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Troopers looking for truck and trailer stolen in Tioga County….13 year old girl arrested for stealing SUV…Tioga man arrested for indecent exposure…Ag department announces tax credits…

Tioga County

Troopers at Mansfield are looking for a gold 2003 Chevy Duramax truck and a black 2005 Divel Trailer which were parked at the Middlebury Center Dandy Mini Mart between July 22 and 25. It is believed the units were moved during a power outage at around 1:30 am July 25. Anyone with information is asked to call state police at 570.662.2151.

Motor vehicle theft  charges are pending against a 13 year old Lawrenceville girl. State police say they were asked to look for a juvenile and while canvassing the Wellsboro area found the girl had stolen a 2010 Nissan Titan owned by Ryan Hoke of Knoxville and drove it to Wellsboro. Officers with Wellsboro police department stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation and took the girl into custody.

Troopers at Mansfield arrested 42 year old Andre Reed of Tioga for indecent exposure. Authorities claim Reed entered the home of 63 year old Donna Collette on Wellsboro Street in Tioga for a tax assessment and exposed himself. Charges were filed in district court.

Elk County

State police at Ridgway are investigating a theft by deception involving $605 in Steam Gift cards. The victim is listed as a 59 year old Wilcox woman but no other details were released.

DUI charges are pending against a 34 year old Ridgway woman who was stopped by Ridgway troopers on S. Saint Marys Street in St.Marys on the night of July 3 and was allegedly found to have been drinking alcohol.

Statewide

The state department of agriculture has  announced the availability of $13 million in tax credits to Pennsylvania farmers for measures to improve soil and water quality. Tax credits through Pennsylvania’s innovative conservation financing program, Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP), can be combined with other state funding, including the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, the Chesapeake Bay Program or Conservation Excellence Grants.

The department is now accepting applications for REAP tax credits from agricultural producers who implement best management practices or purchase equipment to reduce nutrient and sediment runoff, enhancing soil and improving the quality of Pennsylvania’s waterways.

This is the fourth year of increased funding and expanded eligibility for the program under the PA Farm Bill. Farmers may receive up to $250,000 in any seven-year period, and spouses filling jointly can use REAP Tax Credits.

Examples of funded projects include no-till planting and precision ag equipment, waste storage facilities, conservation plans, Nutrient Management Plans. Measures that limit run-off from high animal-traffic areas like barnyards, as well as cover crops and riparian stream buffers that prevent erosion and keep nutrients out of streams are also common REAP-eligible practices.

Farmers may receive REAP tax credits of 50 to 75 percent of the project’s eligible out-of-pocket costs. Farmers whose operation is in a watershed with an EPA-mandated Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) can receive REAP tax credits of 90 percent of out-of-pocket costs for some projects.

REAP applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Baseline eligibility includes compliance with the PA Clean Streams Law and the Pennsylvania Nutrient and Odor Management Law.

Private investors may act as project sponsors by providing capital in exchange for tax credits, which allows farmers to receive funds quicker and increases lenders’ confidence. Any individual or business subject to taxation by Pennsylvania through personal income tax, corporate net income tax, the bank shares tax or others is eligible to participate in REAP.

Since the program began in 2007, REAP has awarded $129 million in tax credits to more than 8,000 projects. Improvements from these projects have kept more than six million pounds of nitrogen, 275,000 pounds of phosphorus, and 275,000 tons of sediment out of Pennsylvania streams and rivers and the waterways they feed. Private investments in REAP have also contributed to the conservation projects, which in total are worth $350 million.

More information about REAP, including the 2022-23 application packet, program guidelines and sponsorship process, is available at agriculture.pa.gov.

For information about State Conservation Commission programs, the PA Farm Bill and investments to support Pennsylvania agriculture, visit agriculture.pa.gov or follow the department on Facebook and Twitter.