This week we learned of the passing of Fred Taylor, long-time counsel to the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee for the Republican Caucus.

Fred started with the House of Representatives in 1977 and steadily worked his way into the confidence of Leadership with his practical approach to solving problems. Those early assignments lead him to become Counsel to the Environmental Committee where he served through 2001.

But Fred was more than a series of dates on a resume to those of us who worked environmental legislation on Capitol Hill. He was a friend, mentor and someone who could work easily with members from both sides of the aisle.

Name any piece of major environmental legislation in the last 20 years, and you’ll see some of Fred’s handiwork—Safe Drinking Water Act, Radiation Protection Act, Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act, scenic rivers designations, Phosphate Ban Act, Rails-to-Trails Act, bond issues for infrastructure improvements and farmland preservation, coal, non-coal mining regulation, Land Recycling, Environmental Stewardship (Growing Greener), Water Resources Management, Sewage Facility Act changes, Air Pollution Control Act, Guaranteed Energy Savings Act, Waste Tire Recycling Act and much more.

Like many “old timers” he was around to visit and re-visit issues, offering a depth of knowledge and understanding that was unmatched.

He also served on the Environmental Quality Board, which adopts all of the regulations and major policies for the Department of Environmental Protection, as well as many other advisory committees over the years. You could always count on Fred to chair a public hearing for the Board when no one else would.

Fred had a personal interest in the Chesapeake Bay, in part because he had a summer house on the Bay for many years. He worked in many different ways to keep the Bay on Pennsylvania’s environmental agenda.

But what he did best was solve problems, for constituents, for House members, for DEP and for Governors. As an attorney, he loved to jump into issues, learn all about them, and then offer this tweak or that amendment to make things work better. His ability to draft legislation was legendary.

His expertise on environmental issues also lead him to be active in the American Legislative Exchange Council and the National Conference of State Legislatures where he was involved in drafting model legislation for other states to adopt based on his experiences in Pennsylvania.

When Fred retired in 2001 to fight cancer, we lost a huge reservoir of knowledge and experience on the environment. But we weren’t surprised to see him come back and take on advisory committee assignments and act as a “senior advisor” as we tackled water resource and other legislative issues in 2002.

It was difficult for Fred to retire, but he did it with the grace and practicality he always exhibited during his career. He always wanted to be in the game, part of the action.

When you look at a clean stream, or a brownfield being redeveloped, clean water coming out of your tap, visit a State Park or go boating on the Bay, think of Fred Taylor, one of those behind the scenes guys that helped make it all possible.

Fred will be missed.

There will be a memorial service for Fred Taylor on April 12 at 1:00 in Fellowship Hall at the Camp Hill Presbyterian Church, 101 N. 23^rd Street.

More About Frederick R. Taylor

3/25/2005