The following bills of interest saw action last week in the House and Senate--

House

Allowing For Longer Shale Gas Laterals: Senate Bill 694 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) allowing for the accounting of natural gas production across longer Shale gas laterals was amended and reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and Tabled.

Sunday Hunting: Senate Bill 147 (Laughlin-R-Erie) authorizing Sunday hunting was amended to allow for deer hunting on 3 Sundays a year and reported from the House Game and Fisheries Committee and Tabled.

Fallingwater: House Resolution 452 (Millard-R-Columbia) congratulating the Western PA Conservancy on Fallingwater being named a World Heritage Site was reported from the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee and was adopted by the House.

Senate

Nominations: Senate Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure reported out the nomination of Ralph Yanora to the Public Utility Commission with a favorable recommendation and the Senate confirmed him.

Legalizing Road Dumping Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater: Senate Bill 790 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) which sets environmental protection standards for conventional (not Shale gas) oil and gas well drilling and legalizes the road dumping of drilling wastewater from conventional wells was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and immediately passed by the Senate 26 to 23 with Republicans supporting, except for Senators Tom Killion (R-Delaware) and Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks). Click Here for more.  The bill now goes to the House for action. 

Limiting Public’s Right To Know Why A Regulation Is Being Adopted:  Senate Bill 398 (Gordner-R-Columbia) amends the Regulatory Review Act to prohibit agencies from publishing a statement letting the public know why they are proposing new or amended regulations when they are asking the public for comments was passed by the Senate 27 to 23 and the bill now goes to the House for action.  Click Here for more.

More Complex, Costly, Less Efficient DEP Permitting: Senate Bill 891 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) authorizing third party review of Chapter 102 (erosion and sedimentation) and Chapter 105 (dam safety and encroachment) permit applications which will make DEP’s permit reviews more complex and costly was reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee with 1 negative vote-- Sen. Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia).  The bill is now on the Senate Calendar for action. Click Here for more.

Limiting Grounds For Citizen Appeals Of DEP Permits: Senate Bill 726 (Bartolotta-R- Washington) which would create a new standard for the review for appeals of DEP permit actions before the Environmental Hearing Board by limiting parties appealing permit decisions-- a company or a citizens group-- to issues raised in and information contained in a record of decision on each permit DEP staff would have to prepare was reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee with Republicans supporting.  The bill is now on the Senate Calendar for action.  Click Here for more.

Limit Terms Of Environmental Hearing Board Judges: Senate Bill 727 (Bartolotta-R- Washington), a companion bill to Senate Bill 726, would change the term of an Environmental Hearing Board judge from 6 to 5 years and limited judges to serving 2 terms.  Any judge sitting on the Board on the effective date of the bill when it is signed into law who has served more than 10 years will have their term expire at the end of their current term was reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee with Republicans supporting.  The bill is now on the Senate Calendar for action.   Click Here for more.

Restricting Some Uses Of PFAS Firefighting Foams:  Senate Bill 919 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) establish statewide uniform requirements restricting some uses of Class B firefighting foams containing added PFAS chemistries for training, restricting their use in testing, while also allowing for continued sale and use against real-world fires (sponsor summary) was reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Use Local Funds To Pay PFAS Cleanup Costs: House Bill 1410 (Stephens-R-Montgomery) would use local funds which would otherwise pay state taxes for cleaning up PFAS contamination, rather than relying on responsible parties to pay for cleanups  (House Fiscal Note & Summary) was reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Reauthorization Of Federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fee: Senate Resolution 191 (Yudichak-D-Luzerne, Yaw-R-Lycoming) urging Congress to reauthorize the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fee which is the primary source of funding for Pennsylvania’s abandoned mine reclamation program was amended and reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee with unanimous support and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Limiting Availability Of Information On Impacts Of Underground Coal Mining: Senate Bill 763 (Bartolotta-R-Washington) amends Act 54 to make reports on the environmental and property impacts of deep coal mining operations optional was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.  Click Here for more.

Pipeline Emergency Notification: Senate Bill 258 (Dinniman-D-Chester, Killion-R-Delaware) require coordination between hazardous liquid or natural gas pipeline owners and county emergency coordinators to review emergency response procedures (sponsor summary) was removed from the Table and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Pipeline Emergency Plan Disclosure: Senate Bill 284 (Killion-R-Delaware, Dinniman-D- Chester) requiring pipeline operators to provide current emergency response plans to the PUC and county emergency services (sponsor summary) was removed from the Table and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

10/28/2019