Rep. Bill Adolph

I, and my colleagues in the House and Senate, remain committed to addressing Pennsylvania's environmental problems. There have been some people who think the Legislature failed to act on efforts to place a Growing Greener enhancement bond on the upcoming spring primary election ballot. However, that is simply not the case.

On July 4, 2004, Republican leaders wrote Gov. Ed Rendell to express their intention to form the Green Ribbon Commission. The governor agreed to the idea. The commission was formed with both Republican and Democratic members from the House, Senate and the administration.

The Green Ribbon Commission is designed to examine our environmental programming and funding options. As co-chairman of the commission and, in cooperation with co-chairman Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), we have attempted to establish a fair and open record regarding needs of the Growing Greener program and the impacts of the proposed methods to pay for those needs.

We view this commission as a prudent way to ensure we have all the facts before committing any taxpayer money. This in no way should be viewed as feet dragging, as some have suggested. There is much disagreement over exactly how much future bond debt the taxpayers of Pennsylvania should be asked to shoulder, and whether it is appropriate to adopt the taxes and fees proposed by the governor to fund expansion of the Growing Greener program. However, we believe that common ground can be found.

The Green Ribbon Commission has not yet finished its work. Ensuring environmental quality and how to fund it is not an easy task. We are making progress and hopefully, we will have a cooperatively developed a plan of action in our upcoming legislative session.

In fact, during the last months of this legislative session, Gov. Rendell publicly stated that Growing Greener was not an end of session priority because, "we have time to get a question on the spring ballot," and we do. The governor also made it clear that his sine die environmental priority was the enactment of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards legislation.

This legislation was passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor. In fact, several other pieces of environmental legislation were also enacted but received little attention. These include: extending funding to clean up illegal waste dumps in state parks and forests, establishing the Senior Environmental Corps Program and setting up a comprehensive Chesapeake Bay Environmental education program.

We have also not lost sight of a very important program - the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program. During this year's budget negotiations, the General Assembly proposed additional funding for this program. This is certainly a notable program which requires full funding. I am confident a compromise will be found.

It is important to understand the legislature did not say "no" to an expanded Growing Greener. If that were the case, there would not be a Green Ribbon Commission and no further efforts would be extended to examine our environmental programming and funding options. Instead, what we are doing is making sure that our environmental dollars go to the right places to do the most effective job.

Republicans recognize the need for a long-term commitment to the Commonwealth's environmental needs. That's why in 1999, then-Republican Gov. Tom Ridge developed the original Growing Greener program. In 2002, the General Assembly, recognizing the need for a longer term commitment to this program enacted dedicated funding for the Growing Greener program through the year 2012. This represents a 13 year over $1.2 billion investment. Approximately $700 million still remains to flow into Growing Greener between now and 2012.

As chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, and as co-chairman of the Green Ribbon Commission, I have more than a passing interest in the state's environmental problems. These are issues that I care deeply about. I believe it is important to make sure we have all the information and to take the time to do this right the first time. To think anything to the contrary would be misreading the facts.

Rep. Bill Adolph (R-Delaware), Majority Chairman of the House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, represents the 165^th legislative District in Delaware County.

12/24/2004