Dirt, Gravel & Low Volume Roads

Washington County Conservation District
Dirt, Gravel, & Low Volume Roads Division

In-Person ESM Training

Washington County - September 3 & 4
Registration Page

The 2025/2026 Grant Round will be opening June 1, 2025 and will remain open
until August 31, 2025

WCCD Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Program Policy

Please click here to access the program policy.

Ranking Criteria can be found here.

Plan of Action and Milestones Example

Please click here to access the example document

GIS Public Viewer Now Available!

To see all past projects, visit the GIS Public Viewer

Typical Project Lifecycle

1. Locate potential project.
2. Site visit with District.
3. Submit application to District.
4. If funded, enter into contract.
5. Acquire any necessary permits and permission.
6. Perform, or have contractor perform work.
7. Final site inspection with District.

Dirt, Gravel and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program (DGLVR)

The Washington County Conservation District (District) will annually receive approximately $500,000 from the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission to help Washington County public road-owning entities maintain their dirt, gravel and low volume roads. This program is called the Pennsylvania Dirt, Gravel and Low Volume Road Maintenance Program (Program). The purpose of the Program is to create a better public road system with a reduced environmental impact. Sediment is the largest pollutant by volume to the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Program focuses on “Environmentally Sensitive Road Maintenance Practices” that reduce the impact of road runoff and sediment to local streams, while reducing long term road maintenance costs. Any state or local public entity that owns and maintains public roads is eligible to apply for Program Funding. The majority of applicants are townships, but other entities such as boroughs, cities, counties, PA Game Commission, PennDOT, PA Fish and Boat Commission, and others are eligible to apply. Nearly 5,500 worksites in Pennsylvania have been funded through the Program. Ninety-six Program worksites have been completed in Washington County. Applicants are encouraged to work closely with the District, starting with a pre-application meeting. A successful applicant will enter into a contract with the District to complete project work. Applicants can complete project work themselves, or by hiring contractors.

If a municipality wishes to participate in the Program, a two-day Environmentally Sensitive Maintenance (ESM) training is required. The public road-owning entity employee that is “involved in/in charge of work plan development, project implementation, and/or project management” must be the individual that attends the ESM training to receive certification. See below for more information on training dates.

Mandatory ESM Training

To be eligible for Program Funding, at least one representative from a municipality must attend the two-day ESM training every 5 years. The municipal employee that is directly responsible for road maintenance must be the individual that attends ESM training to receive certification. ESM training is free of cost to public road-owning entity employees.

Current Training Dates:
https://dirtandgravel.psu.edu/education-and-training/esm-course/esm-training-dates

APPLICATION RESOURCES

Application Instructions

Grant Application

Example Application

Project Expense Tracker

Technical Bulletins

ESM Practices Field Guide

Municipal Fact Sheet

FEMA Equipment Rates

Summary of Typical Costs

DGLVR Materials Calculator

Traffic Count Validation Form