The General Assembly plays an important role in protecting these critical water resources through the funding of the state resource agencies charged with their protection and passing and enhancing laws that help to steward them.

The first edition of the Clean Water Legislative Briefing Book from PennFuture presents important information about the opportunities and threats facing Pennsylvania waterways, as well as explanations of bedrock clean water laws and the state’s major watersheds.

These issues are laid out in detail and with instructive guidance on legislative solutions.

Enacting the policy recommendations in this book will advance sustainable solutions to Pennsylvania’s water challenges, maintain the integrity of the Commonwealth’s natural systems, and promote public health while addressing the needs of municipalities, industry, agriculture, and business.

In order to accomplish this, PennFuture is asking the General Assembly to do the following:

-- Provide Adequate Funding for State Resource Agencies:  Since the 2002-03 fiscal year budget, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Department of Agriculture have each experienced significant budget cuts.

While the modest increases in funding since 2013 were a step in the right direction, our state resource agencies are still operating with significantly reduced resources than are necessary to keep our air and water clean.

-- Establish A Dedicated Fund for Clean Water: A dedicated fund for water quality and flood abatement efforts would make better use of state agency staff time and resources by promoting more consistent planning and leveraging local and private investments more efficiently. Yearly, inconsistent budget negotiations jeopardize the resources needed to restore and protect waterways.

-- Restore Fair Share Funding to River Basin Commissions: River Basin Commissions are interstate, federal regulatory agencies that work to ensure that waterways split among several state jurisdictions are healthy enough to serve as sources of drinking water, recreation, and in some cases, transportation.

These commissions are responsible for overseeing water quality, flood control, wildlife, water flow, water withdrawals, aquatic flora, and industrial runoff in their respective basin. Most states and the federal government have not contributed their fair share of funding in more than two decades.

Along with our three legislative priorities, PennFuture identified the following 10 policy priorities: (1) economic benefits of Pennsylvania’s waterways; (2) helping farms thrive by protection water and soil; (3) empowering municipalities to reduce the impacts of polluted runoff; (4) cleaning up abandoned mine drainage to restore fish populations, (5) mitigating the impacts of flooding in Pennsylvania; (6) restoring and reconnecting streams to improve water quality and reduce flooding; (7) protecting wild trout and expanding protective stream designations; (8) keeping children safe from lead in school drinking water; (9) ensuring that wastewater permits are up-to-date; and (10) advancing environmental justice.

Click Here for a copy of the briefing book.

For more information, visit PennFuture’s PA Clean Water legislative  Briefing Book webpage.

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[Posted: Feb. 1, 2019]

2/4/2019