The 2004-05 budget does not include Gov. Rendell’s environmental spending and fee proposals, however, a commitment was made to study ways to implement some of these programs as part of the fiscal year 2005-06 budget.

“We still have the original menu of Growing Greener programs in place. That has not changed. There is also a strong interest in moving forward in some of the additional proposals, particularly the open space preservation components, as well,” Sen. Robert Thompson (R-Chester), Majority Chairman Senate Appropriations Committee, said.

“Part of this is a procedural matter. It makes more sense to take a referendum to the voters in the spring and see if there is a willingness on the part of the public to incur the debt before we put the money in the budget. I am hopeful that we will see legislative action in this area later this year.”

Gov. Rendell’s original Growing Greener II proposal would have asked voters to approve an $800 million bond issue and expand other programs paid for with a mix of new fees on waste produced by homeowners and businesses totaling over $151 million a year. The Governor also proposed additional funding for the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund, Recycling Fund and to finance green tax holidays for energy efficient appliances and green energy purchases by state agencies.

An amendment was offered by Rep. Boyd (R-Lancaster) in the House to earmark one percent of the revenue from slots for farmland preservation, but the amendment was defeated by a vote of 97 to 105. No other environmental spending amendments were offered in the House or Senate.

The budget does include $10 million to start the pay back of $100 million borrowed from the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund in 2002 rather than the $2.5 million the Governor proposed.

The General Assembly also restored Rendell Administration cuts in two other areas-- $350,000 was included in the State System of Higher Education budget for the Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education, $300,000 was included in DEP’s budget to restore funding to the Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps and an undisclosed amount to establish a statewide toll-free citizen compliant hotline.

Overall, DEP’s budget is about $2.8 million higher than in 2003-04 and includes a $7.5 million Safe Water line item for miscellaneous water and sewer projects, $6.8 million for scrap tire cleanup grants, $450,000 more for county conservation districts, $507,000 more for the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, $250,000 more for the Delaware River Basin Commission, $250,000 for mushroom nutrient management, and it combines funding from the old Office of Pollution Prevention and Compliance Assistance into the general Environmental Protection line item as DEP proposed earlier in the year.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources saw a $2 million increase in its budget, however, there was a $4 million decrease in the Heritage Parks Program, a $4 million increase in State Park Operations, a $1 million increase for recreation trails and a $707,000 increase in State Forest Operations.

NewsClip: DEP Works to Enhance Environmental Education

7/5/2004