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Costly Taxpayer Funded Chesapeake Bay Nutrient Reduction Procurement Bill To Be Considered June 10 In Senate Appropriations

On June 10, the Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the costly Senate Bill 575 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would establish a taxpayer funded procurement program for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment reductions needed to comply with the Chesapeake Bay Watershed pollution reduction goals.

The bill was introduced May 31 and reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on June 4.

As written, the bill would guarantee only large companies with access to lots of resources could take part in the complicated bidding process established in the bill. These companies typically promote higher cost bricks and mortar treatment solutions to deliver thousands of pounds of pollution reduction.

No small farmer, who could install much cheaper Best Management Practices in terms of cost per pound of pollution reduced through the installation of proven green infrastructure, would bother to participate in bidding with all that upfront expense and paperwork.

If the only people who can bid in these complicated process are companies with the more expensive options, this process will guarantee it presents agencies with the choice of only picking more expensive options.

Last September, Matt Johnston of the University of Maryland Chesapeake Bay Program and Dr. Emily Trentacoste of the U.S. Geological Survey presented the PA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Planning Steering Committee with the list of the top 11 most cost effective practices to reduce nitrogen going to the Chesapeake Bay based on all this experience and data in the Chesapeake Bay Program (page 73 of his presentation).

The practices include alternative crops on farmland at $1/pound of nitrogen reduced to exclusion fencing with grass buffers at $6/pound.

In between are-- less expensive to more-- were water quality conservation plans, grass buffers on row crops, barnyard runoff control, water control structures, wetland restoration, forest buffers on row crops ($2/pound), narrow buffers on row crops, narrow forest buffers on row crops and nutrient management on the land.

None of the top 11 most cost effective practices included bricks and mortar treatment solutions.

An existing, competitive Nutrient Credit Auction Program run by the PA Infrastructure Investment Authority resulted in nitrogen credit sales of $2.25 per pound last September. The trouble is, the more expensive pollution reduction technology cannot compete in this program because their costs are too high.

The meeting will be held in the Rules Room and announced Off the Floor at one of the Senate session breaks.

Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and can be contacted at 717-787-1349 or send email to: pbrowne@pasen.gov. Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted at 717-787-7112 or send email to: vincent.hughes@pasenate.com.

(Photo: Sen. Browne, Majority Chair.)

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