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The HEPSCD has been advised by Comcast that, due to line  work in our area, there may be service interruptions  on 7/16/25 which will affect our phone and email communication. We apologize for any inconvenience you experience in trying to reach the office. 

View the NJ Conservation Partnership Congressional Report here

Early spring is the time to stabilize sites which expect to be complete and occupied by this summer, prior to the fall growing season (mid Sept through October). 

The following information is quoted directly from Rutgers Fact Sheet FS 584: Seeding Your Lawn

Rapid Lawn Establishment: At certain times, such as in new home construction where dust or muddy conditions cause concern or on sloping terrain where soil erosion is a serious problem, a rapid cover of turfgrass is most critical. A first choice may be sodding the critical areas (see Rutgers Cooperative Extension fact sheet FS104, “Steps to an Instant Lawn”). Another choice can be the use of seed mixtures containing primarily perennial ryegrass or tall fescue. These varieties in combination with the use of straw mulch (see next point) and timely rainfall or irrigation can provide an “established” lawn in 4 weeks if growing conditions are favorable.

Straw Mulching and Irrigation: It is desirable to keep newly seeded lawns moist in the top 2 inches through irrigation or rainfall. If the top layer of soil dries out prior to good root establishment, poor stands of turfgrass may result. Some temporary surface drying is acceptable but should be kept to a minimum until germination is complete. Once seedlings have an established root system, watering can be less frequent and deeper (3 to 5 inches). Irrigation should not be overdone (do not create constant “muddy” conditions). Observe the drier areas of the lawn (sunny, high areas) for early signs of wilting. Irrigate, if feasible, to increase chances of successful establishment.

Straw mulch such as unrotted, weed seed free wheat, oat, rye, or salt hay can be applied at 50 to 90 lbs., (1 to 2 bales) per 1000 square feet. This offers a significant advantage for turfgrass establishment. Light mulching, where approximately 25% of the soil is visible through mulch, is all that is needed in most situations.

Mulching increases soil moisture retention. Morning dew is retained longer on the soil surface. Benefits include reduced watering needs and quicker seed germination.

In sloping areas and waterways where erosion is a consideration, heavier mulching is needed. To avoid smothering seedlings, partially remove mulch after germination occurs and 2–3 inch roots develop. In steep areas, erosion control matting with nylon netting or jute can also be applied over seeded areas and left in place after germination. These materials disintegrate over time and control soil erosion.

Conservation Education

 

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) pilot projects for fiscal year 2024. The cooperative agreements, using remaining funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, are jointly administered by USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Selected projects will develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans and are part of USDA’s broader efforts to support urban agriculture. 

USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) – led by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) – will accept applications on Grants.gov until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 4, 2024. Projects must be two years in duration with an estimated start date of June 1, 2025.  More Info

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
STATE SOIL CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
Chapter 251, PL 1975 as amended,
Engineering Policies- Technical Bulletin
Technical Bulletin:
2023-02
Effective Date:
November 28, 2023
Subject:
Use of Basin Summary Short Form
From:
John E. Showler, P.E.,
State Erosion Control Engineer
1.01
PURPOSE
To simplify the collection of stormwater basin summary information for use and upload to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture Hydrologic Modeling Database (aka detention basin mapping database) when a comprehensive stormwater report is collected in digital format and uploaded to the database.
1.02
SUMMARY
Recent adoption of new and revised rules by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection which regulate the design of storm water management systems has resulted in a sizable increase in the number of stormwater basins needed to comply with Green Infrastructure (GI) requirements within NJDEP rules. This has significantly increased the time required by both design engineers and soil conservation district staff to fill out and process these forms.
To help reduce this burden, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture has adopted a revised, shorter summary form for collecting basin data when used with a digital upload of the complete stormwater management design report. If a digital version of the comprehensive stormwater report is unavailable for upload, then the current ‘long form’ should continue to be used to collect basin data.
The ‘short form’ contains the same parent project information such as ownership and location information, but omits the individual basin engineering data (since this is contained in the stormwater report) and instead contains a table with multiple rows where each row represents a single basin and lists basic information such as ID, type of basin, location etc. Multiple basins can be entered into a
SSCC Basin Summary Short Form 11/23
single form within the table. Additional forms may be appended if necessary to accommodate projects with a greater number of basins.
Soil Conservation Districts should make this form available on their website and include copies of the form in correspondence to design engineers to expedite its use, as needed.

[The above Technical Bulletin may be downloaded here .]

Engineering Policies Technical Bulletin 2023-01

PURPOSE
To provide guidance to soil conservation districts and consulting engineers regarding impacts of the Inland Flood Protection Rule adoption by NJDEP on technical aspects of the NJ Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Program.
Please click the above link to view and download the Technical Bulletin.

NRCS works with farmers to conserve the environmental resources necessary for an economically sustainable business, not just monarch habitat. 

Let NRCS develop a comprehensive, resource conservation plan for your operation and the monarch.

https://nrcs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=8c9b052d51214cc3b6742a4ddf0a98cc 

Schedule and information can be found here

Please be advised that the following 5GS construction stormwater reports under the “NJPDES Permitting Program” category on DataMiner have been updated.  See below for details:

• NJPDES Stormwater Construction Permits (5G3) by County – Added information on the Block, Lot, and Area of Disturbance.
• NJPDES Stormwater Construction Permits (5G3) by Issue Date – Added information on the Block, Lot, and Area of Disturbance.
• NJPDES Stormwater Construction Permits (5G3) by Municipality – Added information on the Block, Lot, and Area of Disturbance.
• NJPDES Stormwater Construction Permits (5G3) by SCD – Added information on the Block, Lot, and Area of Disturbance.