Just sitting in the Senate Appropriations Committee waiting for action are two bipartisan bills that would offer significant help in dealing with the record 27,886 miles of streams with impaired water quality reported by the Department of Environmental Protection on January 15.  [Read more here.]

That’s an increase from the 2020 report which found 25,468 miles of water quality impaired streams making them unsafe for aquatic life, recreation, fish consumption or water supply and a major increase over the 2016 report which found 19,900 miles.

The bipartisan bills are--

-- $500 Million For Local Conservation Projects:  Senators John Gordner (R-Columbia), Bob Mensch (R-Montgomery), Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester) and others have introduced bipartisan legislation proposing to allocate $500 million from the federal American Rescue Plan to fund Growing Greener watershed, farm conservation, mine reclamation and recreation projects in Senate Bill 525.  Read more here.

-- Farm Conservation Cost-Share: Senate Bill 465 (Yaw-R-Lycoming, Comitta-D-Chester) establishes a new program to pay for on-farm conservation measures administered by the State Conservation Commission. Read more here.

Call your Senate member and tell them to urge them to get these bills moving.   Click Here to find your Senator.

Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) serves as Majority Chair of the Committee and can be contacted by calling 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.

Related Articles:

-- DEP 2022 Water Quality Reports Shows 27,886 Miles Of Streams With Impaired Water Quality In PA (33%) - An Increase From 25,468 In 2020

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: PA Contends Its New Cleanup Plan Will Meet Chesapeake Bay Goals

-- DEP Announces How Pennsylvania Will Meet Its 2025 Pollution Reduction Goals in Chesapeake Bay Watershed; All Counties On Board

-- EPA Points To Lack Of Dedicated Farm Cost Share Program As Major Gap In PA's Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Pennsylvania Far Behind Where It Needs To Be In Meeting 2025 Chesapeake Bay Milestones

[Posted: January 16, 2022]

1/17/2022