DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council will hold a virtual meeting on February 16 to hear a presentation on DEP’s Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields Program and its need for a permanent solution for funding.

The agenda also includes an update on agency activities by DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.

Troy Conrad, Director of the Bureau of Environmental Cleanup and Brownfields will provide an overview of the program.

Joel Bolstein, Fox Rothschild LLP, will provide a practitioners experience with the program. Bolstein also helped develop the original program in 1995 when he worked with the Department of Environmental Protection under the Ridge Administration.

DEP’s presentation will highlight the fact its Hazardous Sites Cleanup Programs helps pay for cleanups at state hazardous waste sites, the state portion of federal Superfund cleanups, replacement water supplies and other interim responses at state sites, the operating costs of this program and the brownfields program as well has the Hazardous Waste Regulatory Program.

Prior to 2015 the program had been funded primarily through a dedicated portion of the state Capital Stock and Franchise Tax that provided about $41.3 million a year to support the program, in addition to fees on hazardous waste transportation, storage and disposal fees in the state-- which have declined significantly-- and recovered costs from responsible parties.

However, Franchise Tax was phased out beginning in 2015, although does provide some residual funding-- $1.6 million in 2018 for example.

The Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program has been existing on a $15 million a year transfer from DCNR’s Oil and Gas Lease Fund through the Marcellus Shale Legacy Fund -- yes, the actually did it that way-- in the last few budgets.

DEP has been highlighting the need for a permanent funding solution for the Hazardous Sites repeatedly at Senate and House budget hearings for years.  Read last DEP budget testimony here.  Read more background here.

DEP, in fact, told the Citizens Advisory Council in September 2018 a fiscal cliff was coming in FY 2020-21-- and it’s now here.  Read more here.

As part of Gov. Wolf’s FY 2020-21 budget request, he proposed a $1/ton increase in the waste tipping fee to provide $22.6 million a year to the program in addition to the transfers from DCNR’s Oil and Gas Fund, but that proposal was ever acted on.  Read more here.

DEP currently needs about $51 million a year to fund the existing program and has been spending down the balance in the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund to keep the program going.

Projections are in FY 2020-21 the balance in the Fund will reach close to $20 million, which is not enough to sustain the program.

As a result, DEP will have to shut down or delay existing cleanup projects and not take on any new cleanups, reduce or discontinue brownfield grants and not respond to any new contaminated sites unless they present immediate threats.

The funding problems for the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program continue in the face of the need to clean up sites all over the states contaminated with PFAS/PFOS “forever chemicals.” Read more here.  DEP’s PFAS webpage.

Click Here for a copy of DEP’s presentation.

Public Comments

Individuals interested in providing public comments during the public comment period at the meeting must sign up prior to the start of the meeting by contacting Keith Calador, Executive Direct by contacting him at 717-787-8172 or sending email to: ksalador@pa.gov.

The meeting will start at 12:30 p.m.  Click Here to register to attend the meeting via WebEx and by audio call-in: 1-415-655-0003  Conference ID#: 132 085 4459

For available handouts and more information, visit DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council meeting. Questions should be directed to Executive Director: Keith Salador, 717-787-8172, ksalador@pa.gov.

(Photo: Macoby Creek state Hazardous Cleanup Site, Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County.)

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[Posted: February 8, 2021

2/15/2021