New State Legislation Could Help Area Farmers

| May 7, 2018

VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) – The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently approved legislation that will prevent farmers from being required to submit stormwater management plans on high tunnel structures that meet the law’s guidelines.

Act 15, also known as House Bill 1486, amends the Storm Water Management Act.

According to the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, there has been an increased interest among farmers to utilize high tunnels to extend the growing season for the food they produce, but many farmers held off assembling the temporary structures due to uncertainty over how they would be regulated and the cost, time, and paperwork involved in meeting stormwater management standards.

“This is a victory for farmers across the Commonwealth who are helping to meet increased consumer demand for locally-grown fresh fruits and vegetables,” said PFB President Rick Ebert.

“High tunnel structures, which are also called hoop houses, clearly should not be required to meet the same regulatory standards as permanent commercial office buildings or housing developments.”

“The overall cost of putting together a stormwater management plan for a high tunnel structure would have likely eliminated or significantly negated the profitability of using the high tunnel in the first place,” added Ebert. “The new law should remove those obstacles and benefit local consumers.”

exploreClarion.com spoke to Clarion/Venango/Forest Farm Bureau President Jeff Shaffer about the issue.

According to Shaffer, high tunnels are much more commonly used in the eastern part of Pennsylvania than in our area, but that may have been, at least in part, due to the stormwater management issues.

“I would imagine people here were reluctant because of the stormwater management and the program they had to qualify for,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer added that this change in the legislation may lead to more local farmers making use of high tunnel structures.

“I believe we will see an increase in the use of high tunnels. It increases the growing season to four weeks earlier and four weeks later than the normal growing season. There’s a potential for farms to have multiple businesses and really benefit from this.”


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