type of building may not be interpreted as a restriction on use of the building and vice versa)  was underscored by a recent Commonwealth Court decision arising from a dispute in Northampton Township, Bucks County.   Commonwealth Court found that a pole barn used for community basketball violated a restriction that prohibited buildings except such as are building structures, stalls, barns and the like used for the keeping of horses .  Bucks County Common Pleas had decided that pole barn was permitted as agricultural building so whether it was used by children or by horses was irrelevant.  Commonwealth Court interpreted the “used for the keeping of horses” as a use restriction as well as a building restriction.  Another interesting twist was that “recreation” was a permited use generally within the property.  A link to the Commonwealth Court decision is provided below because it is, apparently, not reported otherwise.

http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=4&xmldoc=In PACO 20110712385.xml&docbase=CSLWAR3-2007-CURR&SizeDisp=7

Pat Pregmon

www.pregmonlaw.com

By Pat Pregmon | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Citizen Scientists to the Rescue

June 7, 2011 – 11:46 AM

Out of the nearly 7 billion people on the planet right now, how many are considered scientists?  Well, if we use the definition of a citizen scientist, there are a lot more of them than you’d think! Anyone can be a citizen scientist… no special degree or years in a classroom needed.  If you think you can’t be a citizen scientist, think again!

Citizen Science is used to describe projects where people with little scientific background get involved with scientific observations and measurements.  These volunteers typically do not analyze the data on their own; it is used by professional scientists to fill in research gaps with data that they could not have collected on their own, due to geography, time or monetary shortcomings.  Informal citizen science work has been done for decades.  Any time someone picks up their binoculars and records the birds that they see, or any time a farmer keeps track of the blooming time of their crops, they are participating in citizen science.  Citizen science is all about recording observations.  Yet it wasn’t until recently that the term took shape.  (From my article on citizen science in the spring 2011 issue of Keystone Wild!Notes)

Citizen scientists use website databases like eBird, Project BudBurst, the Phenology Network and others to record their data.  Professional scientists can then access this information to help support their research.  Citizen scientists allow for data collection worldwide, 24/7, with little monetary effort and no payroll to worry about.  People just like you are contributing to the collection of scientific data that can help protect species, preserve habitats and monitor for possible climate change impacts.

And that’s why citizen scientists are so important.  They do what regular scientists don’t have the time or resources to do.  And with the data from thousands of citizen scientists across the globe, imagine the monitoring power possible! As one of my colleagues, Brook Lenker, says, “Citizen Science is a way to unplug from electronic distractions and plug-in to the environment that sustains us.  If we can help make that connection and it endures, then our collective future will be much brighter.  Citizen science is a tool to uncover trends and secrets about the natural world, but it also an intervention to mend broken relationships between people and nature: an excuse for human-kind to look, see and realize what they’ve been missing.”   

Want to learn more about becoming a citizen scientist?  The Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a new web video series called Science Afield and it’s dedicated to promoting the cause of citizen science.  Check out the first video, “Citizens Count,” at: http://www.iconservepa.org/csi/scienceafield/index.htm (You might recognize someone from the video).

And be sure to check the site every other month as new videos come online.  Future topics include invasive species, phenology, weather and species migrations. 

Are you ready to become a citizen scientist?

By newdomino | Posted in Climate Change, Conservation Solutions | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

GREEN, GREEN

May 30, 2011 – 6:14 PM

GREEN, GREEN

Looking out my window on a hazy Spring morning, I am fortunate enough to be able to see green. Dark green, shadowy green, sunny green, mottled green, blue-green, yellow-green, evergreen and new green, more greens than we have words to name them. It’s a study in what life can do for a color, and how nature can amplify our simple concepts to a complexity that is beyond the reaches of our invention.

That’s just what my eyes can see from here—just the surface. In his poem “To Look at Any Thing”, John Moffitt wrote

…enter into the spaces between the leaves…,

and if we do that, there are universes piled in those spaces, whole stories, lives and systems, both visible and invisible. I’m aware of the largest occupants—the oriole whose winsome chirp is a backdrop for my time at home, as he dodges in and out of the treetops; the Indigo bunting reminding everyone of his bailiwick, and the tiny bunnies, venturing out with their mother for their first green mouthfuls. And I know something of the smaller stuff—the bizarre troop of caterpillars, an assortment of sci-fi shapes with their odd protrusions which inhabit the undersides of the oak leaves—the Saddlebacks, the Cecropias—lumpy, bumpy, spiky things that either feed the birds or turn into a new set of creatures and fly off to make their way in the land, and leaf, and sky, contributing to the web of life.

The poem, though, was not about the physical reality of what is between the leaves. Moffitt didn’t mean for us to literally get in there with our magnifying glasses, he meant fir us to become part of it with our consciousness. And he wasn’t really telling us to become part of it: he knew we already are. He was trying to remind us; he was trying to tell us to pay attention. To not forget.

What’s needed is to remember—both parts: the truth that we rely on the insect world, the green universe, to keep us alive, but also that our very behaviors and souls are intertwined in the natural world.

It’s a lot easier for me to think about this, looking at the green reality outside my window, separated only by a layer of glass, than it is for many people I know, who look out onto a balcony of cement, a sea of structures, a single curbed tree in an acre of paving, or one scrawny tomato plant outside their door. Where is the evidence of connection? Who will close this widening abyss?

At least the need to re-establish, to remember, that connection is being recognized more and more. There seems to be a rising awareness of the need to connect people back to the land; to remind us all of the reality of our relationship and dependence. Is it too little, too late?

If we have artificially separated ourselves from the natural world, and do not return, the consequences will also be two-fold: first, the physical loss of what is between the leaves; the physical collapse of ecosystems. We look at our smartphones more than at our forests, but one will sustain us; the other will not. My friends who navigate the world of cinder blocks and metal depend on the green world for their sustenance. Not just the wood, the tomatoes, the cotton, the electricity, but the entire ecological infrastructure on the planet: the currents, the weather, the seasons, the migrations—which we are dismantling at a catastrophic rate. As each piece is compromised, and then falls, our future will become more tenuous.

And second, the prospect of our thought no longer inhabiting the spaces between the leaves. Where will we find the inspirational complexity, the larger framework upon which to hang our existence? Will we relegate ourselves to living on what humans can think up all by ourselves? Will we end up with just a few colors of green?

By Sally Zaino | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

What’s Preventing the Next Disaster?

April 26, 2011 – 9:32 AM

If you’ve ever experienced a home disaster such as an electrical fire or flooding, you’ve probably put extra care into preventing something so horrible from happening again. You’ve probably installed extra smoke detectors, sealed cracks, hired a building inspector to examine your wiring — doing what you can to safeguard your family and home from harm. Logical, right?

One year ago, the nation was mesmerized by the gulf coast oil spill, when a blowout preventer had malfunctioned, causing the loss of lives and the escape of nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the gulf ecosystem.  The disaster was underscored by BP’s inability to successfully cap the leak for almost three months.

As a result of this disaster, the Obama administration placed a temporary moratorium on deep water drilling in May 2010, a moratorium that was repeatedly challenged in court by the drilling industry.  In October, the moratorium was lifted and in early March of this year, the first deep well oil permit was issued since the BP disaster.  The permit was issued to Noble Energy, Inc. to continue the drilling of a well where exploration had already begun – a cautious first step, as some perceived.

However, despite its slow action on permitting, the administration soon had approved six new permits by the end of March and according to those closely watching the issue, little has been done to safeguard our environment from another disaster. In fact, despite claims from both the industry and the Obama administration that safety standards had been greatly improved, the industry’s own documents suggest differently.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow used her journalistic prowess to request Noble Energy’s permit application from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) to examine just how the industry was required to “comply with rigorous new safety standards” as a result of the BP oil spill.

Unfortunately, they learned that Noble Energy’s response plan was actually dated September 2009, eight months before the BP disaster, illustrating the status quo is in full force.  Some companies have claimed that they have in fact submitted updated plans for BOEMRE approval; however, MSNBC learned that general rig operators are eligible to obtain new drilling permits while they’re in the process of revising old oil spill response plans. The agency also admitted that it is currently working under a 2002 rule that provides for two years to approve such plans.

So, fast-forward a year after the worst oil spill disaster to plague our environment and nation and very little has changed in the regulatory process.  More disturbing, after much investigation on the failure of the blowout preventer to effectively shut off the pipeline, it is believed that there may be systemic design issues, rendering the equipment inferior in many situations.

Here in Pennsylvania, we did not feel the direct impacts of the gulf coast spill but in the back of our minds we certainly empathized with those affected by the disaster. Since the rush to drill the Marcellus Shale, Pennsylvanians have become more familiar with terms like drilling, blowout preventer, and contamination.

With the plague of irony hanging poignantly over our heads, on the one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill, Pennsylvania experienced another environmental blow. Chesapeake Energy, believed to be the largest lease holder in Pennsylvania, lost control of a natural gas well, causing thousands of gallons of highly concentrated salt water (mixed with fracking chemicals) to be spilt onto nearby farmlands and leaked into a tributary of Towanda Creek.  The spill is initially believed to be the cause of a cracked well-casing, just below the blowout preventer.  After about 48 hours, the company was able to “successfully stem the flow of fluids”.

To Chesapeake’s credit, they have temporarily suspended all fracking operations in Pennsylvania so that they can determine the cause of the accident.

In Pennsylvania, where the Marcellus Shale has been called the Saudi Arabia of natural gas, we have our own permitting and monitoring issues.  Recent reports suggested that the regulatory body responsible for reviewing natural gas permits in the state were spending far too little time reviewing the documents. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulators testified in March that they spent less than 35 minutes on a given permit and do not provide any additional scrutiny to permits proposed near high-quality or protected streams.

Last month, DEP received wide criticism for an internal policy change that would now require DEP inspectors to hold off on serving a Notice of Violation (NOV) until the DEP Secretary or Deputy Secretary reviewed the document. According to DEP, a Notice of Violation is the first notification by the inspector to the company regarding violations of the law.  The new rule would require a political appointee to grant approval to the inspector before the NOV could be processed.

In addition, Governor Corbett proposed a new internal policy that would provide the secretary of the Department of Community & Economic Development the authority to expedite any permit or action “where the creation of jobs may be impacted”.

There are many parallels between offshore drilling and hydraulic fracturing – both are considered controversial procedures, both rely on fail-safe technology and engineering, and both have considerable consequences if errors arise. The fast-tracked, permitting and watered down monitoring approach seems to be in complete opposition to reason, considering the events that have occurred in the Gulf, in Pennsylvania and beyond.

Babe Ruth once said, “Every strike brings me closer  to the next home run”.  Learning from our failures, from our mistakes is an essential part of life.  If we don’t grow as a result of adversity, we have missed out on perhaps the only benefit to being forced to live through such upheaval.

By Nicole Faraguna | Posted in Oil & Gas | Comments (1)
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.