PA DEP Bureau of Conservation & Restoration

This Bureau of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was created from a reorganization effort around the year 2012. Many of the project under BCR were formerly under the direction of the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR). The Bureau of Conservation and Restoration's mission is to restore polluted streams and lakes and remove them from the impaired waters list. The bureau accomplishes this mission by implementing programs that fund treatment systems and Best Management Practices in priority watersheds where significant and cost effective restoration can be achieved. Specifically, the bureau manages the following funding programs and grants: Acid Mine Drainage 10% Set-aside Fund, Federal Nonpoint Source Section 319 Grant, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative Grant, Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and Accountability Grant, Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant, Conservation District Fund Allocation Program, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, Dirt and Gravel Road Maintenance Program and Growing Greener Watershed Protection grants. The bureau also manages efforts to increase the number of farming operations that are in compliance with environmental rules and regulations and oversees implementation of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations permitting program. Other program areas managed by the bureau include: Improving and Healthy Waters, Riparian Forest Buffer Initiative, Lake Assessments, Conservation District support, and the Schuylkill River Project.