The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee this week took steps to compile the costs to wastewater plants to implement the Chesapeake Bay clean water mandate pursuant to Senate Resolution 224 (Vance-R-Cumberland).

The Committee, which is made up of members from the Senate and House, voted to approve the bid of Metcalf & Eddy, a Philadelphia engineering firm, to conduct the study required by the resolution.

The preliminary schedule calls for the draft report to be done by October 3 and the final report by October 24.

The Department of Environmental Protection had wanted the Committee to broaden the scope of the study to include water and wastewater system needs throughout the entire state, but the Committee did not make that change and it was not included in the resolution.

Sen. John Pippy (R-Allegheny) serves as the chair of the LBFC and Sen. Gerald LaValle (D-Beaver) as the vice-chair.

5/2/2008