PA Environment Digest July 3, 2017

PA Environment Digest
An Update On Environmental Issues In Pennsylvania

Edited By: David E. Hess, Crisci Associates
Winner Of PA Association of Environmental Educators

Business Partner Of The Year Award
PA Environment Digest Daily Blog Twitter Feed
Issue #679 Harrisburg, PA July 3, 2017
House, Senate, Governor Agree On $31.996B Spending Plan, Fails To Address ANY
Environmental Funding Shortfalls
The Senate, House and Gov. Wolf reached a bipartisan

agreement Thursday on a $31.996 billion General Fund
budget-- House Bill 218 (Saylor-R-York)-- which the Senate
(43-7) and House (173-27) passed Friday and sent to the
Governor.
The budget includes more money for schools, pension
obligations and services, but demands across-the-board cuts
state government agencies and in Medicaid.
But, the budget fails to address a any environmental funding
shortfalls, including in DEPs Safe Drinking Water Program
criticized by EPA for failing to have the resources to meet minimum federal requirements for
inspections and other obligations.
DEPs General Fund budget in the new year-- $147.7 million-- is $17.9 million BELOW
what it was in 1994-95-- $165.6 million and 40 percent BELOW what it was in 2002-03-- $245.6
million. Plus a $118 million balance left from FY 2015-16.
Since 2002-03, the General Assembly cut DEP's General Fund budget 40 percent.
This means DEP will have to continue to rely on permit fee increases to fund its
programs.
At the same time, House and Senate give themselves a 4.8 percent raise in the new year.
That means their budget has increased 77 percent since FY 1994-95-- $182.9 million in 1994-95
to $325.2 million in the new fiscal year ($142.3 million) and 26 percent since 2002-03 from
$258.1 million to $325.1 million ($67 million).
The FY 2017-18 spending plan also has a $2 billion hole to fill and there is no agreement
on how to fill it. The Senate and House will come back after July 4 to figure that out.
Click Here for more on the options for filling the budget hole, including transfers from
special funds.
Gov. Wolf proposed a $32.3 billion budget in February and the House Republicans
passed a $31.52 billion budget in April, the same total as in FY 2016-17.
Agency Highlights
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Some other budget highlights include--
-- DEP: slight decrease from $148.3 million to $147.7 million, thats higher than the
Republican-passed budget in April of $139.3 million.
-- Personnel line-items essentially level funded
-- Conservation Districts same as last year $2.5 million
-- West Nile Virus & Zika Virus slight cut $5.3 million to $5.2 million
-- Black Fly same as last year $3.3 million
-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission cut in half $473,000 to $237,000
-- Delaware River Basin Commission cut in half $434,000 to $217,000
-- Interstate Commission On The Potomac River cut in half $46,000 to $23,000-- Chesapeake
Bay Commission same as last year $275,000
-- DCNR: Slight decrease from $106.9 million to $105.5 million, thats higher than the House
Republican-passed budget, but primarily due to a significant increase in using General Fund
monies to fund agency operations, rather than the Oil and Gas Lease Fund monies. However,
there is still a $4.7 million overall increase in DCNR budget (not shown on the budget
spreadsheet) as a result of a transfer from the Lease Fund. There is a total transfer of $61.2
million from the Fund -- $11.2 million of that to pay for DCNR State Park and Forestry
operations and $50 million to fund recreation and conservation projects (page 366, House Bill
218).
-- Heritage Parks same as last year $2.875 million
-- Agriculture: Slight increase from $143.6 million to $144.1 million, thats higher than the
House Republican-passed budget in April, but due primarily to $30 million in funding for the
University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School
-- Conservation Districts same as last year - $869,000
-- Nutrient Management Fund same as last year - $2.7 million
Click Here for the FY 2017-18 Senate Republican budget spreadsheet. Click Here for the
FY 2017-18 Senate Democratic budget spreadsheet. Click Here for House Republican budget
spreadsheet. Click Here for the Senate Democratic summary of DCNR, DEP budget. Click
Here for Senate Democratic Agriculture budget summary.
Click Here for statements from Gov. Wolf, Senate Republicans and Democrats on the
budget.
Whats Next
The Senate, House and Gov. Wolf have to now agree on about $2 billion in new revenue
in some form to make the FY 2017-18 budget balance. As a result, all the same options talked
about of the last few weeks and months are still on the table-- massive state borrowing, gaming
expansion, further liquor privatization and Tax Code.
In more detail they are--
-- Special Fund transfers to the General Fund that House or Senate members believe are just
sitting there flush with cash and not doing anything better;
-- Sell or lease out state assets like the Farm Show Building or something else;
-- Borrow $1.5 billion against tobacco settlement revenue or securitize some other revenue
stream to pay for paperclips and fill the General Fund revenue hole;
-- Approve 40,000 video gaming terminals for everyone with a liquor license (bars, nursing
homes and churches);
-- Extend the state Sales Tax to warehousing and storage;
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-- Redirect the local share of the present casino tax revenues to the state General Fund, along
with adopt new casino license fees;
-- Authorize beer, wine and spirits sales in more private outlets; and
-- Shift the Sales Tax on bottles of wine and spirits from the bottle bought by liquor license
holders to the individual drink bought by consumers.
Well see what happens!
NewsClips:
AP: Wolf Gets $32B Budget Package, Awaits Plan To Pay For it
Esack: Legislature OKs $32B Budget, But No Way To Pay For It
Legislature Approves Budget Package, But Funding Piece Is Missing
Bipartisan State Budget Goes To Governors Desk
Murphy: Could Racehorses Come In Last In Finalizing State Budget?
Murphy: Wolfs Early Retirement Offer To Some State Workers Still Being Pushed
House, Senate, Governor Agree On $31.996B Spending Plan, Fail To Address ANY
Op-Ed: Staffing, State Funding Cuts Put PA Water Quality At Risk, DEP Secretary McDonnell
Op-Ed: Harrisburg Punts On Environmental Protection In The State Budget (Again)
Op-Ed: 3 Commonsense Steps Would Close PA Budget Hole, Rep. Dean
Op-Ed: PA Cant Wait Any Longer On A Severance Tax, Dennis Davin
Editorial: Establish A Fair Natural Gas Extraction Tax
Editorial: Get Over It. Pass A Shale Tax, Already
Editorial: Trumps Energy Dominance Can Help Fix State Budget
Washington County Is Top Recipient Of Natural Gas Impact Fee
AP: Lawmakers Vote Friday On General Fund Budget, Await Plan To Pay For It
AP: $32 Billion Budget Would Send More To Schools, Pensions, Disabled
Thompson: Lawmakers Start Chewing Into $32 Billion Budget Proposal
Legislature Decides How Much To Spend, Later How To Pay For It
Senate Reveals Spending Bill, But No Revenue Plan In Sight
AP: Highlights Of $31.996 Billion Budget Agreement
15 Highlights Of Whats In $32 Billion State Budget
Thompson: State Budget Talks Stuck, Video Gaming Terminals The Dam
House, Senate Republicans Clashing Over Gaming In Budget Negotiations
AP: Budget Deadline Looms As PA Lawmakers Eye Deficit
Lawmakers Eye Gambling Revenue, Borrowing To Balance Budget
Thompson: Cigarettes, Gambling, Jobs, What You Need To Know On PA State Budget
Esack: Budget Deadline Looms With No Clear Way To Bridge $3B Deficit
Editorial: Hide Your Valuables, PA Legislature Needs Money
EPA Chief Gets Earful On Trumps Downright Offensive Budget Plan
Trumps Budget Cuts Wide, Deep Swath Through Chesapeake Bay-Related Programs
Letter: EPA Budget Cuts Bad For PA
U.S. House Committee Approves RECLAIM Bill To Benefit Coal Country
Federal Bill To Increase Mine Reclamation Spending Advances
Related Stories:
Op-Ed: Staffing, State Funding Cuts Put PA Water Quality At Risk
34 Groups Urge General Assembly, Gov. Wolf To Invest In Clean Rivers, Streams For PA
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CBF-PA Urged More State Investment In Farms And Clean Water Efforts
PA Ag Secretary Briefs Congressional Delegation On Impact Of Proposed Federal Chesapeake
Bay Program Cuts
Analysis: PA Already Has $65 Million A Year For Clean Water, Just Stop Giving Money To
Folks Like Johnny Depp
PEDF Asks Court To Determine If $383 Million Transferred From Oil &Gas Lease Fund
Remains In The Public Trust
Company Whose Subsidiary Is In Default Of $7.8M PennVEST Loan Again Pushes Bill To Get
More State Funding
Op-Ed: Staffing, State Funding Cuts Put Pennsylvania Water Quality At Risk
By Patrick McDonnell, Secretary, Department of Environmental Protection
I know I dont need to remind Pennsylvanians how important

water is to our quality of life.
What you might not have considered, though, is who is
responsible for protecting your water to assure that its safe to
drink, and further, how that responsibility is directly related to
our state budget.
Since 1985, federal authorities have entrusted Pennsylvanias
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with
implementing the requirements of the federal Safe Drinking
Water Act, with the expectation that the commonwealth
would maintain standards at least as stringent as those of the federal Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
In those more than 30 years, Pennsylvania has proven it is up to the challenge of
protecting the public water supplies. And the universe of that protection has grown DEP now
regulates for 93 separate microbiological, chemical, and radiological contaminants in drinking
water.
Weve helped our public water systems grow with the times as well, providing technical,
managerial, and financial assistance to ensure they are sustainable and protect public health.
Today, Pennsylvania is ranked third in the nation for the number of public water systems,
with more than 8,500 supplying safe and potable water to 10.7 million customers. More than 83
percent of all Pennsylvanians rely on those public water supplies.
We are proud of the overall performance of those systems, staffed with professionals who
care deeply about the product they provide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
We know what those operators are doing because DEP field sanitarians inspect these
plants, review their monitoring data, and manage compliance and enforcement determinations.
The plant operators in Pennsylvania generally do their best to provide safe drinking water.
In the last decade, though, the quality of public drinking water in Pennsylvania has been
placed at increasing risk because adequate oversight has been made increasingly more difficult
by annual decreases in DEPs budget.
This past December, I received a letter from the EPA leadership that I wish I had not
received, but that every Pennsylvania resident should read. The director of EPAs Regional
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Water Protection Division used words like not sustainable, performance will continue to
suffer, and failed to meet the federal requirement.
To some degree, we couldnt argue. EPA granted us primacy based on minimum
expectations that are clear. As EPA noted, we arent meeting them.
For the last six years, the number of sanitary survey inspections completed by DEP has
significantly declined, EPA noted.
Thats accurate. Our staffing levels have decreased as cuts to our annual budget have
climbed. In 2009-10, the sanitarians DEP had on staff completed almost 3,200 inspections. In
2015-16, that number fell to 1,847 (where 91 percent of the systems met the standard).
EPA knew why the drop-off on inspections was so steep: DEP just doesnt have the
manpower.
Thats how we got to a letter that does the painful math. The national average for public
water systems per sanitarian inspector is 67; DEPs average is 149.
EPA considers this unacceptable, and frankly, so do I.
Water quality must never be political. But, then, budgets arent just a matter of financial
equations.
Underfunding DEP began more than a decade ago. Now in 2017, DEP staffing overall is
64 percent of what is was in 2007.
Of 750 positions cut, 457 positions inspected regulated facilities and reviewed permits for
new facilities or amendments to existing ones work that protects our public health and
environment while keeping our economy moving.
And it should be expected that permit applications and inspection workload demands
have increased.
And now, a budget proposed by the state House Republicans would reduce DEPs current
budget by 5.5 percent, which puts water quality, air quality, dam safety, miner safety, and the
environment at direct risk.
Gov. Wolf has directed DEP to move forward with a rulemaking proposal to increase
permit fees and establish new annual fees to address the funding gap, while at the same time
rightly insisting upon continued excellence in our regulatory oversight.
At a time when the governor is looking for resources to protect public health, the House
bill would move us in exactly the wrong direction.
While Pennsylvanias air, land, and water remain generally healthy, weve received
similar letters of citation from the EPA for understaffing coal-mine inspections, air-quality
monitoring, and stormwater management programs.
The EPA has urged us to address our funding challenges and fill personnel shortfalls, and
were attempting to do just that by proposing new annual fees and increasing existing permit fees
for our public water systems.
We believe strongly that the public expects confidence that their drinking water is safe.
The only way to provide that is for DEP to have the staff to keep regulatory watch on their
behalf.
More with less thats been a mantra of government budgeting since time immemorial.
But as DEPs budget declines, so does its ability to achieve the agencys goals to protect
Pennsylvanias air, land, and water from pollution, and to provide for the health and safety of our
citizens.
For more information, visit DEPs website, visit DEPs Blog, Like DEP on Facebook,
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Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEPs YouTube Channel.
NewsClips:
Related Stories:
EPA: DEP Lacks Resources To Enforce Minimum Federal Safe Drinking Water Regs
EPA Still Concerned About DEP Drinking Water Program, Urges Temporary Funding To Hire
Staff Sooner
EQB OKs Proposed Fees To Improve Safe Drinking Water Oversight For Public Comment
Bay Program Cuts
More State Funding
[Posted: June 30, 2017]
34 local, state, regional and national

organizations concerned about the health of
the Susquehanna River and water resources
across the state Wednesday sent a letter to
members of the General Assembly and Gov.
Wolf urging them to invest in clean water for
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Pennsylvania.
They called for-
-- Rejecting proposed budget cuts to DEP and DCNR;
-- Enact and fully fund Growing Greener 3 legislation that is active in both chambers of the
legislature; and
-- Establishing a dedicated fund for water quality protection efforts.
The text of the letter follows--
We, the undersigned advocates for restoring Susquehanna River health and safe drinking
water sources for Pennsylvanians across the state, call for your swift and significant action to
increase investments in water quality protection.
Approximately 20,000 miles of Pennsylvanias rivers and streams are unsafe for either
drinking, swimming, fishing, or aquatic life according to the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP).
Many of these impaired river miles are in the Lower Susquehanna Watershed, which
makes up a large portion of Americas first national water trail, the Captain John Smith Trail, a
recreational resource with broad economic benefits potential.
According to a recent nationwide report by the Natural Resources Defense Council,
Pennsylvania ranks third, behind Texas and Florida, for drinking water safety violations.
Failing water infrastructure, reduced workforce within DEP and the Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), and insufficient watershed restoration funding
have put Pennsylvania families and local economies at risk.
On June 17, 2017, residents from across the state joined together to voice concerns about
Pennsylvanias water crisis and to draw attention to three key actions that require near term
response from the state legislature and the administration.
Both Fox and ABC TV covered the event. Coverage of the Susquehanna River Rally and
a video of the event can be found online.
We urge the following actions by each of you
-- Reject proposed budget cuts to DEP and DCNR: The proposed budget cuts to DEP and
DCNR have the potential to make our state water crisis worse. House Bill 218 [as it was before
being finalized Friday] proposes cuts to DEPs General Operations by 10 percent, its
Environmental Programs by 6.5 percent, and its Environmental Protection programs by 5
percent.
It cuts all river basin commissions by up to 50 percent and hacks 8 percent from the
Chesapeake Bay program. These cuts put DEPs ability to protect our water resources in
jeopardy, while stressing the agencys basic functions, like permit oversight, to unprecedented
levels.
House Bill 218 also proposes cuts to DCNRs budget by $2.8 million, which could result
in closures of state campgrounds and parks, a lack of maintenance at public facilities, and the
elimination of key programs that support trails, road maintenance for hunters at state forests, and
programs that battle forest fires.
Over the last 10 years, state lawmakers have cut investments in environmental protection
by making fundamental oversight by our state agencies more challenging. Since FY02-03, DEP
funding has been cut by 53 percent and DCNR has been cut by 24 percent, adjusted for inflation.
Spending accounts that these agencies rely upon such as the Oil & Gas Lease Fund have
been raided for other purposes or left without update that resulted in fewer dollars entering these
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fund each year. In the FY16-17 budget, DEP and DCNR relied upon these funds for 42 percent
of their revenues.
Yet, the revenue provided from these funds has decreased by 26 percent at DEP and 18
percent at DCNR.
-- Enact and fully fund Growing Greener 3 legislation that is active in both chambers of the
legislature: Funding for Pennsylvanias Growing Greener program is at an all-time low. To
ensure that Pennsylvanians continue to have access to clean water, parks and trails, green open
spaces, and family farms, Gov. Wolf and the General Assembly must provide adequate funding
for a Growing Greener 3 program by investing $315 million annually in conservation, recreation
and preservation projects.
These investments support our states economy and enhance the health of our
communities and quality of life for our residents.
Fifty-six percent of the proposed funding blueprint for the Growing Greener 3 legislation
would directly support water quality programs.
If fully funded, this would total a much-needed $177,000,000 to address the
approximately 20,000 miles of impaired rivers and streams, the source of the water that
Pennsylvanians drink.
Of tremendous import to the 6 million Americans who rely on it for the source of their
drinking water, the Susquehanna River would receive 40 percent of those water quality benefits.
This would help local river-based economies and advance our states regional watershed cleanup
requirements.
-- Establish a dedicated fund for water quality protection efforts: Pennsylvania lacks a
robust source of funds for the implementation of water quality practices. The largest single
source of nonpoint source funding in Pennsylvania is the USDAs Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS).
In FY16, approximately $100 million in requests for conservation support came to NRCS
from Pennsylvania farmers. Only $20 million was available, leaving a backlog of $80 million, a
4:1 ratio of unmet need.
A large funding shortfall hinders Pennsylvanias restoration efforts. Unlike Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia are two states that are on track to meet their state-wide water quality
goals.
These states have the advantage of large dedicated state funding programs for both
wastewater treatment and nonpoint source practices. The sources of revenue for these programs
vary from a sewer bill surcharge to rental car and real estate recordation fees.
In Pennsylvania, a water use fee has been proposed. Through a dedicated fund, fee
revenues would support water protection programs across the Commonwealth, in every part of
the state, including the Ohio, the Genesee, the Susquehanna, the Delaware, the Erie and the
Potomac watersheds.
Currently, 5.9 billion gallons of the Commonwealths water are used each day, statewide,
without compensation.
By instead charging only one-hundredth of a cent per gallon for all withdrawals over
10,000 gallons per day, and one-tenth of a cent for all consumptive uses over 10,000 gallons per
day, an estimated $245 million per year could be generated.
This is even after municipal water systems and agricultural production are exempted and
existing fees charged by the Susquehanna and Delaware River Basin Commissions are deducted.
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Funding water quality is a good investment.
Studies of the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes and Everglades have estimated at least a 2:1
benefit to cost ratio for water quality restoration.
In other words, for every dollar spent on water quality improvement, two dollars of
benefit, such as economic activity, ecosystem services and increased property values are
realized.
The jobs created by restoration activity are often in the high-value STEM professions,
and the quality of life in healthy watersheds helps to attract employers and retain employees. For
more information, please read the Chesapeake Bay Commissions Water Rich & Water Wise
report online.
The undersigned national, regional, statewide, and local organizations who served as rally
co-hosts represent more than 175,000 Pennsylvanians and over 250 organizations restoring
Pennsylvania landscapes and watersheds.
Along with our members and supporters, we urge you to consider the devastating impacts
that failing to address Pennsylvanias water crisis will have on our communities, our economies,
and the health of your constituents.
During this legislative session and this budget cycle, we call on the state lawmakers to
heed the call of the Susquehanna River Rally advocates.
Please reject proposed cuts to the DEP and DCNR budgets, pass and fully fund Growing
Greener 3 legislation, and establish a dedicated water quality fund.
With questions or follow up, please email Amanda John at ajohn@npca.org.
Sincerely,
The Susquehanna River Rally Hosts [in Harrisburg June 17]
The groups signing on to the letter include--
-- Host Committee for Rally: Amanda John, PA Program Manager, National Parks
Conservation Association; Ezra Thrush, Clean Water Campaign Manager, PennFuture; Nicole
Faraguna, Outreach Director, PA Land Trust Association; Marci Mowery, President & CEO, PA
Parks and Forests Foundation; Mark Platts, President, Susquehanna Heritage, Inc.; Brook
Lenker, President Susquehanna River Trails Association; Chante Coleman, Director, The Choose
Clean Water Coalition; Kyle Shenk, Pennsylvania Director, The Conservation Fund; Andrew
Heath, Executive Director, The PA Growing Greener Coalition; Tim Herd, President, The PA
Parks & Recreation Society.
-- Supporting Organizations: Will Brandau, President, Association of Warm Season Grass
Producers; Christopher Clouser, President/Principal, Biologist, Wetlands and Wildlife Habitat
BluAcres, LLC; Ed Wytovich, President, Catawissa Creek Restoration Association; Anna Yelk,
Executive Director, Central Penn Conservancy; Steve Hvozdovich, PA Campaigns Director,
Clean Water Action; Mary Beth Birks, Kids Club Coordinator, Cranberry Township, Butler
County; Jaclyn Rhoads, Darby Creek Valley Association; Robert Hughes, Executive Director,
Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation; John H. Rosenfeld, Owner, Go Native
Tree Farm, Craig Lukatch-Setser, President, Lacawac Sanctuary & Field Station; Bernie
McGurl, Executive Director, Lackawanna River Conservation Association; Joseph J. Corcoran,
Executive Director, Lackawanna Heritage Valley; Philip R. Wenger, CEO, Lancaster County
Conservancy; Christopher Thompson, District Manager, Lancaster County Conservation District;
Ted Evgeniadis, RIVERKEEPER, Lower Susquehanna RIVERKEEPER Association; Melinda
Hughes, President, Nature Abounds; Bill Moul, President, North Area Environmental Council,
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Allegheny County; William Reichert, President, Schuylkill Headwaters Association, Inc.;
Joanne Kilgour, Chapter Director, Sierra Club PA; Kristy Owens, Parks & Recreation Manager,
Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County; Scott E. Pepperman, Chairman, Silver Spring
Township Recreation Advisory Council, Cumberland County; Gail Kulp, Executive Director,
Susquehanna Greenway Partnership; Paul Garrett, Trails and Trees Environmental Center,
Mechanicsburg Environmental Club, Camp Hill Environmental Club, Green-Cause.org,
Cumberland County; Gary Peacock, Executive Director, Watershed Alliance of York, Inc.
Click Here for a complete copy of the letter.
Related Stories:
Bay Program Cuts
More State Funding
CBF-PA Urges More State Investment In Farms And Clean Water Efforts
As a new state budget continues to take shape, the

Chesapeake Bay Foundations Pennsylvania Executive
Director Harry Campbell Thursday issued the following
statement urging continued investments in agricultural efforts
that benefit clean water.
Continued investments in conservation efforts on
Pennsylvania farms is critical to the economic viability of
those farms as well as the health and welfare of all our
citizens.
Funding for agricultural conservation programs and
practices through county conservation districts and Commonwealth agencies supports the ability
of farmers to be good stewards of the land and water, and guardians of their livelihoods.
Pennsylvanias smart investments in clean water efforts through state agencies and the
county conservation districts are also important for their potential to leverage additional dollars
through federal and private funding, further expanding opportunities for farms to be
economically viable.
As the new state budget continues to take shape, we cannot emphasize enough the
importance of investments that are critical to future of family farms and for those farmers to take
measures that will keep nutrients and soil on their farms, instead of in the water.
We look forward to working with legislators and farmers, in striving to achieve a better
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future for Pennsylvanias farmers and our rivers and streams.
Clean water and healthy farms are important legacies to leave our children and
grandchildren.
For more on Chesapeake Bay-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation-PA webpage. Click Here to sign up for Pennsylvania updates (bottom of left
column). Click Here to support their work.
For more information on Pennsylvanias Chesapeake Bay efforts, visit DEPs Phase III
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan webpage.
NewsClips:
York County Stormwater Projects Get $613K From State
Chesapeake Bay Dead Zones Fading, But Proposed EPA Cuts Threaten Success
Latest From The Chesapeake Bay Journal
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Related Stories:
PA Chesapeake Bay Commission Members Spotlight Need For Clean Water Fund In PA
Bay Program Cuts
More State Funding
PA Ag Secretary Briefs Congressional Delegation On Impact Of Proposed Federal

Chesapeake Bay Program Cuts
PA Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding Wednesday joined a panel of

state officials and economic and environmental experts to brief members
of the congressional Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus on the
destructive impact President Trumps proposed budget cuts will have on
efforts to clean up the bay watershed.
The panel, organized and moderated by Chesapeake Bay
Commission Executive Director Ann Swanson, offered perspectives from
government, private and academic leaders who are working to improve
water quality for an area that is crucial to the nations economy, as well as
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its food and water supply.
The watershed caucus includes 52 members of Congress from Delaware, Maryland, New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
The following are Secretary Reddings remarks as prepared.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with information on Pennsylvania agriculture and
significant efforts to address water quality and the Chesapeake Bay. We must continue to
balance those co-equal goals: strong and viable agriculture with healthy water, soil and air.
As the Secretary of Agriculture and a lifelong farmer and ag educator let me be the
first to acknowledge that our agriculture sector has a lot of work to do. Our efforts will account
for 80 percent of the work required to succeed in this initiative.
This cannot be a conversation about 2025, but needs to address the reality that for farms
to remain viable, we need to work together, across all sectors and to focus on conservation for
the future of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and water quality.
First, lets consider some of the demographics concerning the agricultural sector in
Pennsylvania.
One county alone (Lancaster) has twice as many dairy cows as Maryland and 25 percent
more than found grazing in all of Virginia. There are twice as many farms in this county than in
all of Delaware.
Second, lets add Pennsylvanias agriculture communities impact to the Chesapeake Bay,
based on recent EPA figures: Pennsylvania is responsible for 69 percent of the remaining
basin-wide nitrogen load reductions.
Pennsylvania agriculture will likely be responsible for as much, if not more, than 80
percent of those reductions.
The math tells us that Pennsylvania agriculture will be responsible for over half (55
percent) of the remaining basin-wide nitrogen load reductions. Without success by Pennsylvania
agriculture, we will not have success in the Bay restoration.
Finally, the impact of the proposed harmful federal funding cuts on Pennsylvanias
ability to continue working with the agriculture community will result in the loss of 35
conservation district Technicians and seven district engineers in 28 bay watershed counties.
These technicians complete agriculture regulatory compliance inspections, work with
farmers to develop manure management and agriculture erosion and sediment control plans and
facilitate the installation of best management practices.
Funding will be eliminated for 11 to 12 Department of Environmental Protection staff to
complete agriculture regulatory compliance inspections.
Approximately $2 million per year for an agriculture Best Management Practices
Cost-Share Program for grants to county conservation districts to work with farmers to install
agriculture BMPs will be eliminated.
Staffing in USDAs Service Center Agencies will be reduced to streamline county office
operations, reflect reduced Rural Development workload, and encourage private sector
conservation planning.
This will further impact the technical assistance capacity of Pennsylvania to provide
assistance to farmers to get practices on the ground.
Since the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Strategy was started in January 2016,
Pennsylvania has made significant progress toward accelerating the implementation of the
program to meet the commitment of the Total Maximum Daily Load reduction goals by 2025.
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Some recent initiatives have included county conservation district and DEP staff
completing more than 1,125 small farm inspections between Oct. 2016 and March 2017, and a
January 2016 Penn State University survey of roughly 22,000 PA Chesapeake Bay watershed
farmers requesting that they voluntarily report Best Management Practices they have instituted
without government cost-sharing.
Thirty percent of surveys were completed (6,751). Final survey results announced on
Dec. 16, 2016 showed the following:
-- 475,800 acres of nutrient/manure management;
-- 97,562 acres of enhanced nutrient management;
-- 2,164 animal-waste storage units;
-- 2,106 barnyard runoff-control systems;
-- 55,073 acres of agricultural erosion and sedimentation control plans;
-- 228,264 acres of conservation plans;
-- More than 1.3 million linear feet of stream-bank fencing;
-- 1,757 acres of grass riparian buffers; and
-- 5,808 acres of forested riparian buffers.
These results have been successfully incorporated into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Model.
Total estimated reductions delivered to the Bay to be attributed to these practices
included 1,047,704 pounds of nitrogen, 79,620 pounds of phosphorous and 10,395,906 pounds of
sediment per year.
These results are not an anomaly nor did they happen without dedicated resources,
capacity, and funding. I recognize that there is still room for improvement.
Pennsylvania agriculture is committed to this effort and will continue to be good stewards
of the land and vast natural resources we are blessed to have in our state.
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan webpage.
NewsClips:
Related Stories:
Agriculture: Trump Budget Cuts Could Harm PA Agriculture, Rural Communities
Chesapeake Bay States, DC Call For Continued Federal Funding Of Cleanup Efforts
Agriculture Expresses Concerns Over Potential Impacts Of PA House Republican Budget
DEP: Trump Budget Proposal Threatens Safe Drinking Water, Clean Air And Job Creation
PUC Urges Preservation Of Federal Heating Assistance, Weatherization Program
Wolf Opposes Trump Proposal To Eliminate LIHEAP Home Heating Assistance Funding
PA National Heritage Areas: Trump Budget Would Have Severe Consequences In PA
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More State Funding
Analysis: PA Already Has $65 Million A Year For Clean Water, Just Stop Giving Money
To Folks Like Johnny Depp
While the political fight is running hot and heavy to adopt a new
natural gas severance tax or new fees on this or that to fund programs,
no one has noticed there is a $65 million a year solution to fund
Pennsylvanias environmental and clean water restoration projects
right under their noses.
It doesnt involve enacting any new taxes or fees.
Theres no need to go into debt to float a state bond.
Theres no increase in the state budget.
And it doesnt involve enacting any Rube Goldberg-type
contraption of a program that robs Peter to pay Paul who owes Mary.
We also already have the program to deliver the new funding.
Click Here to read the complete article.
All legislators have to do is stop giving money to the movie and
TV industry to temporarily support people like Johnny Depp and
invest the same amount in permanent clean water improvements.
In FY 2017-18 state government plans to spend $65 million to give money to movie
companies for one-time projects that support Johnny Depp and his ilk and movies like Zack and
Miri Make A Porno (really).
Why would Republicans do that?
The answer is, I dont have a clue.
Despite repeated media reports on how the Film Production Tax Credit Program is a
waste of money because the movie folks sell 99 percent of the tax credits to someone else and
the number of permanent jobs it yields is actually tiny for the money spent every year,
Republicans keep funding it year after year and want more.
The Independent Fiscal Office concluded in a 2016 report Pennsylvania receives loses 86
cents for every dollar invested in the Film Tax Credit Program.
In these difficult budget times, tough decisions have to be made, although this one seems
easy.
Pennsylvania has legal obligations to cleanup 19,000 miles of its polluted rivers and
streams, is under the gun to meet its Chesapeake Bay Watershed cleanup obligations, has
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180,000 acres of abandoned mines and 5,000 miles of mine-polluted streams, thousands of
leaking and abandoned oil and gas wells, a backlog of local and state recreation projects and tens
of thousands of acres of valuable farmland and open space threatened by development.
To deliver this funding, no new program is needed.
The Growing Greener Program has been providing funding in all these areas since 1999
and has a track record of success unmatched by any other environmental program.
Should the state give away $65 million a year to support temporary movie projects
involving folks like Johnny Depp and movies about how to make a porno?
Or will legislators support permanent improvements by farmers and communities that
want to make their environment cleaner and better?
How about it. Will the folks in the General Assembly be able to make this tough decision
or not?
And they dont really have to do much to put in place one of the most significant
investments in restoring Pennsylvanias environment in history.
All it takes is real leadership.
NewsClip:
Is Pennsylvania Blowing Taxpayer Funds On Film Tax Credits?
Budget Preview: 28 Days Before State Budget Deadline: Will Zack And Miri Get A Raise?
Analysis: Should Taxpayers Spend $75M A Year To Subsidize Zack & Miri Make A Porno?
Related Stories:
Bay Program Cuts
More State Funding
As a follow up to the June 20 PA Supreme Court decision declaring the 2009 and 2010 Fiscal
Code and other amendments diverting money from DCNRs Oil and Gas Fund to the General
Fund unconstitutional, the PA Environmental Defense Foundation filed a motion Thursday with
Commonwealth Court asking the Court to determine if $383 million in Shale gas upfront and
lease payments remains in the public trust to be used only for conservation purposes.
Citing an affidavit from former DCNR Secretary John Quigley saying $383 million in
Shale gas payments to DCNR Oil and Gas Lease Fund resulted directly from Shale gas leasing in
State Forests.
The motion says in part, Thousands of acres of State Forest land are no longer available
15
to the people of the Commonwealth. The lease and bonus payments directly result in the
conversion of the corpus of the public trust to private industrial development.
The funds from the lease and bonus payments must remain in the trust and must be
devoted to the conservation and maintenance of our public natural resources, consistent with the
plain language of [Article 1,] Section 27 [Environmental Rights Amendment].
If Commonwealth Court finds $383 million remains in public trust as determined by the
PA Supreme Court decision, the General Assembly might be required to pay the money back to
the Oil and Gas Lease Fund, however, courts have been reluctant to stray into this territory. At
the very least, it presents an interesting legal issue.
Click Here for a copy of the motion. Click Here for a copy of Quigleys affidavit.
For more information and background on the case, visit the PA Environmental Defense
Foundation website.
Related Stories:
PA Supreme Court Declares Laws Diverting Oil & Gas Lease Funds To General Fund
Unconstitutional
Bay Program Cuts
More State Funding
PA Environment Digest Google+ Circle, Blogs, Twitter Feeds
PA Environment Digest now has a Google+ Circle called Green Works In PA. Let us join your
Circle.
Google+ now combines all the news you now get through the PA Environment Digest,
Weekly, Blog, Twitter and Video sites into one resource.
Youll receive as-it-happens postings on Pennsylvania environmental news, daily
NewsClips and links to the weekly Digest and videos.
Also take advantage of these related services from Crisci Associates--
PA Environment Digest Twitter Feed: On Twitter, sign up to receive instant news updates.
PA Environment Daily Blog: provides daily environmental NewsClips and significant stories
and announcements on environmental topics in Pennsylvania of immediate value. Sign up and
receive as they are posted updates through your favorite RSS reader. You can also sign up for a
once daily email alerting you to new items posted on this blog. NEW! Add your constructive
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comment to any blog posting.
PA Environment - The Feds: site is intended to be a single point of reference for changing
federal environmental policy and personnel that have an impact on Pennsylvania environmental
issues and programs.
PA Capitol Digest Daily Blog to get updates every day on Pennsylvania State Government,
including NewsClips, coverage of key press conferences and more. Sign up and receive as they
are posted updates through your favorite RSS reader. You can also sign up for a once daily
email alerting you to new items posted on this blog.
PA Capitol Digest Twitter Feed: Don't forget to sign up to receive the PA Capitol Digest
Twitter feed to get instant updates on other news from in and around the Pennsylvania State
Capitol.
Senate/House Agenda/Session Schedule/Govs Schedule/ Bills Introduced
Here are the Senate and House Calendars for the next voting session day and Committees
scheduling action on bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced--
Bill Calendars
House (July 6?):; House Resolution 284 (Moul-R-Adams) urging Congress to repeal the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agencys MS4 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (sponsor
summary); Senate Bill 144 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amending Act 537 on include alternative on-lot
sewage systems in sewage plans; Senate Bill 646 (Killion-R-Delaware) eliminating the sunset of
the $2/ton Recycling Fee was amended to extend the $2 recycling fee for one year until January
1, 2021. <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.
Senate (July 5?): Senate Bill 431 (Scavello-R-Monroe) increasing penalties for littering and
illegal dumping; Senate Bill 658 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) designating the eastern hellbender as the
state amphibian (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 663 (Langlin-R-Erie) amending the PA
Construction Code to provide for third party contracts to enforce the Code (sponsor summary);
Senate Bill 692 (Blake-D-Lackawanna) amends to Sewage Facilities Act to increase what a local
agency may charge from $25 to $100 (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 792 (Alloway-R-Adams)
regulating the application of law fertilizer (sponsor summary); House Bill 187 (Sonney-R-Erie)
further authorize wind energy facilities on preserved farmland (House Fiscal Note and
summary); House Bill 290 (Metzgar-R-Bedford) providing for legislative appointments to the
Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Board, fills a gap in funding for DEPs Storage Tank
Program and extends the sunset date for the environmental cleanup programs for storage tanks;
House Bill 790 (Pashinski-D-Luzerne) establishing the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed
Committee (House Fiscal Note and summary); House Bill 1490 (Turzai-R- Allegheny) placing
the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority under the regulation of the Public Utility Commission.
<> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.
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Committee Meeting Agendas This Week
Note: This is still budget season. House and Senate committees can add and cancel meetings
with little notice.
House: <> Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.
Senate: <> Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.
Bills Pending In Key Committees
Check the PA Environmental Council Bill Tracker for the status and updates on pending state
legislation and regulations that affect environmental and conservation efforts in Pennsylvania.
Here are links to key Standing Committees in the House and Senate and the bills pending in
each--
House
Appropriations
Education
Environmental Resources and Energy
Consumer Affairs
Gaming Oversight
Human Services
Judiciary
Liquor Control
Transportation
Links for all other Standing House Committees
Senate
Appropriations
Environmental Resources and Energy
Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure
Community, Economic and Recreational Development
Education
Judiciary
Law and Justice
Public Health and Welfare
Transportation
Links for all other Standing Senate Committees
Bills Introduced
The following bills of interest were introduced last week--
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E-Waste Recycling Program Fix: Senate Bill 800 (Alloway-R-Franklin) a comprehensive
amendment to the Electrical Waste Recycling Program, repealing the Covered Device Recycling
Act of 2010 (sponsor summary).
Lake Awareness Month: House Resolution 427 (Wentling-R-Crawford) recognizing July as

Lake Awareness Month (sponsor summary) was adopted by the House.
Session Schedule
Here is the latest voting session schedule for the Senate and House--
Senate
July 5?
House
July 6?
Governors Schedule
Gov. Tom Wolf's work calendar will be posted each Friday and his public schedule for the day
will be posted each morning. Click Here to view Gov. Wolfs Weekly Calendar and Public
Appearances.
Bills On Governor's Desk
The following bills were given final approval by the Senate and House and are now on the
Governor's desk for action--
Banning Plastic Bag Bans: House Bill 1071 (Farry-R-Bucks) to prevent the imposition of a
ban, fee or surcharge on recyclable plastic bags (House Fiscal Note and summary). This bill was
vetoed by the Governor-- Veto No. 1.
Senate/House Bills Moving
The following bills of interest saw action last week in the House and Senate--
House
Roll Back Protection From Deep Mining: Senate Bill 624 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) retroactively
rolling back protections for streams from deep coal mining was reported out of the House
Appropriations Committee and passed by the House by a vote of 120 to 77. A House Fiscal
Note and summary is available. The bill now returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote.
(Click Here for more.)
Roll Back Protection From Surface Mining: House Bill 1333 (Gabler-R-Clearfield)
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eliminating the current DEP limit on how long surface mine operators can temporarily cease
mining operations from 180 days to the federal standard of what could be years was reported out
of the House Appropriations Committee and was passed by the House 163 to 33. A House Fiscal
Note and summary is available. The bill now goes to the Senate for action.
Emergency Mine Medical Responders: House Bill 1341 (Pyle-R-Armstrong) providing for the
certification of bituminous coal mine emergency medical responders was reported out of the
House Appropriations Committee and was passed by the House 197 to 0. A House Fiscal Note
and summary is available. The bill now goes to the Senate for action.
Ag Security Areas: House Bill 1550 (Klunk-R-York) amend the Agricultural Area Security
Law allowing for the voluntary relinquish the right to construct a residence was reported out of
the House Rules Committee, referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and
passed by the House. A House Fiscal Note and summary is available. The bill now goes to the
Senate for action.
Members Of Ag Lands Condemnation Board: House Bill 1518 (Causer-R-Cameron) further

providing for the appointment of members to the Agricultural Lands Condemnation Approval
Board was reported out of the House Rules Committee, referred into and out of the House
Appropriations Committee and passed by the House. A House Fiscal Note and summary is
available. The bill now goes to the Senate for action.
Leaf Waste: House Bill 927 (Rader-R- Monroe) mandating curbside leaf pick up programs was
reported out of the House Rules Committee and referred into and out of the House
Appropriations Committee and passed by the House. A House Fiscal Note and summary is
available. The bill now goes to the Senate for action.
Construction Code: House Bill 1469 (Heffley-R-Carbon) authorize municipalities to use

third-party agencies to enforce the Uniform Construction Code was amended on the House
Floor, was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the
House. A House Fiscal Note and summary is available. The bill now goes to the Senate for
action.
Overweight Vehicles: House Bill 1426 (Fee-R-Lancaster) relating to overweight vehicle permits
during holiday periods was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee and was passed
by the House. A House Fiscal Note and summary is available.
The bill was reported out of the Senate Transportation Committee and is now on the
Senate Calendar for action.
Performance-Based Budgeting: Senate Bill 181 (Mensch-R-Montgomery) providing for a

performance-based budgeting (exempting appropriations to the General Assembly and the
Judiciary) and creating a Performance-Based Budget Board was referred to the House
Appropriations Committee. A House Fiscal Note and summary is available.
Smart Electric Meters: House Bill 1563 (Reese-R-Somerset) requiring consent for sharing
20
information from electricity smart meters (sponsor summary) was reported out of the House
Consumer Affairs Committee, was referred into and out of the House Rules Committee and
referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
Landowner Recreational Liability: House Bill 544 (Moul-R-Adams) further providing for
landowner liability protection for opening land for use by snowmobiles and ATVs (sponsor
summary) was reported out of the House Rules Committee, amended on the House Floor and
was referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
Natural Gas Vehicles: Senate Bill 589 (Langerholc-R-Bedford) increasing maximum allowable
weight for natural gas vehicles (sponsor summary) was reported out of the House Transportation
Committee and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
Recycling Fee Extension: Senate Bill 646 (Killion-R-Delaware) eliminating the sunset of the
$2/ton Recycling Fee was amended to extend the $2 recycling fee for one year until January 1,
2021 and reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is on
the House Calendar for action.
Onlot Septic Systems: Senate Bill 144 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amending Act 537 on include
alternative on-lot sewage systems in sewage plans was amended and reported out of the House
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is on the House Calendar for action.
Paying for Water Laterals: Senate Bill 656 (Fontana-D-Allegheny) authorize local
governments to make funds available to repair or replace lateral water lines contaminated with
lead (Senate Fiscal Note and summary) was reported out of the House Local Government
Committee and Tabled.
Lake Awareness Month: House Resolution 427 (Wentling-R-Crawford) recognizing July as

Lake Awareness Month (sponsor summary) was adopted by the House.
Senate
Nominations: The nomination of John Coleman for Public Utility Commission was
unanimously reported out of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure
Committee and is now before the full Senate for action.
Littering Penalties: Senate Bill 431 (Scavello-R-Monroe) increasing penalties for littering and
illegal dumping was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now on the
Senate Calendar for action.
Lawn Fertilizer Application: Senate Bill 792 (Alloway-R-Adams) regulating the application of
law fertilizer (sponsor summary) was reported out of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.
USTIF Tank Board: House Bill 290 (Metzgar-R-Bedford) providing for legislative
21
appointments to the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Board, fills a gap in funding for
DEPs Storage Tank Program and extends the sunset date for the environmental cleanup
programs for storage tanks was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now
on the Senate Calendar for action.
PUC Oversight Of Pittsburgh Water/Sewer Authority: House Bill 1490 (Turzai-R-

Allegheny) placing the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority under the regulation of the Public
Utility Commission was amended and reported out of the Senate Consumer Protection and
Professional Licensure Committee, referred into and out of the Senate Appropriations Committee
and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.
Construction Code: Senate Bill 663 (Langlin-R-Erie) amending the PA Construction Code to
provide for third party contracts to enforce the Code (sponsor summary) was reported from the
Senate Appropriations Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.
Construction Code: House Bill 409 (Evankovich-R-Allegheny) making changes to the process
for adopting amendments to the Uniform Construction Code was amended and reported out of
the Senate Labor and Industry Committee and was referred to the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
Purchase Of Federal Timber: House Bill 1494 (Rapp-R-Forest) authorizing the state to enter
into a cooperative agreement with federal agencies for the purpose of selling timber on federal
land was reported out of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and was referred to
the Senate Appropriations Committee.
News From The Capitol
House Retroactively Rolls Back Protection For Streams From Underground Coal Mining
Senate Bill 624 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) was passed

Monday by the House by a vote of 120 to 77. The
bill retroactively changes the protection streams
receive under Act 54 from underground coal
mining.
The bill was introduced to influence an
appeal now pending before the Environmental
Hearing Board of an underground coal mining
permit allowing Consol to longwall mine under
streams in and around Ryerson Station State Park in
Greene County. (EHB Docket No. 2014-072-B)
Groups like the PA Environmental Council have opposed the bill on the grounds recent
studies by the Department of Environmental Protection have demonstrated the existing
protections in Act 54 are not adequate to prevent permanent, long-term damage to streams. Click
Here for more.
A motion by Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) to declare the bill unconstitutional based on
22
the recent PA Supreme Court decision on the Environmental Rights Amendment was defeated
136 to 61.
The bill now returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote. A House Fiscal Note and
summary is available.
(Photo: Dam at Ryerson Station Station Park, Greene County damaged by underground coal
mining.)
NewsClips:
Activists Fight Bailey Underground Coal Mine In Greene County
White: Coal, A Four Letter Word?
Want A Coal Job? Better Work On Those PlayStation Skills
U.S. EIA: Future Coal Production Depends On Resources, Technology Not Just Policy Choices
This Isnt Clean Coal News Trump Wanted During Energy Week
Southern Suspends Work On Kemper Clean Coal Gasification Units
(Photo: Dam in Ryerson State Park already damaged by this same Consol underground coal
mine.)
House Passes Bill Extending Temporary Cessation Of Surface Coal Mine Operations For
Years
The House Monday voted 163 to 33 to pass House Bill 1333 (Gabler-R-Clearfield) eliminating
the current DEP limit on how long surface mine operators can temporarily cease mining
operations from 180 days to the federal standard of what could be up to five years.
Rep. Gabler said this measure was necessary because the Pennsylvania coal industry is
experiencing severe economic hardships.
While the legislation says the mine operator remains responsible for all permit
obligations, clearly in this economic climate for coal, this bill would give mine operators license
to simply disappear without reclaiming the site.
In May of last year, the PA Environmental Council sent a letter to Gabler and then to all
members of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee expressing significant
concerns with the legislation.
While recognizing the current market challenges faced by the coal industry, PEC said it
was concerned about the risk of adding to Pennsylvanias coal mining-related environmental
liabilities if appropriate safeguards are not put in place during the cessation of operations.
Without these safeguards, PEC said, these liabilities could ultimately be borne by
Commonwealth taxpayers if an operator elects not to restart mining activity or declares
bankruptcy. (Click Here for more.)
The bill now goes to the Senate for action. A House Fiscal Note and summary is
available.
NewsClips:
23
Senate Lawn Fertilizer Application Bill Unanimously Approved By Committee
The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee

Monday unanimously reported out Senate Bill 792
(Alloway-R-Adams) that would regulate the application of
lawn fertilizer on June 26.
The bill was introduced last Wednesday by Sen.
Richard Alloway (R-Adams), one of Pennsylvanias
representatives on the Interstate Chesapeake Bay
Commission.
The health of Pennsylvanias streams and rivers is
of critical importance to our economic future and quality
of life, said Sen. Alloway. Unfortunately, thousands of miles of streams in the Commonwealth
are impaired due to excess levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. Excess levels of these nutrients are
also significant contributors to the impairment of the Chesapeake Bay, whose watershed covers
50 percent of our state.
For decades, Pennsylvanias farmers have led the way to implement erosion and
sedimentation controls, nutrient management plans and other best management practices on
farms, explained Sen. Alloway. More recently, wastewater treatment plants have begun to
implement upgrades to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus emissions. Both sectors should be
commended for their successful efforts.
Unfortunately, as these sectors continue to implement nutrient reductions, the loads
from urban and suburban stormwater continue to grow, noted Sen. Alloway. In the Chesapeake
Bay Watershed, acres of turf now outnumber acres of corn.
This legislation will reduce the environmental impact of fertilizer applied to turf areas,
such as lawns, golf courses and athletic fields, while ensuring that all turf areas within the
Commonwealth will be able to receive adequate nutrients so that adverse turf health will not
result as an unintended consequence, said Sen. Alloway.
In addition to setting clear standards for the application of fertilizer to turf, the bill will
also require all professional fertilizer applicators to be certified in proper application techniques
and best management practices, said Sen. Alloway. This legislation is specifically focused on
the lawn care industry and will not apply to agricultural production.
Similar legislation has already been enacted in Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey, and
the industry has expressed a strong desire for consistency across the region and state.
The bill now goes to the full Senate for action.
Sen. Elder Vogel (R-Beaver) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Agriculture
Committee, and can be contacted by sending email to: evogel@pasen.gov. Sen. Judy Schwank
(D-Berks) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by sending email to:
SenatorSchwank@pasenate.com.
House Environmental Committee OKs 1 Year Extension Of Recycling Fee
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The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Thursday reported out two bills,
one bill to extend the $2 Recycling Fee in Act 101, but only after amending the bill to extend the
fee for one year. The bills included--
-- Senate Bill 646 (Killion-R-Delaware) now amended to extend the $2 recycling fee for one
year until January 1, 2021; and
-- Senate Bill 144 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amending Act 537 ton include alternative on-lot sewage
systems in sewage plans (sponsor summary) which was also amended to require DEP to do a
study on the effectiveness of alternative systems.
Both bills are now on the House Calendar for action.
Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental
Committee and can be contacted by sending email to: jmaher@pahousegop.com. Rep. Mike
Carroll serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by sending email to:
mcarroll@pahouse.net.
NewsClips:
Wolf Cites Environmental Rights Amendment In Vetoing Plastic Bag Bill
AP: Wolf Vetoes Bill To Outlaw Local Plastic Bag Bans, Fees
McKelvey: Wolf Sandbags The Ban On Plastic Bag Bans
TVs, Electronics Pile Up In Donation Bins In Greensburg
Jermyn Using Recycling Road Millings For Road, Alley Repair
DEP Investigating Chemical Reaction At Covanta Waste Recovery Plant Near Lebanon
AP: Lehigh County Salvage Yard Destroyed In Fire
Joint Budget & Finance Committee Releases Report On Beneficial Use Of Biosolids
The Joint Legislative Budget and Finance Committee Tuesday released a report on PAs
Program for the Beneficial Use Of Biosolids (Sewage Sludge) by Land Application done
pursuant to House Resolution 60 (Emrick-R-Northampton) adopted in 2016.
Among the findings in the report were--
-- PA sends more of its biosolids to landfills than most states. About 46 percent are
landfilled, 38 percent land applied and 15 percent incinerated. Nationally about 60 percent of
biosolids are land applied and 20 percent landfilled. Disposal of biosolids cost about $70 million
by all methods in Pennsylvania, according to a 2007 Center for Rural Pennsylvania report.
-- DEP only conducts periodic inspections of biosolids land application sites. The
Committee reviewed 12 facilities and 36 land application sites for 2014-2016 and found none of
the facilities had an inspection and only 30 percent of the sites had an annual administrative
review.
-- Public concern over offensive odors has been cited as the biggest threat to the beneficial
use of biosolids.
-- Biosolids reduce fertilizer costs to farmers and the use of biosolids is protected under the
Right To Farm Act as a result of a 2015 PA Supreme Court decision.
The report contained a single recommendation-- DEP should modify its General Permit
requirements to require biosolids generators to develop odor management plans covering both
the operating facilities and the receiving sites.
25
Click Here to watch a video of the meeting.
Click Here for a summary of the report. Click Here for the full report. Click Here for the
presentation given to the Committee Tuesday by Executive Director Philip Durgin.
Sen. Bob Mensch (R-Montgomery) serves as Chair and Sen. James Brewster
(D-Allegheny) serves as Vice Chair of the Joint Committee.
Sen. Alloway Introduces Bill To Totally Revamp PA Electronics Waste Recycling Program
Sen. Richard Alloway (R-Franklin) Thursday

introduced Senate Bill 800 to create a new Waste
Electronic Equipment Recovery Act to replace the
2010 Covered Device Recycling Act that provides
for the collection and recycling of electronics
waste.
The bill continues the existing ban on
disposing of electronic waste in landfills, with a
limited exception for old cathode ray tube (CRT)
televisions and monitors. The bill allows leaded
glass to be managed at a facility permitted for the
storage or dedicated retrievable cells for leaded glass that complies with EPA waste regulations.
Companies or governments are prohibited from charging for the collection and recycling
of electronic waste, except a seller of electronic equipment shall collect a fee from consumers
equal to 0.5 percent of the full retail prices, excluding Sales Tax, to be used to administer and
implement the program outlined in the Act.
The Department of Environmental Protection is required to establish a network of
convenience centers available in every county as a collection point for electronic waste through a
Request For Expression Of Interest process to solicit proposals from counties and municipal
authorities.
Grants would be available to set up the convenience centers from revenue collected from
the consumer fee.
After the convenience centers are established, DEP is required to issue an invitation to
bid on recycling electronics waste from these convenience centers. Electronics equipment
manufacturers are required to cover the full cost of recycling the electronics waste through the
convenience centers.
Electronic equipment manufacturers may petition DEP to set up a convenience center
network for recycling electronic waste.
For more information on the existing program, visit DEPs Covered Device Recycling
Act webpage.
NewsClips:
26
Related Story:
Renewing Recycling Fee, Illegal Dumping, Fixing E-Waste Recycling Law Key Issues At
Hearing On Act 101
Gov. Wolf Vetoes Bill Banning Communities From Adopting Plastic Bag Bans, Fees
Gov. Tom Wolf Friday vetoed House Bill 1071 (Farry-R-Bucks) which would have prohibited
local governments from adopting bans or fees on plastic bags used at grocery and other retail
stores.
In vetoing the bill, Gov. Wolf relied in part on the June 20 PA Supreme Court decision
which said state and local government had an obligation, as the publics trustee for clean air,
pure water under the constitutions Environmental Rights Amendment, to evaluate its actions as
trustee of these resources and the obligation to conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all
the people.
The text of the Governors veto message follows--
This legislation does considerably more than forbid political subdivisions from imposing
a ban, fee, surcharge, or tax on recyclable plastic bags provided to consumers.
It potentially thwarts local governments from complying with their trustee obligations
under Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, to protect and preserve the
environmental resources in their communities.
The prohibition under this bill, therefore, is not consistent with the rights vested by the
Environmental Rights Amendment of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and the duties upon all
governmental actors, including municipalities.
The constitutional obligation under the amendment binds not only state but also local
government. As such, the bill cannot remove a political subdivisions separate authority to
implement its independent constitutional duties.
In practical terms, this means government, at all levels, is required to prevent the
unreasonable degradation, diminution, or depletion of our water, air, and land. This prohibition
hinders the performance of this important requirement.
This bill also contains a significant preemption issue as it relates to the rights of political
subdivisions. In my view, the Commonwealth should only on rare occasions preempt the rights
of local governments to implement laws and policies that it believes are in its best interest.
Here, the Commonwealth is impeding the freedom of local governments to regulate
recyclable plastic bags. This policy supporting this preemption is misguided and should not
become the law of this Commonwealth.
For the reasons set forth above, I must withhold my signature from House Bill 1071,
Printers Number 1270.
A House Fiscal Note and summary of the bill is available. This is Governors Veto No.
1.
NewsClips:
27
The Feds
U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Reports Out RECLAIM Mine Reclamation
Initiative
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Tuesday

amended and reported out H.R. 1731, the RECLAIM
(Revitalizing the Economy of Coal Communities By
Leveraging Local Activities and Investing More) Act
mine reclamation and economic development initiative to
the full House, according to Robert Hughes, Executive
Director of the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine
Reclamation Coalition.
H.R. 1731 would make $200 million available
over 5 years to states and Indian tribes to reclaim abandoned mines that promote economic
revitalization.
The coal industry is opposed to the bill. Pennsylvania and the National Association of
Abandoned Mine Lands Programs and the Interstate Mining Compact Commission and many
other groups support the proposal.
An amendment to the bill made by Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) strengthened
the bill by prohibiting states using federal mine reclamation funds for purposes other than mine
reclamation from receiving future funding under this program.
John Dawes, executive director of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, noted
that the RECLAIM bill has solid bipartisan support. Members of the Natural Resources
Committee from both parties clearly understand how important RECLAIM is to struggling coal
communities, he said. Its great to see bipartisan cooperation to advance this bill that both
cleans the environment and creates jobs. We really appreciate Rep Thompsons strong support of
the bill in committee.
Pennsylvania still has 180,000 acres of polluted, abandoned mine lands and 5,000 miles
of mine-polluted streams to clean up, said Dawes. Projects like Ehrenfeld [Cambria County]
show how RECLAIM could fix long-standing environmental hazards, put people to work, and
create a better future for rural coal communities.
There is also a companion bill in the U.S. Senate S.728 (McConnell-R-KY).
Click Here to watch of video of the Committee markup session.
RECLAIM Pilot Program
The RECLAIM Act follows the successful implementation of the federal AML Pilot
Project that was enacted in the 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill.
That $90 million pilot spearheaded in Pennsylvania ($30 million), West Virginia, and
28
Kentucky provided coal communities with grants to reclaim abandoned mine lands with
economic development purposes in mind, create new job opportunities, and stimulate the local
economy.
No new revenues are provided by this effort. The funding that would be provided through
the RECLAIM Act already exists in the Abandoned Mine Land Trust Fund that was established
in 1977 to help states saddled with the legacy of abandoned mine lands and polluted waters.
In Pennsylvania alone, the cost to remediate that legacy exceeds several billion dollars.
Reauthorize AML Fee
Also on the table in Congress is reauthorization of the federal Abandoned Mine
Reclamation Fee which is the source of revenue for the RECLAIM and federal Abandoned Mine
Reclamation Program. The fees are set to expire in 2021.
The Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation is participating in the
national effort to reauthorize SMCRA by collaborating with States and Tribes to establish a
grassroots campaign and publish tools for citizens, non-profits, and legislators to use for
advocating for abandoned mine reclamation.
Click Here for a presentation by WPCAMR on fee reauthorization. Click Here for a
video on reauthorization. Questions should be directed to Andy McAllister, WPCAMR, by
calling by 724-832-3625 or send email to: andy@wpcamr.org.
NewsClips:
Lobbying Fight Erupts Over RECLAIM Coal Reclamation Initiative, Now Opposed By Coal
Companies
RECLAIM Is A Real Chance To Help Coal Communities, If We Fight For It
Coal Creek Commerce Center Built On Abandoned Coal Mine
Pumped Hydroelectric Plant Proposed For Shenandoah Strip Mine Pit
Related Stories:
U.S. House Hearing On RECLAIM Making $200M Available For Mine Reclamation
John Dawes Urges Congress to Reauthorize Federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fee
Op-Ed: Reclaiming PAs Coal Heritage With New Federal Legislation-- RECLAIM
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Reacts To EPA Waters Of U.S. Rule Repeal
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Vice President Kim Coble issued this statement Tuesday following
EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announcement they are proposing a rule to rescind
the Clean Water Rule and revert to a previous definition of "waters of the United States."
"Clean water is a right, not a luxury. The proposal to rescind the federal clean water rule
would allow more pollution in headwater streams and wetlands.
"Fortunately, most of the Bay states have regulations to protect these waters. But that
could change. It is far cheaper to prevent pollution in the first place, than clean it up downstream.
"The Blueprint is working and we are seeing real progress. Now is not the time for the
federal government to weaken efforts to reduce pollution."
[Note: Republican and Democratic Secretaries of DEP in Pennsylvania have said the
repeal of the waters of the U.S. rule will have no impact here because state laws are stronger than
29
federal laws in protecting streams, rivers and wetlands as waters of the Commonwealth. But it
will cause confusion among individuals expecting federal rules to apply in the state.
[The Secretaries of DEP, DCNR, Agriculture and the Fish and Boat Commission pointed
out that fact and the potential for confusion in a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on June
19.]
NewsClips:
McKelvey: Repealing Waters Of U.S. Rule Could Cause Confusion In PA
EPA Moves To Rescind Contested Waters Of The U.S. Regulation
EPA To Propose Repealing Waters Of The U.S. Rule
EPA Moves To Repeal Waters Of The U.S. Rule
Related Story:
State Environmental Secretaries Hope For Full Collaboration In Developing New Waters Of
U.S. Rule
State Environmental Secretaries Hope For Full Collaboration In Developing New Waters
Of U.S. Rule
Responding to U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitts proposal Tuesday to withdraw the agencys
2015 Waters of the U.S. Rule, the Environmental Council Of States expressed hope for a future
collaborative process that ensures protection of human health and the environment.
"Today's proposed rule is a key step in creating an opportunity to develop a regulatory
approach to defining waters of the United States in a fully collaborative fashion, said ECOS
President John Linc Stine, Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. We look
forward to a productive, results-oriented conversation among states, EPA, the Army Corps of
Engineers, and all stakeholders to provide greater regulatory certainty and clarity, and to ensure
that waters are protected by an appropriate allocation of state and federal laws, regulations,
programs, and resources."
Last week, ECOS sent Pruitt a comment letter on the redefinition of waters of the U.S.
following the February 2017 Presidential Executive Order on Restoring the Rule of Law,
Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the Waters of the United States Rule.
In the letter, the association requests that EPA and the Corps engage states and other
parties with significant interest in the ultimate WOTUS regulation via a negotiated rulemaking.
[Note: Republican and Democratic Secretaries of DEP in Pennsylvania have said the
repeal of the waters of the U.S. rule will have no impact here because state laws are stronger than
federal laws in protecting streams, rivers and wetlands as waters of the Commonwealth. But it
will cause confusion among individuals expecting federal rules to apply in the state.
[The Secretaries of DEP, DCNR, Agriculture and the Fish and Boat Commission pointed
out that fact and the potential for confusion in a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on June
19.]
Click Here for ECOS materials related to the Presidents FY18 EPA budget.
For more information on initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Environmental
Council Of States website.
NewsClips:
30
Related Story:
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Reacts To Waters Of U.S. Rule Repeal
News From Around The State
Gov. Wolf Announces Funding For 17 Stormwater Projects In 5 Chesapeake Bay Counties
Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday announced the

approval of over $2.2 million in funding to
support to 17 municipal stormwater projects
in Pennsylvanias portion of the Chesapeake
Bay Watershed that will remove 396 pounds
of phosphorous, 2,800 pounds of nitrogen,
and almost 800,000 pounds of sediment from
local waters.
The convenience we all enjoy with
pavement comes with a tangible cost:
increased runoff pollution in our local
waters, said Gov. Wolf. Im pleased to support the municipalitiestowns, cities, and other
large land ownersstriving to meet the stormwater challenge in Pennsylvania.
The list of projects approved includes--
Blair County--
-- Altoona City: St. Therese of the Child Jesus rain garden phase 2 ($55,349)
-- Blair Township: Edgewood Drive stormwater basin retrofit ($100,000)
-- Duncansville Borough: Duncansville Memorial Park bioretention, rain gardens, and permeable
pavement ($200,000)
Cumberland County--
-- Carlisle Borough: Urban stormwater park native wetland plantings ($200,000)
Lemoyne Borough: Streambank restoration at Harrisburg Academy ($176,700)
-- Mechanicsburg: Northside stormwater basin retrofit ($164,381)
Dauphin County--
-- Paxtang Borough: Paxtang Parkway rain garden ($72,000)
Lancaster County--
-- Denver Borough: Denver Memorial Park rain gardens and streambank restoration ($38,220)
-- East Lampeter Township: Mill Bridge Campground riparian buffer stream restoration
($199,610)
-- Mount Joy Borough: Rotary Park vegetation swale ($64,633) and Pink Alley stormwater basin
retrofit ($40,422)
-- Lancaster Township: Kensington Club stormwater basin retrofit ($200,000)
-- Rapho Township: Lefever Road stormwater basin retrofit ($161,360)
York County--
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-- Goldsboro Borough: Stream restoration between South York and Water Streets ($86,290)
-- Paradise Township: BMC Paradise Truss Plant retrofit ($142,082)
-- Spring Grove Borough: Campus Avenue stream restoration phase 1 ($185,000)
-- York: Memorial Park Poorhouse Run streambank restoration ($200,00)
DEP is ramping up its work on implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agencys Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit program, which incorporates
more stringent stormwater management requirements.
About 1,000 municipalities around the state must meet new requirements; approximately
340 are in the 43 Pennsylvania counties in the Bay watershed.
To make the greatest, most timely impact with our resources, said Department of
Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell. This funding targets projects in our
Bay watershed counties with the highest pollutant loads. Collectively, the projects will remove
396 pounds of phosphorous, 2,800 pounds of nitrogen, and almost 800,000 pounds of sediment
from local waters.
Click Here to watch of short video of McDonnells remarks.
Projects are funded through the EPA Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grants Program, a
vital part of Pennsylvanias progress in cleaning up its local waters and thereby benefiting the
Bay.
Earlier, Secretary McDonnell acknowledged the projects in-person at an event at the
York County Prison to showcase the countys model approach to stormwater management.
The prison projectconverting stormwater basins to bioretention basinswas one of 19
projects chosen last year for EPA grant funding. Led by the York County Planning Commission,
it reflects the countys outstanding teamwork approach to municipal stormwater management.
The County of York and 43 municipalities are working together to clean up impaired
streams through their MS4 [stormwater] permits, said Felicia Dell, director of the York County
Planning Commission. Together weve developed a regional plan that identifies best
management practices and collectively funds and constructs them. The municipalities should be
lauded for their vision and spirit of cooperation.
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan webpage. Learn more about stormwater
management, visit DEPs MS4 Stormwater Program webpage. To learn more about TMDLs,
visit DEPs TMDL Priorities and TMDL Plans webpages.
NewsClips:
Highland Parks First Green Stormwater System Completed
Lancaster, EPA Nearing Agreement On Sewer Overflow Green Infrastructure Plan
Foundation For PA Watersheds Accepting Grant Letters Of Intent Thru August 15
The Foundation for PA Watersheds is now

accepting applications for its Fall round of grants.
The deadline for letters of intent to apply for grants
is August 15.
Two types of grants are available
32
-- Convening Grants are designed to support project collaboration and special needs which
generally do not exceed $2,000; and
-- Project Grants for watershed restoration projects.
Since the Foundations grant programs began, it has awarded 1,287 grants totalling
$12,138,093 of its money and leveraging $167,837,504 of other funding.
Click Here for all the details. Click Here to get ideas from projects funded and
completed in prior rounds.
For more information, visit the Foundation for PA Watersheds website.
(Photo: Erico Bridge Restoration Project, Slippery Rock Creek, Butler County.)
NewsClips:
4 Mile Run Project To Redirect Water, Prevent Erosion Resumes
Bristol Borough Marsh Nature Preserve Joins Alliance To Protect Waterways
RiverFest In Wilkes-Barre Provides Environmental Education Along Susquehanna
Schneck: Pennsylvanias Most Beautiful Lakes
Delaware RiverKeeper June 30 RiverKeeper Video Report
LandStudies To Assist Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative Pollution

Reduction Planning
LandStudies, Inc., an ecology-focused engineering

and landscape architecture company based in Lititz,
Lancaster County, has been selected to help the
Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative
develop a multi-municipal Pollution Reduction Plan,
The Plan is a requirement of the nine member
municipalities Municipal Separate Storm Sewer
System (MS4) permit.
A PRP is a document that shows how a municipality will reduce the amount of pollution
like sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus that ends up in their creeks and rivers from
stormwater runoff.
The Plan will focus on the Cobbs Creek and Darby Creek watersheds in the Delaware
33
River basin.
LandStudies staff members Bob Gray and Mike LaSala will collect and organize
information from the nine individual municipalities into a single multi-municipal PRP for
submission to the Department of Environmental Protection.
Their expertise will be essential for the development of budget estimates, best
management practices, and long-term maintenance requirements.
LaSala has been helping municipalities with their MS4 requirements for many years,
while Gray is new to LandStudies. His role is project manager, particularly in southeastern PA
a region in which LandStudies has recently begun to work more often.
We are excited to work with the many municipalities of the Eastern Delaware County
Stormwater Collaborative to reduce the amount of pollution entering Cobbs and Darby creeks,
said Gray. This kind of multi-municipal effort is still relatively new in Pennsylvania, but we see
it as an opportunity to make great strides in water quality protection with less resources needed
per municipality.
To learn more about MS4 stormwater management, visit LandStudies MS4 Permits
webpage. Learn more about stormwater management statewide, visit DEPs MS4 Stormwater
Program webpage.
NewsClips:
Related Story:
Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority Leads MS4 Stormwater Effort To Save Communities More
Than 50% In Compliance Costs
Clinton, Centre, Lycoming County Farmers, Apply For NRCS Funding To Install
Conservation Practices
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service-PA Friday encouraged producers in

Clinton, Centre and Lycoming Counties to apply for funding to install innovative conservation
practices that will help improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.
Applications are due August 4, although applications will be accepted until funds are
depleted.
Under a special initiative through USDAs Regional Conservation Partnerships Program,
NRCS is partnering with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA to assist farmers with establishing
practices to improve soil health, reduce erosion and nutrient loss, and control stormwater runoff
to local streams draining into the Chesapeake Bay.
Examples of management practices include continuous no-till planting, diverse crop
rotations, integrating grazing with crops, planting multi species cover crops, and Integrated Pest
Management (IPM).
These will help to promote soil organisms and biodiversity. Many of these practices
improve plant productivity by improving access to soil nutrients, reducing demands for
supplemental fertilizer, increasing soil water holding capacity, and protecting from drought and
high-volume rain events.
34
This initiative will focus on 4,000 acres enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship
Program . Additional resource concerns on these farms will be addressed through the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
Click Here to apply for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
Click Here to apply for Conservation Stewardship Program.
Producers interested in applying should contact their local USDA NRCS Service Center
listed below--
-- Centre and Clinton Counties: Mill Hall NRCS Field Office, 216 Spring Run Road, Room
102, Mill Hall, PA 17751-9587, 570-726-3196, ext. 3
-- Lycoming County: Montoursville NRCS Field Office, 542 County Farm Road, Suite 204,
Montoursville, PA 17754-9209, 570-433-3902, ext. 3
For more information on the financial, technical and other assistance available to install
farm conservation practices anywhere in Pennsylvania, visit the Natural Resources Conservation
Service-PA webpage.
NewsClips:
Company Whose Subsidiary Is In Default Of $7.8 Million PennVEST Loan Again Pushes
Bill To Get More State Funding
Representatives of Colorado-based Bion Environmental

Technologies, whose subsidiary Bion PA1, LLC is still in
default of its 2009 $7.8 million loan from the PA Infrastructure
Investment Authority (PennVEST), has again been shopping
draft legislation around Harrisburg like they did in 2013, 2015
and in 2016 to establish appropriate public policies which will
create regulations and funding mechanisms for Bion
Environmental Technologies, Inc, and other companies.
That legislation was introduced last Friday-- Senate Bill
799 (Alloway-R-Adams)-- as an initiative of the Coalition for
Affordable Bay Solutions, a nonprofit advocacy group whose
founding members include Bion and related companies.
Sen. Richard Alloway, one of Pennsylvanias representatives to the interstate Chesapeake
Bay Commission, introduced the bill he said as a way to get a conversation started on needed
funding for the Chesapeake Bay cleanup and new methods to meet Pennsylvanias obligations.
He said he knows there are flaws in the bill and is soliciting comments from various
interest groups and said the bill is not on a fast track.
35
This article includes background on--
-- Bion Environmental Technologies in Pennsylvania
-- A summary of Senate Bill 799 as drafted
-- An outline of 8 concerns with Senate Bill 799 as drafted
-- A Description Of Many Other Solutions That Work
-- Spotlighting The Need For Dedicated Clean Water Funding
-- PA Already Has $65 Million/Year For Clean Water Projects
-- Increase/Broaden REAP Farm Conservation Tax Credit
-- Institute A Pay-For-Success Public/Private Investment Program
-- Encourage Incorporating BMP Construction In Local Development
-- Double-Down On Recreation Investments By Incorporating Stormwater BMPs
-- Local Stormwater Management Fees
-- Chesapeake Bay Success In PA Depends On A Fully Participating Federal Partner
It concludes by saying, there are lots of innovative solutions out there that do NOT
involve throwing everything weve done up until now out the window and that encourage truly
cost-effective and efficient ways to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.
All we need is some creative leadership.
Background On Bion In PA
This bill makes at least the fourth attempt by Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. to
establish appropriate public policies which will create regulations and funding mechanisms for
Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. and other companies.
The bill would tax municipalities statewide, many of whom in the Chesapeake Bay
Watershed area have already complied with nutrient reduction requirements, to let companies
like Bion bid on funding projects to reduce nutrient discharges only in the Chesapeake Bay
drainage area.
According to lobbying expense reports submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of
State, the Coalition for Affordable Bay Solutions spent $137,121 on lobbying activities between
April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. (Click Here to search for these reports with the Coalition as
the principal name.)
In 2009, the PA Infrastructure Investment Authority approved a $7.8 million loan to Bion
PA1, LLC to construct a manure treatment facility on the Kreider Farm in Lancaster County.
Bion PA1, LLC has not made a payment on its PennVEST loan since January 2013, the
same year Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. first began seeking state funding for its
operations. Bion PA1, LLC still owes PennVEST $7,754,000 on its $7.8 million loan,
according to PennVEST.
On September 25, 2015 PennVEST sent a letter of default to Bion PA 1, LLC, in care of
Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc., which said in part, ... Bion abandoned the project in the
Commonwealth.
According to the March 31, 2017 10-Q filed by Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc.
with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the Lancaster manure treatment project is
valued at $0 on its books.
Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. further stated in that 10-Q report, A significant
portion of Bion's activities concern efforts with private and public stakeholders (at local and state
level) in Pennsylvania (and other Chesapeake Bay and Midwest and Great Lakes states) and at
the federal level (the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the Department of
36
Agriculture ("USDA") (and other executive departments) and Congress) to establish appropriate
public policies which will create regulations and funding mechanisms that foster installation of
the low cost environmental solutions that Bion (and others) can provide through clean-up of
agricultural waste streams.
The Company anticipates that such efforts will continue in Pennsylvania and other
Chesapeake Bay watershed states throughout the next 12 months and in various additional states
thereafter.
Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. stated further, There is no realistic likelihood
that funds required during the next twelve months (or in the periods immediately thereafter) for
the Company's basic operations and/or proposed Projects will be generated from operations.
Therefore, the Company will need to raise sufficient funds from external sources such as debt or
equity financings or other potential sources.
All this information is available in public records and quoted here from the companys
filings with the federal Securities and Exchange Administration. Click Here for the most recent
10-Q and 10-K reports.
Summary of Senate Bill 799
This summary follows the language in Senate Bill 799, promoted by Bion, but
unfortunately, the language of the bill has holes and gaps. Those gaps are noted where
appropriate.
Senate Bill 799 would require any municipality (not public authorities that hold the
permits for wastewater plants required to make reductions) and public stormwater authorities
anywhere in the state (there are fewer than 10) that discharge nitrogen or phosphorus into the
waters of the Commonwealth to pay, in aggregate, $50 million annually for 10 years to raise
$500 million.
The funds are used, according to the bill, to pay for practices that reduce nitrogen and
phosphorus pollutants going into rivers and streams that make up the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
drainage area in Pennsylvania, about half the state.
In return, DEP is required to transfer the total nutrient reduction mandates (met and
unmet, it is not clear) from the municipalities or public stormwater authorities statewide to the
competitive bidding program established in the legislation.
The municipalities and stormwater authorities in turn are absolved of any further
responsibility for implementing those reduction requirements forever.
As drafted, there is no funding for projects to reduce nutrient discharges in the other half
of Pennsylvania outside of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed area, so DEP is left on the hook for
the reductions with no funding source.
The bill requires the State Conservation Commission to administer the overall bidding
program outline in the bill and adopt regulations to implement it.
The first task for the Commission is to determine the unmet nitrogen and phosphorus
reductions required by the more than 400 TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) Plans statewide
over three years. The program in the bill is a 10 year program.
Based on that number for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the PA Infrastructure
Investment Authority is to put out a Request for Proposal to solicit project proposals to meet the
unmet nitrogen and phosphorus reductions in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed drainage area.
Proposals can only be solicited from vendors approved under the Commonwealth
Procurement Code administered by the Department of General Services, which municipalities
37
are not authorized to participate in, so they are excluded from bidding, even if they have eligible
reductions.
The bid process and effective dates of the nutrient credits must also specifically account
for the time frame necessary for the permitting and development of public or private credit
generator facilities. Which apparently means 10-year credits are not really 10-year credits, but
something a whole lot less.
Presumably, the Commission (or it could be PennVEST since it puts out the RFP) then
makes awards of grants based on the bids for practices to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed to be paid for from the fund financed by municipalities and
stormwater authorities from across the state.
The bill contains a very vague provision that requires any load reduction activity to meet
the requirements of any applicable offset program in force regarding the Chesapeake Bay.
The bill provides a set aside of 20 percent of the winning bid credits so small sources
(unclear who or what that is) that install best management practices can sell credits for those
practices at the winning bid price.
The bill outlines a 10 year program, but does not address what happens after that time.
Chesapeake Bay and TMDL legal obligations to reduce water pollutants continue into the future.
Concerns With Senate Bill 799
Senate Bill 799 has several fatal flaws that have been pointed out by the PA
Environmental Council and other groups--
1. Taxes Municipalities/Ratepayers Twice To Meet Nutrient Reduction Requirements;
2. Municipalities/Ratepayers, MS4 Communities Across The State Will Be Taxed, But Will Not
See Any Benefit;
3. Does Not Address The Most Significant Chesapeake Bay Pollution Obligation, Does Not
Cover All Of Pennsylvanias 3 Major Sources Of Water Quality Impairment;
4. No Guarantee Practices Funded Will Count Toward Chesapeake Bay Obligations;
5. Lacks Taxpayer Safeguards;
6. Process Freezes Out Family Farmers From Funding Opportunities;
7. Process Favors High-Cost Solutions Over Cost-Effective Ones; and
8. No Funding Provided To Implement The Program.
Here are the details--
1. Taxes Municipalities/Ratepayers Twice To Meet Nutrient Reduction Requirements. As
drafted, the legislation requires municipalities statewide to pay $500 million over 10 years to
fund the installation of practices to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus discharges in the Chesapeake
Bay drainage area.
In most cases, municipalities and wastewater treatment system ratepayers have already
increased their rates and made the investments necessary to meet these requirements in the Bay
Watershed area of Pennsylvania.
This proposal to double tax municipalities and ratepayers is unfair and PEC believes
untenable.
In addition, MS4 stormwater program communities are very far along in making the
decisions about the investments they need to make to meet their stormwater management
obligations. Plans are due to DEP in September which lay out the steps they plan to take to meet
these requirements.
There are about 775 communities across the state who need to comply with the MS4
38
stormwater program.
Many of these communities are also under compliance orders from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency to submit these plans.
Taxing them again for the same obligation is unfair, especially given the fact that many
counties, authorities and other groups of municipalities have developed innovative ways to meet
these requirements and install the needed green infrastructure.
The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority is leading an effort to help the 30+ communities
it serves in Luzerne County to save them 50+ percent in MS4 stormwater compliance costs.
In Lycoming County they have adopted their own local nutrient credit trading program to
promote cost-effective solutions to nutrient and sediment reduction. York County has also taken
a county-wide approach and created an Integrated Water Resources Plan to comply with not only
MS4 Stormwater requirements, but to comply with all Chesapeake Bay and local TMDL
impaired stream nutrient and sediment reductions.
The City of Lancaster established a Green Infrastructure Program to install stormwater
pollution reduction measures throughout the City. A similar green infrastructure plan is being
finalized by the Capital Region Water Authority for the City of Harrisburg.
The Philadelphia Water Departments Green City, Clean Waters Program is now into its
sixth year of implementing its green infrastructure program and the City of Pittsburgh is now
proposing its own green infrastructure program along with the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Project to
promote green infrastructure on a regional basis.
What do all these approaches have in common? Low-tech, cost-effective best
management practices that work to prevent pollution from stormwater and reduce nutrients and
sediment getting into our rivers and streams.
These kinds of initiatives should be supported and should not be thrown out to start over
in a new process.
2. Municipalities/Ratepayers, MS4 Communities Across The State Will Be Taxed, But Will
Not See Any Benefit. As drafted, the legislation would raise $500 million over 10 years to pay
for the installation of nitrogen and phosphorus discharge reductions in only the Chesapeake Bay
Watershed in Pennsylvania.
While the Bay drainage area represents about half the state, this also means the other half
receives no benefit from the funds they pay in.
It is vital that any mechanism developed to address water quality impairments should
help fund projects across the entire state, because the 19,000 miles of polluted streams occur in
each and every county.
3. Does Not Address The Most Significant Chesapeake Bay Pollution Obligation, Does Not
Cover All Of Pennsylvanias 3 Major Sources Of Water Quality Impairment. As drafted,
the legislation addresses only a portion of one of the three major sources of water quality
impairment in Pennsylvania-- nitrogen and phosphorus-- and leaves unaddressed the other major
water quality problems.
The top three sources of water pollution in the state are-- runoff and discharges from
abandoned coal mines, agricultural lands runoff (nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment) and
pollution from stormwater runoff (nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment).
The bill leaves unaddressed Pennsylvania's obligation to reduce sediment pollution by
hundreds of millions of pounds-- 328 million pounds in the Bay Watershed just to meet the 2017
milestone alone-- and Pennsylvanias number one water pollution issue-- abandoned mine
39
drainage.
It is vital that any mechanism developed to address water quality impairments should
help fund projects across the entire state.
4. No Guarantee Practices Funded Will Count Toward Chesapeake Bay Obligations: As
drafted, the legislation contains no guarantee practices funded under the program will, in fact,
count toward Pennsylvanias obligations toward the Chesapeake Bay milestones.
For example, the Lancaster manure treatment facility has never been approved as
counting toward meeting the Chesapeake Bay milestones, even though the Bay Program adopted
a process recently for evaluating manure technology reductions last year.
The Bay Program process for evaluating manure treatment technologies and determining
the amount of reductions that would count toward Bay milestones uses a scientifically valid
mass-balance approach that compares the nutrients left after the treatment process to untreated
land application of manure.
This scientific process, however, significantly reduces the amount of these reductions that
count from what high-tech, high-cost solution companies may expect. DEP is working on
specific procedures to go through this process.
Despite having preliminary approval from DEP for nutrient reduction credits for trading
for non-Chesapeake Bay purposes at its Lancaster facility, Bion Environmental Technologies,
Inc. never submitted any scientific data with a certification request needed to actually be
awarded a single nutrient credit by DEP.
Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc.s preliminary DEP credit approval expired on
September 30, 2016 and Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. never replied to the most recent
letter from DEP on April 7, 2017 on the credits.
Any practice included in the program outlined in the bill should have to demonstrate
upfront they have been approved by the Chesapeake Bay Program, and for manure treatment
technologies, gone through the approved evaluation process before their credits could accepted
in the program.
5. Lacks Taxpayer Safeguards: The legislation contains no provision that prevents companies
or their owners, principals or operators, declared in default of paying back previous state loans or
financing or who are in violation of a Pennsylvania environmental law or regulation from
participating in the program outlined in the bill.
The bill also does not prohibit paying off old state loans with any new state money they
receive.
These kinds of financial and compliance history checks are part of every major state
environmental program from air quality, to waste management and mining and should be part of
this legislation as well.
6. Process Freezes Out Family Farmers From Funding Opportunities: As drafted, the
bidding process established in the legislation freezes out family farmers who want to install
cost-effective on-farm conservation practices like stream buffers and other measures.
They would find it difficult to be part of the program because of the high threshold for
participating.
Yet, family farmers have the largest demonstrated need for financial assistance for
conservation practices in Pennsylvania.
The process in the legislation favors companies which could theoretically deliver tons of
reductions for just two pollutants-- nitrogen and phosphorus-- at one time, and having the
40
wherewithal to participate in the bid process outlined in the bill.
The bill also absolves municipalities and stormwater authorities of any obligations to
meet nitrogen and phosphorus reduction requirements forever, but does not provide any similar
protection for family farmers who are obligated to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment as
well.
While the Senate Bill 799 contains a set aside for 20 percent of the winning bidders
credits for small sources, it is not at all clear what small sources are or who could
participate. It would also be up to the company (winning bidder) to decide which small
sources can sell them credits.
There is also no guarantee the small sources would be installing practices that count
toward Pennsylvanias Chesapeake Bay obligations.
In addition to all these provisions, the bill requires all bidders to be approved as vendors
under the Commonwealth Procurement Act, which represents another bureaucratic and
paperwork hurdle for family farmers.
7. Process Favors High-Cost Solutions Over Cost-Effective Ones: As drafted, the legislation
favors high-cost solutions to nitrogen and phosphorus reductions, as noted in point 6, and even
though practices go through a bidding process, the threshold for participation is much too high
financially and in terms of red tape.
Pennsylvania has had a competitive bidding auction for nutrient credits since 2010. It is
operated by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority which generally has auctions
four times a year.
The most recent auction was on June 7 where a pound of nitrogen credits sold for $2.25
and phosphorus $7.90. A second round of phosphorus credits the same day were sold the same
day for $4 per pound.
Some companies, like those promoting manure treatment technology, likely to provide
bids under the process in the bill require from $8 to $12 per pound of reduction (or higher) [June
30, 2016 10-K report from Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc.] to be profitable.
Obviously, the competitive process now in place is resulting in much lower-cost solutions
that count toward Pennsylvanias Chesapeake Bay reduction milestones than some of the
companies likely to bid under the process in the bill.
8. No Funding Provided To Implement The Program. As everyone knows, state funding to
environmental programs has been cut significantly over the last decade, leaving some on the
verge of not being able to fulfill their state or federal obligations.
This legislation imposes significant costs on both the State Conservation Commission
and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority which already have had their staff
reduced to accomplish their existing responsibilities.
Without significant new funding to administer this very complex program, this program
could not even start.
Many Other Solutions That Work
Pennsylvania does not have to start from scratch and throw out everything communities
have done to date to comply with water pollution reduction obligations.
New legislation should support initiatives that address all three primary sources of water
quality impairment in Pennsylvania. There are already programs, like Growing Greener, that
provide the necessary channels through which to deliver funding for these purposes.
Spotlighting The Need For Dedicated Clean Water Funding
41
What the Chesapeake Bay, MS4 Stormwater and TMDL compliance programs need,
above all, is a viable, ongoing source of significant additional state funding to ensure their
success.
On January 24, 2017, the bipartisan Pennsylvania members Pennsylvania of the
Chesapeake Bay Commission Tuesday wrote to all members of the Senate and House to outline
the need to address the states water pollution cleanup problems and propose a potential solution
- a dedicated Clean Water Fund for Pennsylvania.
The letter proposes, as one solution, a water use fee to finance Pennsylvanias water
pollution cleanup effort that would raise an estimated $245 million. They note water fee
proposals were introduced last session in Senate Bill 1401 (Alloway-R-Franklin) and House Bill
2114 (Sturla-D-Lancaster).
The letter to members was signed by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair of
the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, Sen. Rich Alloway (R-Franklin),
Rep. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming), Rep. Keith Gillespie (R-York) and Rep. Mike Sturla
(D-Lancaster).
PA Already Has $65 Million/Year For Clean Water Projects
Of course heres a simple solution that will not increase the state budget one penny-- use
the $65 million a year now going to one-time movie, TV and video game productions in
Pennsylvania and buy something useful-- clean water that stays clean.
Thats right Pennsylvania, your legislators spend $65 million a year to help fund one-time
movie productions like Zack & Miri Make A Porno-- a real movie, subsidized with your tax
dollars.
And this incentive for one-time movie and TV productions is due to increase to $65
million in FY 2017-18 (page D13 of the Executive Budget book).
And we dont have to create a new program to provide this funding. The Growing
Greener Program, created in 1999, can be used without making a single change to fund mine
reclamation, watershed improvement and stormwater management project.
Which do you think is a better investment? (Click Here for more.)
Increase/Broaden REAP Farm Conservation Tax Credit
In 2007 the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Farm Conservation Tax
Credit Program was established to provide $10 million in tax credits to farmers installing best
management practice.
Each year this program is oversubscribed with $11.2 million in eligible requests for the
$10 million appropriation.
This public-private initiative could easily be expanded to allow other taxpaying
companies and individuals fund on-farm conservation practices just like another successful
initiative-- the Education Improvement Tax Credit Program.
Private taxpayers would use their money to fund the practices and in return they receive a
public tax credit benefit; a true public-private partnership.
Institute A Pay-For-Success Public/Private Investment Program
The Pay-For-Success model for putting farm conservation on the group that allow
municipalities to satisfy stormwater pollution reduction requirements and return profits to private
capital investors who pay for those practices is gaining ground.
Recently, the National Resources Conservation Service awarded a Conservation
Innovation Grant to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA to develop a pilot Pay-For-Success
42
Program with partners Red Barn Consulting of Lancaster, RETTEW Associates Consulting of
Lancaster, Land OLakes, Inc., and Quantified Ventures of Washington, D.C.
This program has the potential to bring millions of dollars to Pennsylvania to pay for
farm conservation practices. (Click Here for more.)
Encourage Incorporating BMP Construction In Local Development
Thousands of new developments go in every year all across Pennsylvania. Encouraging
those developments to incorporate stormwater BMPs to reduce nutrient and sediment loads.
The American Water Resources Association recently highlighted the Rock Lititz
Floodplain Restoration Project in Lancaster County as an innovative private-public partnership
to reduce sediment and nutrient loads going to the Chesapeake Bay without using any taxpayer
money.
Lead authors Mark Gutshall and Lindsey Freidly from LandStudies, Inc. describe how
the world-famous entertainment technology company Clair Global planned its new 93.3 acre
Rock Lititz campus in Warwick Township, Lancaster County to house 13 companies supporting
live entertainment production.
Over 3,100 feet of Santo Domingo Creek runs through the site and offered an opportunity
to maximize land area for development, reduce long-term site costs and employ best
management practices to permanently reduce flooding and water pollution coming from the site.
Rock Lititz committed an estimated $755,000 for the floodplain restoration initiative
because they recognized the environmental, community and economic benefits of using the
floodplain restoration technique. (Click Here for more.)
One of the hangups, was the length of time it took to get a DEP permit.
Expedited, priority permit review times for these sorts of public-private,
no-cost-to-the-taxpayer projects would be a huge help in encouraging these types of projects.
Double-Down On Recreation Investments By Incorporating Stormwater BMPs
Communities all across the state are starting to realize that local and regional parks and
recreation facilities can be fully integrated into helping those communities comply with MS4
stormwater pollution reduction requirements.
Parkland is often leftover land, land with environmental constraints such as wetlands,
floodplains, and steep slopes, or land a developer did not want or could not develop. Parks and
underutilized open space offer settings that help to address these challenges.
Instead of single-purpose solutions that may address one aspect of environmental
challenges, solutions that consider all of a municipalitys assets, including parks and
underutilized lands, may yield multiple benefits in stormwater management and reduced
flooding.
In fact, both the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and EPA have
step-by-step guides and other resources to help communities realize these benefits. (Click Here
for more.)
Again, expediting permits, changing grant award criteria to encourage multiple benefit
projects, could encourage more of these projects to more effectively use the scarce resources we
now have.
Local Stormwater Management Fees
Legislation recently passed by the House and sponsored by another member of the
Chesapeake Bay Commission-- Rep. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming)-- allows local governments of
all types to adopt local stormwater fees to support MS4 Plan implementation.
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The bills include House Bill 913 providing for the adoption of stormwater fees by
incorporated towns, House Bill 914 providing for the adoption of stormwater fees by boroughs,
House Bill 915 providing for the adoption of stormwater fees by first class townships and House
Bill 916 providing for the adoption of stormwater fees by Cities of the Third Class.
Chesapeake Bay Success Depends On Fully Participating Federal Partner
The success of the Chesapeake Bay Program in Pennsylvania depends significantly on a
fully participating federal partner.
Proposals now being considered to zero out federal funding for the Chesapeake Bay
cleanup must not be allowed to stand. In fact, there is significant bipartisan support to restore the
cuts proposed by the Trump Administration.
Lots Of Creative, Public/Private Solutions
There are lots of innovative solutions out there that do NOT involve throwing everything
weve done up until now out the window and that encourage truly cost-effective and efficient
ways to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.
All we need is some creative leadership.
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan webpage. Learn more about stormwater
management, visit DEPs MS4 Stormwater Program webpage. To learn more about TMDLs,
visit DEPs TMDL Priorities and TMDL Plans webpages.
Another Helpful Link:
PA Environmental Council Opposes Senate Bill 799 As Currently Written
NewsClips:
Related Stories:
PA Chesapeake Bay Commission Members Spotlight Need For Clean Water Fund In PA
Analysis: PA Already Has $65 Million A Year for Clean Water, Just Stop Giving Money To
CBF-PA: NRCS Grant Will Help Communities Meet MS4 Stormwater Requirements With
On-Farm Practices
Agriculture Secretary Briefs Congressional Delegation On Impact Of Proposed Federal
Chesapeake Bay Program Cuts
New EPA Guide To Green Infrastructure In Parks To Manage Stormwater Now Available
Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority Leads MS4 Stormwater Effort To Save Communities More
Than 50% In Compliance Costs
LandStudies To Assist Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative Pollution Reduction
Planning
Senate Law Fertilizer Application Bill Unanimously Approved By Committee
44
Lack Of Resources, New Cleanup Goals Will Make Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Harder In PA
EPA: PA Must Identify Significant New Funding Needed To Meet Chesapeake Bay Cleanup
Targets
PA Launches Effort To Write Cleanup Plan Addressing Chesapeake Bay Shortfall
Articles On Previous Versions Of The Bion Bill:
Analysis: Why Bion Is The Force Behind SB 724, It Cant Pay Back A $7.7M PennVEST Loan
Bion: We Dont Have To Pay Back PennVEST Loan, But We Could With PennVEST $$$
Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA: SB 724 Could Derail Clean Water Efforts In PA
Senate Hearing Offers Incomplete, Misleading Picture Of Water Quality Cleanup Efforts
Penn State Extension Webinar July 18 On Green Infrastructure, A Lesson In Change
The Penn State Extension Community Forestry Program

will hold a webinar on July 18 from Noon to 1:00 p.m. on
Green Infrastructure - A Lesson In Change.
Green Infrastructure has been elevated as means to an end
for communities to deal with polluted runoff. It has also
been an agent of change in how urban foresters, engineers
and landscape architects work together.
From a landscape architects perspective, join us in a
journey of engagement and relationship building as we
explore how past and present views on tree planting and
design have merged, while cultivating more respect and understanding between three professions
as they work to reclaim unused lands, address environmental justice and create livable
biologically functioning places in cities and towns across the nation.
The presenter for this webinar will be Donna Foster, Landscape Architect, U.S. Forest
Service, Northeastern Area State And Private Forestry.
Click Here for all the details and to register. Click Here for more on other upcoming
Extension Community Forestry Programs.
NewsClips:
Prescribed Burns Planned For Fields In Delaware Water Gap Park
PA American Water Awards 2017 Environmental Grants For Local Watershed Projects
PA American Water Tuesday announced eight watershed-related projects across the

Commonwealth will receive financial support through the companys 2017 Environmental Grant
Program.
The recipients will receive a share of grant funds totaling nearly $30,000 for their
community-based projects that improve, restore or protect watersheds.
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The 2017 Environmental Grant recipients are:
-- Allegheny Land Trust: The grant will be used for dumpsite cleanups at Dead Mans Hollow
Conservation Area, a protected green space with several tributaries to the Youghiogheny River.
The cleanups will allow further habitat restoration and stream water monitoring.
-- California University of Pennsylvania: Funding will support a fish and macroinvertebrate
survey of the Youghiogheny River that will enhance water quality management, along with
existing survey information. The information will also be used for continued monitoring by local
school groups within the watershed.
-- Delaware River Basin Commission: The funds will be used to purchase markers and
equipment that the Boy Scouts will apply on storm drains in the Yardley and Nazareth areas,
alerting residents about their impact on the Delaware River Watershed.
-- Misericordia University: Partnering with Lehman Sanctuary, the university will install and
utilize advanced telemetry equipment to monitor water quality on the sanctuarys property. The
project will advance understanding of the biodiversity and allow remote monitoring of
environmental conditions for school groups at the location.
-- River Alert Information Network: With the funding, the organization will coordinate
watershed groups along with the Allegheny Watershed Alliance to identify local source water
protection issues. Additionally, informational literature will be developed to educate community
groups on source water protection.
-- South Fayette Conservation Group: The organization will purchase a groundwater and
rainmaker model to be used as a hands-on educational tool to help students better understand
point source and nonpoint pollution.
-- Upper Allen Township, Cumberland County: The grant will support a riparian buffer project
in Simpson Park along the Yellow Breeches Creek. Volunteers will plant new trees and shrubs to
help stabilize the streambank as part of an ongoing riparian project.
-- West Norriton Township, Montgomery County: Funding will support the Schuylkill River
Invasive Weeds project, aimed at removing invasive plant species from the Norristown Basin,
improving water quality along the river and habitats for wildlife.
A panel of judges selected the grant recipients from nearly 40 applications, which were
evaluated on such criteria as environmental need, innovation, community engagement and
sustainability.
Each year, we receive an impressive list of applicants who are working to protect
watersheds and sustain our environment, said President Jeffrey McIntyre of Pennsylvania
American Water. Partnerships are the key to achieving goals, and were proud to partner with
these organizations and their many volunteers to help achieve their goals of protecting our
natural resources now and in the future.
For more information on PA American Waters Environmental Grant Program, Protect
Our Watersheds Student Art Contest and Stream of Learning Scholarship Program, visit the
companys Community Involvement webpage.
PA American Water is a subsidiary of American Water, which initiated the
Environmental Grant Program in 2005 in Pennsylvania to support projects that protect or restore
drinking water sources and surrounding watersheds. Since then, American Water has expanded
the annual program to many of its state subsidiaries across the nation.
NewsClips:
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Susquehanna River Basin Commission Increases Municipal Fee Discount To 44% For Next
Year
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission will hold the line on most fees for the next year, and
will increase the municipal discount for its Annual Compliance and Monitoring Fee to 44
percent, as a result of actions taken at its meeting on June 16.
The Commission opted to hold the line despite having the authority to increase a majority
of its regulatory fee schedule to reflect the increase in the Consumer Price Index. The action
averts a 0.5 percent increase across the board.
The Commission also did not change its Consumptive Use Mitigation Fee because there
was no change in the index used to increase this fee during the last 12 months.
The municipal discount on the Annual Compliance and Monitoring Fee was increased to
44 percent, matching the discount on municipal groundwater application fees.
In another action regarding the monitoring fee, the Commission established a tiered fee
for hydroelectric power plants so smaller facilities are subject to a lesser fee.
The only fee increase involved the standard fee for minor modifications, which increases
to $1,000 from $750 based on costs incurred in the application process.
We understand the concerns our permit holders have over fees, and were pleased to be
able to hold the line this year on nearly all of them and increase the municipal discount for
annual compliance and monitoring, said Andrew Dehoff, Commission executive director.
Many of us are being asked to do more with less, and weve worked hard to hold our costs
down to avoid fee increases.
The actions on fees were among several others taken at the Commissions quarterly
business meeting. In other business, the Commission:
-- Tabled a request for waiver from Middletown Borough regarding the boroughs unapproved
sources and directed staff to gather more information and work closely with the borough to seek
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resolution.
-- Denied a request by EOG Resources Inc., to circumvent rules regarding the development of a
new water source.
-- Approved 19 applications and tabled six others.
The voting Commissioners and alternates were: Ben Grumbles, Chair and Secretary,
Maryland Department of the Environment; Col. Ed Chamberlayne, Vice Chair, Commander and
District Engineer, Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Paul DAmato, Director,
Region 8, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; and Dana Aunkst,
Deputy Secretary, Office of Water Programs, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
Click Here for the complete announcement.
The next hearing of the SRBC will be on August 3 in Harrisburg and the next business
meeting on September 7 in Elmira, New York.
For more information on these upcoming events, visit the SRBC Public Participation
Center webpage.
NewsClips:
Beautiful PA: Millersburg Ferry Crosses Susquehanna River
Over 55 Rescued On Susquehanna In Lancaster After Getting Stranded At Tubing Event
Editorial: Near Disaster In Susquehanna Should Serve As A Warning
Delaware River Basin Commission Releases 2016 Annual Report
The Delaware River Basin Commission Wednesday released its 2016

annual report highlighting ongoing efforts to manage the water
resources of the 13,539-square-mile Delaware River Basin that
provides drinking water for an estimated 15 million people.
This years report focuses on Clean Water by the Numbers
emphasizing the efforts and results of the commission and its staff of
engineers, aquatic biologists, geologists, modelers, planners, and
others to provide clean and sustainable water resources throughout
the Delaware River Basin.
Measuring changes to water quality can be complex, said DRBC
Executive Director Steve Tambini. In 2016, we saw a continuation
of DRBC-driven water quality improvements throughout the basin.
Among the highlights in the report--
-- 76,423 water quality data points made available to public;
-- 76 percent reduction in PCBs in top ten NPDES permittees since 2005; and
-- 33.5 billion gallons of water in reservoirs managed by DRBC.
For example, in watersheds that drain to the basins Special Protection Waters (from
Hancock, N.Y. to Trenton, N.J.), DRBCs goal is no measurable change to existing water quality
except toward natural conditions.
DRBCs monitoring and assessment programs confirmed in a report published in 2016
that the Lower Delaware a 76-mile stretch of the river extending from just below the Delaware
48
Water Gap at Portland, Pa./Columbia, N.J. to Trenton not only met the no measurable change
water quality objective, but showed reductions in nutrient pollution at most sites.
Our annual report highlights these improvements along with many other DRBC
programs that we employ to effectively manage our shared water resources in the basin, said
Tambini.
Click Here to read the annual report and watch short supporting videos.
NewsClip:
DEP Publishes Updated Non-Regulatory Agenda On Technical Guidance In Development
The Department of Environmental Protection published an updated Non-Regulatory Agenda of

Technical Guidance Documents it plans to develop and finalize in the agency. (formal notice PA
Bulletin page 3652)
This Agenda is similar to DEPs Regulatory Agenda which lists regulations in
development and a timeline for action.
Among the guidance documents in development are--
-- Air Quality
-- Updated Air Quality Permit Review Protocol: Draft 4th Quarter
-- Chapter 105
-- PA Function Based Compensation Protocol For Mitigation: Final 4th Quarter
-- Coal Mining
-- Updated Surface Water Protection From Underground Coal Mining: Draft 1st Quarter 2018
-- Updated Engineering Manual for Mining Operations: Draft 3rd Quarter
-- Updated Civil Penalty Assessments For Mining Operations: Draft 4th Quarter
-- Land Recycling
-- Land Recycling Program Technical Guidance Manual: Draft 3rd Quarter
-- Oil & Gas Operations
-- Updated Civil Penalty Assessments For Oil & Gas Operations: Draft 4th Quarter
-- Public Resources Impact Screening For Oil & Gas Operations: Draft 1st Quarter 2018
-- Best Practices for Noise Control For Oil & Gas Operations: Draft 2nd Quarter 2018
-- Induced Seismicity Policy For Oil & Gas Operations: Draft 4th Quarter
-- Guidelines For Implementing Area Of Review For Oil & Gas Operations: Final 4th Quarter
-- Policy for Replacing Water Supplies Impact By Shale Gas Operations: Final 3rd Quarter
-- Public Participation
-- Updated Policy for Development and Publication Of Technical Guidance: Draft 3rd Quarter
-- Updated Policy for Development and Availability of Regulations: Draft 3rd Quarter
-- Updated Policy on Public Participation in Development of Regulations: Draft 3rd Quarter
-- Updated Policy for Advisory Committees To Follow In Giving Input: Draft 3rd Quarter
-- Radon
-- PA Radon Mitigation Standards: Draft 4th Quarter
-- Storage Tanks
-- Closure Requirements For Underground/Aboveground Tank Systems: Final 3rd Quarter
-- Wastewater
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-- Water Quality Management Permitting: Draft 4th Quarter
-- Water Allocation
-- Updated Water Allocation Permit Review: Draft 4th Quarter
Click Here for a copy of DEPs Non-Regulatory Agenda.
Delco, Philadelphia Schools Celebrated As U.S. Dept. Of Education Green Ribbon Schools
Tuesday at the State Capitol Building in

Harrisburg, environmental and educational
advocates gathered to honor the School District
of Philadelphia and Coebourn Elementary
School in Delaware County as Pennsylvanias
2017 U.S. Department of Education Green
Ribbon Schools.
Pennsylvanias Green Ribbon Schools serve as
a model for teaching the value of environmental
stewardship through the infusion of real-world
experiences into the classroom, said state
Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera. I applaud the School District of Philadelphia and
Coebourn Elementary School for their efforts to promote conservation and awareness, and thank
them for their contributions to their communities.
Secretary Patrick McDonnell from the Department of Environmental Protection;
Secretary Cindy Dunn from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Nick
Semon, President of PA Green & Healthy Schools Partnership; John Armstead, U.S. EPA
Region 3 Deputy Regional Administrator; and lawmakers and advocates were present at the
event to offer their congratulations to the schools.
The efforts of Coebourn Elementary and the School district of Philadelphia prove that
reducing our environmental impacts, educating the next generation to be good stewards of our
natural resources, and saving money are all interconnected, said Secretary McDonnell. Our
future depends on understanding, and protecting, our environment, and these schools exemplify a
stellar commitment.
School District Of Philadelphia
The School District of Philadelphia was recognized for its five-year sustainability plan,
during which the district has pledged to make all schools green schools by 2020.
The district has incorporated sustainability-infused curriculum, professional development
opportunities for teachers and operations staff, and monthly Education for Sustainability
meetings with a committee of curriculum specialists, environmental staff, and external partners.
In May 2016 the district launched its first five-year sustainability plan, called
GreenFutures.
The plan aims to reduce energy consumption districtwide, increase waste diversion from
landfills, increase school green spaces, and create healthy indoor environments and healthy
living habits.
Below are examples of just some of the many green initiatives the district has undertaken:
-- Home to 19 registered National Wildlife Federation EcoSchools and a 2013 U.S. Department
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of Education Green Ribbon School.
-- LEED certifications have been obtained for eight district schools.
-- The district implemented a comprehensive recycling program at 42 schools and plans to
implement full recycling programs at every school within five years.
-- Construction of large green stormwater infrastructure projects was completed at 31 schools.
-- In 2011, the district was awarded the EPAs Indoor Air Quality Great Start Award for
establishing an indoor environmental quality program that was based upon the EPAs Tools for
Schools program.
-- In 2016 a minimum of three hydration stations were installed at every school. These are
filtered for lead, chilled, and have a bottle filling counter to illustrate to students how many water
bottles are saved from landfills by using the stations.
-- The district uses certified Green Seal cleaning products.
-- Sustainability-infused curriculum, professional development opportunities for teachers and
operations staff, and the intentional shift in organizational culture toward sustainability is a
priority for the School District of Philadelphia.
Coebourn Elementary School
Coebourn Elementary School, in the Penn Delco School District, demonstrated a
commitment to sustainability education through classroom lessons, school-wide announcements,
and professional development.
Coebourns Green Committee established monthly green activities for the entire school
community, and students get hands-on experience through participation in service projects and
groups like the Compost Club.
Coebourn Elementary is a new construction in the Penn-Delco School District that
opened in January 2015.
During construction of the Coebourn Elementary, the district opted for a hybrid
geothermal HVAC system, replaced several dual-fuel large boilers with high efficiency gas fired
boilers and domestic hot water heaters, and installed heat wheels and reheat systems.
Coebourn uses low-flow fixtures throughout the school. There is no irrigation system
onsite; grass is watered by rain only. The site includes rain gardens and stormwater inlets.
Coebourn has implemented and maintains a single stream recycling program with Waste
Management as its partner. Coebourns science curriculum includes a deep understanding and
connections to life, physical, and earth sciences.
In addition to protecting the environment, and the health of students and teachers, green
schools provide great opportunities for teaching young people, who are our next generation of
conservationists, said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn.
Since 2011, the ED-GRS program has nominated schools, districts, and institutions of
higher education across the country for their dedication to reducing environmental impact and
cost, improving health and wellness of schools, and providing environmental education to
students.
Nationally, 45 schools, nine districts, and nine postsecondary institutions were named
2017 Green Ribbon Schools.
For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools
webpage.
For information on how you can turn your school green, visit the PA Green & Healthy
Schools Partnership website.
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NewsClips:
23 Environmental Ed Centers Join Forces To Educate Public About Delaware River
Program Shows Kids The Great Outdoors, Right In Philly
23 Environmental Ed Centers In PA, DE, NJ Form New Alliance To Engage On Delaware

River Watershed
During a press conference at Fairmount Water

Works in Philadelphia Wednesday, 23
environmental education centers from
Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey
announced a new Alliance for Watershed
Education of the Delaware River to increase
awareness of the importance of the Delaware
River watershed, a 13,500 square mile system
that provides drinking water for 15 million people.
The Alliance will offer the public opportunities to explore, enjoy and engage in activities
on their local waterways with the ultimate goal of advancing protection of this critical resource.
Collectively, the centers offer opportunities for more than 180,000 visitors annually to
enjoy nature and learn about the environment through hands-on activities along their local rivers
and streams.
Through shared expertise and resources, the Alliance will reach new audiences and
amplify the work already underway at the centers.
The hundreds of small waterways that combine to form the Delaware River watershed
connect amazing communities and majestic natural resources from Southern New York to
Delaware Bay. People care about the stream that theyve grown up next to, said Collin OMara,
president and CEO of National Wildlife Federation. Thats why the National Wildlife
Federation and hundreds of conservation partners across the region are joining forces to launch
this Alliance to help a diverse range of local voices speak up and be heard in their support for
clean water. With federal funding for natural resources threatened and key regulations keeping
our water clean at risk of being dismantled, we must rally our communities to form a strong base
of clean water advocates, creating change from the bottom up. Together, we can more effectively
generate a sense of ownership among communities for their local and regional wildlife and
water.
The 23 centers that form the Alliance are all physically connected by the Circuit Trails,
the Greater Philadelphia regions 750-mile multi-use trail network, and trails that connect
throughout the entire watershed.
Using their centers and nearby trails as assets, the Alliance will create and collectively
deliver fun, engaging programs to this untapped audience of thousands of visitors on the
Delaware River and its tributaries.
Were excited about the potential for the Alliance for Watershed Education to enable
each of these 23 environmental centers to even more effectively reach the thousands of people
who already participate in their excellent local programs, said Andrew Johnson, watershed
52
protection program director for the William Penn Foundation. In addition, because of their
location on the Circuit Trails, these centers also have an opportunity to engage thousands of
people who use the trails along many of our rivers and streams in programming, building a new
constituency for protection of clean water among these outdoor enthusiasts.
A major investment of more than $4.6 million from the William Penn Foundation helped
to launch this nationally significant model.
The new initiative will enable the centers to develop shared programming targeted at
people of diverse ages and backgrounds with a common interest in exploring and enjoying the
waterways within the Delaware River watershed.
The networks early momentum has already secured funding from a new source, with the
hope that it will continue to attract other funding; the Alliance recently received a grant from the
PA Department of Environmental Protection to expand existing watershed education curriculum
developed by the Fairmount Water Works for middle schoolers in Philadelphia to different parts
of the watershed, including Reading and Allentown, Pa.
Programs Underway
The 23 environmental centers hosted their initial joint program, a series of River Days
events, in the fall of 2016 to celebrate the unique rivers and streams within the Delaware River
watershed.
More than 10,000 people were engaged in the month-long series of events. River Days
will kick off its second year in September 2017. A schedule of planned events can be found here.
For its second major collaborative effort, the Alliance has introduced an Environmental
Fellowship Program in which each center will host a summer fellow between the ages of 18 and
24 to manage community outreach and programs.
The fellows will focus on communities that are underserved or underrepresented,
providing them with opportunities to enjoy and care for their local river or stream.
The Environmental Fellowship Program is a promising way to engage young adults,
many without any previous environmental training or education, in conservation efforts, said
Karen Young, executive director, Fairmount Water Works. To ensure clean water for the future,
its important for conservationists to mobilize the next generation. The summer fellowship
program leverages the potential for these young people to become ambassadors for clean water
and learn how they can involve local communities in contributing to the health of the
watershed.
For more information, visit the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River
website.
NewsClips:
West Nile Virus Program Announces Positive Mosquito Results In 3 More Counties
The Department of Environmental Protection this

week announced positive mosquito results for West
Nile Virus have been found in Wilkinsburg Borough,
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Allegheny County, Stroud Township, Monroe County and Cheltenham Township, Montgomery
County.
Other positive mosquito results have been found in these other counties this season--
Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Cumberland, Delaware, Franklin, Lackawanna,
Lawrence, Manchester and Schuylkill.
For more information on the West Nile Virus prevention efforts in Pennsylvania, visit the
West Nile Virus website.
DEP Hearing July 24 On Brunner Island Power Plant Water Quality Permit In York
County
The Department of Environmental Protection Friday announced it will host a public hearing July
24 to collect comments from citizens on the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System permit issued to Brunner Island Power Plant on April 5, 2017 and published in the
Pennsylvania Bulletin on April 22, 2017.
Brunner Island LLC operates a 1,490-Megawatt coal- and natural gas-fired power plant
which discharges treated industrial wastewater and cooling water to the Susquehanna River.
The hearing will held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 pm. at the Union Fire Company, 201 York
Street, Manchester, PA 17345.
Individuals will have the opportunity to present up to five minutes of verbal testimony.
Comments must be limited to the conditions of the draft permit. Groups are asked to designate
one speaker.
Relinquishing of time to other speakers will be prohibited. All presenters should bring at
least one copy of their comments and exhibits for submission to DEP.
Those who wish to present testimony are asked to register in advance by contacting John
Repetz by sending email to: jrepetz@pa.gov or 717-705-4904, at DEPs Southcentral Regional
Office, 909 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110.
Registration will be taken through July 21. Individuals will be called to testify in the
order they registered. Time permitting, those who did not register in advance will be given the
opportunity to testify.
DEP received written comments on the draft permit during a 30-day comment period
after the draft permit was published in the PA Bulletin. The comment period ended on May 22,
2017 and DEP is reviewing all comments received.
The draft permit and fact sheet are available for public review at the DEP Southcentral
Regional Office, 909 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110, Monday through Friday between
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Please call 717-705-4732 to make an appointment. They can also be
accessed on DEPs Southcentral Regional Community Information webpage.
Individuals who need an accommodation for the hearing as provided for in the American
with Disabilities Act should contact Mr. Repetz at the number listed, or make accommodations
through the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service at 1-800-654-5984.
Questions should be directed to John Repetz, DEP Southcentral Regional Office, by
sending email to: jrepetz@pa.gov or 717-705-4904.
NewsClip:
Crable: Lancaster Soybean Plant Hearing Completion Amid Appeal, Air Credits Hearing
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DEP Holds July 20 Hearing On Use Of Emission Credits For Lancaster Soybean Plant
Department of Environmental Protection Monday announced it will host a July 20 public hearing
regarding Perdue AgriBusiness LLCs application to use Emission Reduction Credits at the
soybean processing facility currently under construction in Conoy Township, Lancaster County.
The hearing will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Bainbridge Fire Hall, 34
South 2nd Street in Bainbridge.
Perdue proposes to use 175.7 tons per year of volatile organic compound (VOC) credits
from an industrial facility in Little Valley, New York, 85.7 tons per year of VOC credits from an
industrial facility in Depew, New York, 9.11 tons per year of VOC credits from an industrial
facility in Belleville, PA, and 6.6 tons per year of VOC credits from an industrial facility in
Neville, PA.
The scope of the hearing is limited to the use of these specific emission reduction credits
for the facility currently under construction.
Copies of the emission reduction credit plan approval and other relevant information are
available for public review at DEPs Southcentral Regional Office, 909 Elmerton Avenue,
Harrisburg, PA 17110-8200. Please call 717-705-4732 between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday to schedule an appointment.
The application, draft plan approval and DEPs review memorandum can also be
accessed on DEPs Southcentral Regional Office Community Information webpage.
Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes per person. Individuals wishing to offer
testimony are asked to pre-register no later than July 13, 2017. Contact John Repetz at
717-705-4904, or send email to: jrepetz@pa.gov to register.
Commenters are requested to provide two (2) written copies of their remarks at the time
of the hearing. Organizations are requested to designate a representative to present testimony on
their behalf. Written comments may be submitted to the Air Quality Program, 909 Elmerton
Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110-8200, no later than July 30, 2017.
Individuals in need of an accommodation for the hearing as provided for in the
Americans with Disabilities Act should contact John at the number provided or make
accommodations through the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service at 1-800-654-5984 (TDD).
Questions should be directed to John Repetz, DEP Southcentral Regional Office,
717-705-4904 or send email to: jrepetz@pa.gov.
NewsClip:
Allegheny County Handling Of Public Participation On Allegheny Ludlum Air Permit

Challenged By Clean Air Council
Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council Wednesday announced it has filed an action in the
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in order to ensure a fair public participation process
for individuals wanting to submit comments on proposed air permits by the Allegheny County
Health Department.
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Clean Air Council alleges the permit Hearing Officer unlawfully upheld the
Departments denial of a request for an extension of time for public comment on a proposed Title
V permit for the Allegheny Ludlum facility in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania.
The Title V permit application had been pending for over twenty years, and the relevant
records were voluminous.
The Title V program of the Clean Air Act requires that major sources of air pollution
obtain Title V permits, which are renewable on a five-year basis. This provides the public with a
means to review the requirements that apply or do not apply to a facility and comment on
proposed permits.
It also affords groups like Clean Air Council to evaluate whether the proposed permit
meets all legal and technical requirements.
The Council also alleges the Department violated federal regulations requiring adequate
procedures for notice and comment on Title V permits.
In addition, the Council alleges the Department violated state law by having a blanket
policy against extensions of public comment on Title V permits.
It is unconscionable that the Department would not allow community members and
environmental health advocates adequate time to review a complex proposed Title V permit. One
of the main purposes of the Title V comment process is to encourage impacted community
members to offer their insights into how the Department might improve the permit. This is a
Department that has shown time after time that it does not want serious public input. This is not
good government and this is not the law, said Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief
Counsel, Clean Air Council.
The Council also alleges the Hearing Officer unlawfully required the Council to prove by
a preponderance of the evidence that the Department had committed an abuse of discretion.
Previous decisions make it clear that the Council need only prove by a preponderance of
evidence that the Department violated federal or state law.
The effect of the Administrative Order is to strip the public participation provisions of
the Title V program of nearly all meaning, at least in Allegheny County, said Christopher D.
Ahlers, Staff Attorney, Clean Air Council.
The case is Clean Air Council v. Allegheny County, Case No. GD-17-009155.
NewsClip:
Post-Gazette: EQT Drilling Again Challenges The Way DEP Calculates Penalties In $1.1
Million Fine Appeal
Laura Legere reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Saturday Shale gas driller EQT again
appealed a penalty levied by the Department of Environmental Protection because of the way the
$1.1 million penalty was calculated.
The penalty was imposed by the Environmental Hearing Board at the end of May for a
water contamination plume that leaked from a 6 million gallon wastewater impoundment at a
Tioga County drill pad.
EQT alleges the way DEP has calculated penalties for more than 40 years, that each day
is a separate offense, is illegal.
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This new penalty appeal involves the same case that EQT previously appealed for the
same reason and won in Commonwealth Court. That ruling involved a $4.5 million fine that
could be reduced to a mere fraction of that amount.
DEP appealed that ruling to the PA Supreme Court in mid-May as DEP also appealed
this new penalty, largely to preserve their legal position in the main penalty case involving this
same incident.
NewsClip:
EQT, DEP Appeal $1 Million Pollution Fine For Tioga County Spill
Related Stories:
Will Gas Drilling Company Overturn The Way DEP Has Calculated Penalties For Nearly 40
Years?
Nearly 100 Groups File Brief Supporting DEP In EQT Water Penalty Case Before PA Supreme
Court
DEP Seeks $4.5 Million Penalty From EQT For Drilling-Related Pollution In Tioga County
EQT Drilling Company files Counter-Complaint Challenging Clean Streams Law
[Posted: July 1, 2017]
40 Groups Urge Gov. Wolf, DEP To Deny Permits For Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline
A coalition of 40 community organizations, farms,

environmental organizations, and local businesses
representing over 436,727 members and constituencies
Monday delivered a coalition letter to Gov. Tom Wolf
and the Department of Environmental Protection
Secretary McDonnell urging the DEP to deny permit
applications for the proposed Atlantic Sunrise pipeline
project.
DEP is reviewing the application for this nearly
200-mile Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline, which would
transport natural gas from the Marcellus Shale to
Maryland for export and to supply gas plants in North
Carolina and Florida. Transco, the parent company of the proposed Atlantic
The Atlantic Sunrise pipeline must obtain Chapter 102 and 105 permits from the DEP for
wetland and waterway crossings and earth disturbances.
If approved, the Atlantic Sunrise gas pipeline would directly impact ten Pennsylvania
counties and cross hundreds of wetlands and waterbodies many of which are designated high
quality or exceptional value.
The pipeline would directly affect 45,000 residents and place 19,000 homes in the
evacuation zone, according to a recent report commissioned by the Sierra Club and Appalachian
Mountain Advocates.
The Key Log report estimates the lost value and benefits Pennsylvania would lose from
this pipeline in food production, water supply, air quality, erosion control, biological diversity,
soil fertility and waste treatment is estimated to be $6.2 to $22.7 million, while annual costs for
this diminished ecosystem would be approximately $2.9 to $11.4 million per year.
The mission statement of the DEP is to protect Pennsylvanias air, land and water from
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pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment,
but it is clear that the cumulative impacts of the Atlantic Sunrise project will cause massive
environmental degradation and put citizens in harms way, said Ann Pinca, President of
Lebanon Pipeline Awareness. The DEP cannot approve these permits without directly
violating its own mission statement.
"The applications for this destructive project are still incomplete and deficient," said Alex
Bomstein, Senior Litigation Attorney of Clean Air Council. "It would be premature and against
the law for DEP to permit this pipeline without first making sure Williams fixes the problems in
its applications."
The only rational way forward for Pennsylvania is to invest in and support renewable,
sustainable energy solutions, not allow the building of more fracked gas pipelines that are
intended to be in service far longer than we can afford to rely on fossil fuels. The letter were
submitting to Gov. Wolf and Secretary McDonnell lays out ample arguments that justify a
rejection of the Chapter 102 and 105 permits for the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. So the only
question that remains is whether or not the administration will come down on the side of reason
or if it will continue its failed and irresponsible policy of supporting natural gas infrastructure,
said Karen Feridun, Founder of Berks Gas Truth.
This project has failed to receive both the serious environmental review and adequate
public participation necessary, said Patrick Grenter, Senior Campaign Representative of Sierra
Club. People from around Pennsylvania have voiced their sustained opposition to this
dangerous proposal. It is time for Governor Wolf to listen to his constituents and reject this
pipeline.
A technical review on just one portion of this pipeline application in Schuylkill County
shows nine areas where this permit application is grossly unprotective, incomplete and
inadequate, said Faith Zerbe, Director of Monitoring, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.
Exceptional Value waterbodies and anti-degradation standards deserve and warrant far greater
protection than what is being proposed by the pipeline applicant - the cost to our environment
and health is too high and risky. Governor Wolf and his DEP have an opportunity to protect
Pennsylvania and we urge them to use their power to deny the water permits.
Fossil fuels have left legacy contamination and polluted waterways in Pennsylvania we
are still cleaning up with taxpayer money long after the industry is gone. Its time we look to the
future and invest in sustainable and renewable jobs, not more fracking and pipeline build outs
that will lock us into harmful climate trapping exploitation for decades to come, said Leah Zerbe,
CoFounder, Schuylkill Pipeline Awareness. We urge Gov. Wolf to stand up for Pennsylvania
families and the environment and deny these permits.
The letter is a follow up to concerned residents who attended public hearings held
subsequently and on the heels of the community requesting, at minimum an extension beyond
the June 26th deadline for further scrutiny and public review of the pipeline companys
applications.
The groups sending the letter include: Air Coalition of Tunkhannock, Aquashicola/
Pohopoco Watershed Conservancy, Berks Gas Truth, Breathe Easy Susquehanna County, Bucks
Environmental Action, Chester County Sierra Club, Citizens for a Sane Energy Policy, Clean Air
Council, Clean Water Action, Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County, Damascus Citizens For
Sustainability, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Green America, Greenbelt Climate Action
Network, Lancaster Against Pipelines, Lancaster Farmland Trust, Lancaster Friends Meeting
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Environmental Concerns Committee, League of Humane Voters, Lebanon Pipeline Awareness,
Mason Pipeline Committee, Mud and Maker, New Jersey Sierra Club, Omega-Alpha Recycling
Systems, Paunacussing Watershed Association, Peace Action Network of Lancaster,
Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water EV Committee, Pennsylvania Earth Guardians,
Pennsylvania Sierra Club, Plains Township Residents Against PennEast, Potters Farm, Protect
Penn-Delco, Quittapahilla Watershed Association, Rachel Carson Council, Radnor Racquet
Club, Responsible Drilling Alliance, Sane Energy Project, Schuylkill Pipeline Awareness,
Shalefield Organizing Committee, StopNED, and the Unitarian Universalist Pennsylvania
Legislative Advocacy Network (UUPLAN).
A copy of the letter is available online.
For more information on the status of permit reviews, visit DEPs Atlantic Sunrise
Pipeline webpage.
NewsClips:
Crable: Groups Urge Wolf, DEP To Deny Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline
Sunoco Scores 2 Wins Against Pipeline Eminent Domain Lawsuits
County Judge Delays Decision On Mariner Pipeline Due To Environmental Rights Ruling
Tree Sitters Seek To Block Mariner East 2 Pipeline
Huntingdon County Judge Rules Against Mariner East 2 Pipeline Activists
Mariner East 2 Pipeline Protesters Face Arrest, Charges On Their Own Land
Crable: Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Begins In Lancaster County
New Jersey Again Blocks PennEast Pipeline Water Permit, Company To Reapply
AP: Application For PennEast Pipeline Closed Over Deficiencies In NJ
Forbes: Northeast Natural Gas Pipeline Buildout Is Coming
Colette Honorable Steps Down From Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Commonwealth Court Rules In Favor Of Private Lawsuits To Enforce Local Land

Development Ordinances
Commonwealth Court Tuesday issued a decision involving a Blair County case where one
landowner sought to enforce a local land development ordinance on another.
The Court ruled that under the Municipalities Planning Code there is a private cause of
legal action to enforce an alleged violation of any ordinance enacted under the MPC.
Click Here to read the opinion.
This issue is important because it could impact lawsuits filed by the Delaware
Riverkeeper and six Middletown, Delaware County residents seeking to enforce local zoning
ordinances against Sunocos Mariner East 2 Pipeline.
Related Stories:
Delaware Riverkeeper Files Suit Against Sunoco Mariner East 2 Pipeline For Failing To Comply
With Local Zoning
Opponents Of Mariner East 2 Pipeline File Lawsuit Against Sunoco To Enforce Delaware
County Twp. Ordinance
PA Benefits From Natural Gas Use; 68,536 Natural Gas Wells, 69 Gas Power Plants
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Associated Petroleum Industries in Pennsylvania Tuesday released a new study on the benefits
natural gas brings to the state in terms of consumer savings, family-sustaining jobs and economic
growth.
Natural gas is critical to our way of life in Pennsylvania, said Executive Director
Stephanie Catarino Wissman. Over the past decade, our state has experienced massive growth
in clean-burning natural gas production due to technological innovations and industry
investment, helping create jobs and strengthen our states economy.
The study by ICF International examined the economic benefits and opportunities from
the entire natural gas value chain, including the production of natural gas, its transportation and
end uses like power generation and manufacturing.
Natural gas benefited Pennsylvanians in 2015 in the following ways:
-- Supported 178,100 or 3.1 percent of jobs in the state; and
-- Contributed $24.5 billion to the states economy.
The report said in 2015, Pennsylvanias natural gas and oil infrastructure on the ground
included:
-- 21,940 producing oil wells and 68,536 producing gas wells;
-- 11 gas processing plants in the state with a capacity of 754 MMcf/d;
-- 49 natural gas storage sites in the state with a working gas capacity of 426 Bcf;
-- 69 natural gas-fired power plants;
-- 26,536 miles of gas gathering lines;
-- 9,899 miles of gas pipelines;
-- 24 miles of crude oil pipelines;
-- 1,141 miles of natural gas liquids pipelines;
-- 1,956 miles of product pipeline;
-- 47,954 miles of gas distribution mains and 28,711 miles of service lines; and
-- No CO2 pipelines.
In 2015, Pennsylvania produced 4.76 Tcf of dry natural gas, 24 million barrels of gas
plant liquids, 4.9 million barrels of lease condensate, and 2.1 million barrels of crude.
From power generation for homes and businesses that benefit from affordable and
reliable electricity, to the industrys skilled workforce that produces natural gas, to pipelines and
the workers who build them, the advantages of natural gas are wide-ranging, said API President
and CEO Jack Gerard. With energy week in full swing, this study is another example of the job
and consumer benefits of natural gas across the country.
The study found that consumers in all 50 states will save an estimated $655 by 2040 from
natural gas production, transportation and other uses such as electricity generation.
Other report highlights on the benefits of natural gas production, its transportation and
end uses throughout the value chain include:
-- By 2040, consumers across the country will save an estimated $100 billion, or $655 per
household, from the increased use of natural gas throughout our economy from manufacturing
to generating affordable electricity.
-- In 2015, the natural gas supply chain supported 3 percent of the U.S. economy, including
direct, indirect and induced activities and jobs associated with natural gas.
-- In 2015, natural gas supported more than 4 million jobs across the country from production to
end uses like manufacturing. That number is expected to rise to 6 million jobs by 2040.
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Click Here for more information on benefits to Pennsylvania (page 217) in the full report.
NewsClips:
More Information On Natural Gas Wells Available On Fractracker
UGI Touts Growth, Shale Gas Benefits, Customers Bills 40% Lower Than 9 Years Ago
Natural Gas Industry A Boon For Jobs, Reports Says
Mohegan Sun Casino Opens $3M Cogeneration Plant
EQT Moves To Next Phase Of Shale Gas Strategy
California Natural Gas Power Plants Struggle Under Zero-Carbon Alternatives
Pittsburgh Area Gasoline Prices Fall To $2.57/Gallon
Coal, Nuclear Vie For Supremacy In Key DOE Study
Trump: Nuclear Power Policy Review, Building Oversees Coal Power Plants
U.S. EIA: Earthquakes In Oklahoma, Other States Likely Related To Drilling Wastewater
PEC: New Report Shows Deep Decarbonization Pathways For Electricity In Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council Thursday released a white paper,

Achieving Deep Carbon Reductions: Paths for Pennsylvanias Electricity
Future, summarizing the findings of its March 2017 conference of the
same name.
Deep decarbonization refers to the goal of reducing emissions 80 percent
or more by 2050, which most climate scientists agree will be necessary to
minimize the most severe impacts of continuing climate change.
While this effort will demand substantial reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions from all sectors of the economy, the conference focused
specifically on Pennsylvanias electricity sector the largest source of
emissions in the Commonwealth.
Participants in PECs conference including representatives of the energy industry,
academia, economic development entities, and NGOs reached consensus on two key points:
that there is no silver bullet for reducing emissions, and that essentially all current sources of
electricity can have a significant role to play in this transition.
The report outlines 15 recommended steps for Pennsylvania based on priorities that
emerged at the conference. These steps include:
-- Promoting energy efficiency;
-- Modernizing the electricity grid and utility business models;
-- Advancing renewable energy;
-- Preserving the existing nuclear fleet; and
-- Reducing methane emissions.
In addition, the paper addresses issues relating to carbon capture, utilization, and storage
as a way to utilize fossil fuels with fewer carbon emissions, as well as issues surrounding new
61
technologies for generating energy from nuclear power.
PEC is very pleased with this report, and owes a great debt of gratitude to all the
conference participants for their insights, said PEC President Davitt Woodwell.
Next Steps
Following the release of the report, and building upon the outcomes reflected therein,
PECs initial priority will be investigating the potential for carbon pricing at the state and/or
regional level.
Putting a price on carbon, whether through a fee, tradable credit, or some other
mechanism, is a technologically agnostic way of moving toward decarbonization, Woodwell
said.
PEC will host a roundtable discussion to further explore this topic in September.
PEC plans to host additional roundtables during the remainder of 2017 to further explore other
topics discussed at the conference, with the goal of releasing more concrete recommendations in
early 2018.
One of the key points that emerged from the conference presentations and participant
feedback was the importance of utilizing a variety of energy sources to achieve decarbonization,
said Lindsay Baxter, PECs Program Manager for Energy and Climate. The urgency of climate
change requires us to consider a portfolio approach.
Click Here for a copy of the report. Click Here to watch video presentations from the
March Conference and related podcasts.
For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA
Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on
Facebook. Visit PECs Audio Room for the latest podcasts. Click Here to receive regular
updates from PEC.
NewsClips:
Lawmakers Urge Wolf To Join Interstate Effort To Meet Paris Climate Goals
Op-Ed: Clean Energy Is Future, Ed Perry
Op-Ed: PA Voters Must Hold Elected Officials Accountable On Climate Protection, Joseph
Minott
Trumps Agenda Faces Climate Deep State
Forbes: How Will Courts Rule On Clean Power Plan? Does It Matter?
Under Trump, Local Governments Become Activists
EPA To Launch Initiative To Critique Climate Science
Are Cities Ignoring The No.1 Contributor To Climate Change? Cars
PJM: FirstEnergys Ohio Nuclear Plants Not Necessary For Grid Reliability
Wind Industry Tacks As Trump Shifts Political Climate
Op-Ed: Jerry Brown, A CO2 Kind Of Guy
Report: Exelon Has Lowest Rate Of Carbon Dioxide Emissions By Far Of Any Major
Electric Power Producer
Exelon Tuesday announced the American
62
Council For An Energy-Efficient Economy reported Exelon had the lowest rate of carbon
dioxide emissions among the 20 largest privately held or investor-owned energy produces with
the next best ranking company coming in with six times Exelons emission rate.
Based on U.S. Energy Information Administration and Environmental Protection Agency
data, the 2017 Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers report
indicates that Exelons nuclear, natural gas and renewable energy plants continue to have by far
the lowest rate of carbon dioxide emissions among the 20 largest privately held or
investor-owned energy producers.
Two of the companys utilities, BGE in Maryland and ComEd in Illinois, were in the top
10, with Pennsylvanias PECO also making the list. Exelons Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva
Power and Pepco utilities were not evaluated in the study, which was based on utility retail sales.
Customers want reliable, affordable energy that doesnt come with harmful air
pollution, said Chris Gould, Exelons chief innovation and sustainability officer. Were
answering that call by providing more ways for them to conserve energy -- which lowers costs --
and by enabling the transition to a low-carbon future that protects the long-term health of our
communities.
The ACEEE study examined metrics across three categories including savings and
spending performance, program diversity and emerging areas, and efficiency-related regulatory
issues, using 2015 data.
Combined, customers of the six Exelon utilities have conserved 27 million megawatts of
power since the inception of the various energy efficiency programs, enough to power more than
2.5 million homes for one year.
Customers also saved almost $9 billion dollars through a variety of programs that
encourage lower energy use, including appliance rebates and bill credits for using less energy on
certain hot days.
ComEd has plans to double its energy efficiency offerings as part of Illinois Future
Energy Jobs Act, passed in 2016.
The Benchmarking Air Emissions report evaluates publicly reported emissions data from
the nations 100 largest electric power producers. The latest rankings are based on 2015 data.
Since that period, Exelon has added additional clean resources to its nuclear fleet,
including acquisition of the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear energy plant in New York.
Click Here for a copy of the report.
Last year, Exelon received A- Leadership scores from the CDP (formerly the Carbon
Disclosure Project) for disclosures in the three areas CDP measures climate change, water use
management and sustainable supply chain efforts.
Exelon has been a leader in CDP disclosure performance for more than six years. Exelon
has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America Index for 11
consecutive years.
Exelon has also received other national and global recognitions for programs to
incorporate clean energy, energy efficiency and smart grid technology as part of its strategy to
build a sustainable and reliable next-generation energy grid.
To learn more about Exelons programs to protect the environment and enhance
communities, read the Sustainability Report 2016 and visit Exelons Sustainability webpage.
(Photo: Exelon-Epuron Solar Energy Center, Falls Townships, Bucks County.)
NewsClips:
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Crable: Exelon Notifies 2 Agencies Three Mile Island Intends To Close
AP: Three Mile Island Notifies Regulators Of Intent To Close
Report: Cyberattacks Unsuccessfully Targeted U.S. Nuclear Power Plants This Year
Trumps Plans For Nuclear Power Revival Begin With A Study
U.S. House Panel Votes To Advance Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Project
Court Rules Against Westinghouse In Nuclear Acquisition Deal
Minott
Related Story:
PennLive.com: Exelon Notifies NRC It Will Close TMI In September 2019
Save The Date: 2017 Pittsburgh Solar Tour Oct. 14, You Can Be A Tour Stop
PennFutures 7th annual Pittsburgh Solar Tour is set for

October 14 from Noon to 4:00 p.m. The tour is designed to
encourage solar and clean energy solutions by connecting
citizens to residential, commercial, and public solar
installations and installers.
Each year, this free event attracts more than 200 people from
western Pennsylvania.
Be A Tour Stop
If you have solar installations you'd like to show off, please
complete this very brief survey by August 15 to be a featured
stop on our guided bus tour or if you want to be featured on our interactive map!
Help spread the word about the benefits of going solar!
Click Here for all the details.
(Photo: 2014 Pittsburgh Solar Tour Guidebook, 7211 Thomas Blvd, Pittsburgh)
64
DOE Grant To Penn State Continues Research Into Rare-Earth Elements Extraction From
Coal
In 2016, a team of Penn State and U.S. Department of

Energy researchers discovered a cost-effective and
environmentally friendly way to extract rare earth
elements (REEs) from coal and coal byproducts.
Now, through a $1 million grant from DOE's Office
of Fossil Energy, this research may be headed
one-step closer to commercialization.
Rare-earth elements are a set of seventeen metals --
such as scandium, yttrium, lanthanum and cerium --
necessary to produce high-tech equipment used in
health care, transportation, electronics and numerous
other industries.
Penn State and a consortium of three industry partners, Texas Mineral Resources
Corporation, Inventure Renewables Inc., and K-Technologies, will use the funding to conduct
laboratory testing and prepare a technical design for a pilot plant to profitably produce salable
REEs and other critical elements from coal-related materials from an eastern Pennsylvania
anthracite coal mine.
The goal is to determine the economic feasibility of recovering REEs from domestic coal
and coal by-products.
Penn State researchers found initial success in extracting REEs in 2016 using ion
exchange, which involved extracting coal byproducts with a solvent that releases the rare-earth
elements bound to them.
Through this new grant, the researchers will develop a new extraction technique that
combines pressure filtration, which uses external forces to separate solids from fluids, with an
environmentally friendly ion-exchange/ion chromatography process.
The resulting REE-enriched liquid can be processed to recover the elements while
recycling the liquid for reuse in the system.
"We're interested in using environmentally-friendly solvents that will be the best at
reacting with these elements and extracting them," said Sarma Pisupati, professor of energy and
mineral engineering at Penn State. "If we reach a ceiling with the method of ion exchange, we
will begin to test alternative methods that may be economical and environmentally feasible. We
believe this novel approach for extraction will be able to provide the high efficiency and
throughput sought by the industry for a technologically feasible and an economically viable
extraction method for REEs."
TMRC's focus will be to install a self-contained, modular and portable continuous ion
exchange/ continuous ion chromatography pilot plant in Pennsylvania, and to determine the
economic viability of producing scandium and other REEs associated with coal waste material
from Pennsylvania coal.
"The potential to profitably produce scandium and other rare earth minerals from
Pennsylvania coal waste holds great promise," said TMRC Chairman Anthony Marchese.
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"Creating value profitably from waste is an environmental goal shared by all citizens, especially
when considering the strategic nature of the minerals proposed to be produced."
REEs are a group of 17 elements all metals found in the Earth's crust. REEs have
unique chemical properties making them essential components of technologies ranging from
electronics, computer and communication systems, transportation, health care, and national
defense.
The United States Geological Survey expects worldwide demand for rare earth elements
to grow more than 5 percent annually through 2020. The increased demand for REEs has spurred
interest in developing cost-effective technologies for domestic REE recovery.
The team of Penn State researchers includes Pisupati; Mark Klima, associate professor of
mineral processing and geo-environmental engineering; and Xiaojing Yang, graduate student in
energy and mineral engineering.
For more information contact Patricia Craig, 814-863-4663, or send email to:
plc103@psu.edu or A'ndrea Elyse Messer, 814-865-9481 or send email to: aem1@psu.edu.
NewsClips:
Can Coal Be King Again Through Rare Earth Elements?
Related Story:
PSU: Extracting Rare-Earth Elements From Coal Could Soon Be Economical In U.S.
Small Business Development Centers Host July 27 Workshop In Philadelphia On

Technology, Science Funding
The Small Business Development Centers will host a July 27 workshop on funding opportunities
through the Small Business Innovation Research Program at Villanova University, Falvey
Memorial Library Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship Institute, 800 Lancaster Avenue
In Philadelphia from 8:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The program provides funding to encourage domestic small businesses to engage in
Federal Research/Research and Development that has the potential for commercialization.
Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore
their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.
At this workshop you will:
-- Receive information about upcoming SBIR funding opportunities from EPA, DOE and USDA
-- Hear tips from small businesses who were successful in receiving SBIR funding
-- Have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with agency representatives to discuss your concept
or project
-- Hear from resource partners who can help you fine tune and prepare your SBIR proposal
-- Have an opportunity to network with other small businesses
Continental breakfast and lunch provided. The workshop is geared towards for-profit
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technology and science based firms with less than 500 employees.
Click Here to register or for more information.
15th Anniversary Of Quecreek Mine Rescue Community Celebration July 29 In Somerset
The 15th anniversary of the Quecreek Mine Rescue in Somerset

County with a Community Celebration on July 29 at the mine
rescue site, 140 Haupt Road in Somerset from 3:00 to 9:45 p.m.
The Celebration is a free community event featuring
museum tours, live entertainment, childrens activities, food
vendors, a car cruise and ending with fireworks.
Click Here for a full schedule of events on the 29th and
earlier in the week.
On July 24, 2002 coal miners broke through into an
abandoned, water-filled mine flooding the Quecreek Mine with
over 150 million gallons of water. Nine miners scrambled to
safety, but nine were trapped in a pocket of air in the dark, cold,
water filled mine.
The nine miners were rescued four days later through the
combined efforts of state and federal mine rescue agencies and hundreds of workers and local
volunteers.
Click Here to watch a video produced by the Commonwealth Media Services
documenting the decisions made step-by-step during the rescue effort.
The celebration is being coordinated by the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation and a
special 15th anniversary planning committee that includes the Somerset County Chamber of
Commerce.
The Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization that relies on support from the
public to educate the public about the rescue and to maintain and operate the mine rescue area
and a visitors center.
For more information on the 2002 mine rescue, contact the Quecreek Mine Rescue
Foundation or make a donation by writing: 140 Haupt Road, Somerset, PA 15501, calling
814-445-5090.
NewsClips:
15 Years Later, Memory Of Quecreek Mine Rescue Remains Preserved
Visitors Remember Their Roots At Irish Festival In Eckley Miners Village
Coal Mine Tour Trip Into Regions Past
White: Coal Mine Boy Tended Mules Underground
Let Your Voice Be Heard Now: Planning For PA State Parks Of The Future
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary

Cindy Adams Dunn Wednesday announced a strategic plan for
Pennsylvania's state parks of the future will kick off this holiday
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weekend with surveys being made available to park visitors and other interested parties.
"Management of our 121 state parks is an ever-changing undertaking, as there are
constantly new challenges and best practices to be considered," Dunn said. "There are careful
and deliberate management approaches to be outlined in this plan, and public input gleaned from
these surveys will help protect and sustain our state parks now and into the future."
Beginning with the Fourth of July weekend, DCNR will launch its initiative, "Penn's
Parks for All Planning for the State Parks of Tomorrow." Input from these surveys, offered at
all 121 state parks across the state, will prove invaluable in the plan's implementation, the
secretary said.
"Pennsylvania's national award-winning system of 121 state parks is now well into its
second century of service," Dunn noted. "With a state park within 25 miles of nearly every
Pennsylvanian, there are a remarkable variety of types and sizes of parks located throughout the
Commonwealth.
"During the last 25 years, DCNR has made tremendous improvements in most state parks
such as modernizing facilities, adding comfortable cabins, and expanding recreation
opportunities. The department also has worked to better conserve and manage the parks' natural
resources, and expand the number of education staff and programs."
To poll visitors and the public on their vision of the future for Pennsylvania state parks,
survey questions will include:
-- Should current outdoor recreation opportunities or experiences be changed?
-- Should park overnight accommodations be changed?
-- How should state parks be financed?
-- How can state parks best be protected?
-- Should state parks offer modern conveniences?
-- Are you satisfied with park services, facilities and activities?
"Public participation in this survey is vital," Dunn said. "In the decades ahead, the
department wants to ensure that your Pennsylvania state park system will remain as relevant and
valuable to future generations as it has been to current and past generations."
Bureau of State Parks officials say their goal will be to have a preliminary report,
influenced by the information gathered this year, available in the fall of 2018, with a final report
in 2019.
Public opportunities to offer input will include:
-- A paper survey and an accompanying state park information booklet to distributed to park
visitors this summer and fall;
-- The online survey, being conducted by the Pennsylvania State University's Department of
Recreation, Park and Tourism Management. This survey, available to everyone, will include a
PDF version of the information booklet and also will be offered in Spanish.
-- A phone survey of a statistically-significant sampling of Pennsylvanians that can be
extrapolated to represent the state's population;
-- A targeted, online survey for minority and young adult audiences; and a series of stakeholder
input meetings to focus on specific selected topics.
Pennsylvania's 121 state parks total almost 300,000 acres. Together with DCNR's state
forest system, they are one of the largest expanses of public lands in the eastern United States.
DCNR manages state parks for sound ecosystems; retaining wild character; maintaining
biological diversity; providing clean water and healthy habitats for plants and animals; and
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emphasizing outdoor recreational opportunities.
For all the details, visit DCNRs Planning for the State Parks of Tomorrow website.
For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit
DCNRs website, Click Here to sign up for the Resource newsletter, Click Here for upcoming
events. Click Here to be part of DCNRs Online Community, Click Here to hook up with
DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.
NewsClip:
Apply Now For DCNR TreeVitalize Tree Planting Grants
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and

TreePennsylvania Wednesday announced it is now accepting
applications for TreeVitalize Tree Planting Grants. The deadline for
applications is August 15.
"Launched on Arbor Day 2004 in Philadelphia, TreeVitalize efforts
already have planted more than 350,000 shade trees in Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh and other cities and communities," Dunn said. "With
today's announcement of grant opportunities, those benefits will be
extended across the state and residents hopefully will enjoy them in
every county."
This year applications will be considered in three funding
categories: tree planting, urban riparian buffers or community
forestry management.
One applicant can seek grants in all three categories, however only
one can be approved during each grant term.
Secretary Dunn noted a House Republican budget passed in April could have possible
negative effects on future DCNR funding of TreeVitalize and other grant-based department
programs.
TreePennsylvania, formerly Pennsylvania Urban & Community Forestry Council,
administers the statewide TreeVitalize grant program. Funding is provided to communities to
promote and develop sustainable urban forestry programs within Pennsylvania.
Funded through DCNR's Bureau of Forestry grants and municipal, private agency and
company involvement, and overseen by the Pennsylvania Urban and Community Forestry
Council, TreeVitalize is dependent on community support to increase tree canopies across the
state, and educate and engage citizens in the care and selection of these new trees.
Tree Pennsylvania is a statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing the
growing forests throughout Pennsylvania's urban landscape.
For all the details, visit the PA Urban & Community Forestry Council TreeVitalize Tree
Planting Grants webpage. Applications must be submitted via email to DCNRs Development
and Grants Coordinator Jessica Cavey at: c-jcavey@pa.gov.
To learn more about tree planting opportunities, training and initiatives, visit the PA
Urban & Community Forestry Council website.
NewsClip:
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Related Story:
PA House Republican Budget Deals Crippling Blow To DCNR Budget, Leads To Layoffs
PA Forest Heritage Assn. Summer Newsletter Now Available
The PA Forest Heritage Associations Spring edition of the Burning Issues

newsletter is now available featuring stories on--
-- As of June 1, there have been 399 wildfires in Pennsylvania which
burned 1,380 acres damaging 2 structures and destroying 6 structures with
5. Injury.
-- Profile of Firefighter Kelsey Miller
Questions about the newsletter should be directed to Michael J. Klimkos,
Editor, by sending email to: klimkos@embarqmail.com.
Visit the Discovery Center at Caledonia State Park in Franklin County to
learn more about Pennsylvanias forest fire fighting heritage.
The PA Forest Heritage Association is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the
heritage of forest conservation and forest fire protection in Pennsylvania. Click Here to contact
the PFHA for more information on the programs, initiatives and upcoming events.
NewsClip:
PA Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area In Northumberland Earns National Recognition
Pennsylvanias Anthracite Outdoor

Adventure Area in Coal Township,
Northumberland County earned the 2017
Tom Petri Achievement Award for
Construction and Design.
AOAA was recognized during the
June 14 awards ceremony in Washington,
D.C., hosted by the Coalition for
Recreational Trails.
AOAA was recognized for its
construction and design of a trailhead event
area for the off-highway vehicle park, which features: an open pavilion; space for vendors;
restrooms; and all-weather storage for AOAAs trail maintenance equipment
The achievement awards recognize outstanding use of Recreational Trails Program funds
across the country.
DCNRs Bureau of Recreation and Conservation accepted the award on behalf of AOAA,
the AOAA Authority, and its partners. DCNR is a partnering organization helping to support and
maintain AOAA.
(Photo: Boy scouts have built hiking trails behind the visitor's facility.)
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NewsClips:
June 30 Take Five Fridays With Pam, PA Parks & Forests Foundation
Op-Ed: Tourism Vital Economic Engine, Lets Keep It Rolling (Fallingwater)
Bike Share Program Launches Friday In York
Repairs Underway On Delaware Canal Blowout In Tinicum
(Reprinted from the June 28 DCNR Resource newsletter. Click Here to sign up for your own
copy.)
Ledges Hotel Guests Contribute To Conservation In Wayne County
The Settlers Hospitality Group Wednesday presented

the Delaware Highlands Conservancy with a check
for $6,144 from funds collected through the Green
Lodging Partnership Program at Ledges Hotel in
Hawley, Wayne County.
Through the Green Lodging Partnership, guests at
participating hotels are invited to make a $2-per-stay
donation to the protection of the beautiful farms and
forests, clean waters, and outdoor recreational
opportunities that make the Upper Delaware River region such a wonderful place to live, work,
and play.
The funds raised directly support the Conservancy's land protection efforts--and ensure
that everything that's special about our region will remain, now and for future generations.
The Delaware Highlands Conservancy works in partnership with landowners and
communities to protect the natural heritage and quality of life of the Upper Delaware River
region.
For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Delaware
Highlands Conservancy website or call 570-226-3164 or 845-583-1010. Click Here to sign up
for regular updates from the Conservancy (upper right of the page), Like on Facebook and
Follow on Twitter. Click Here to support their work.
(Photo: Accepting the check on behalf of the Conservancy were, from left, Bethany Keene; board
member Kate Hayes; and Jason Zarnowski and Settlers Hospitality Group staff Terri Marcellus
and Jenna Simpler, with owner Justin Genzlinger, )
Get Outdoors Poconos Hike July 15 On Red Rock Trail In Monroe County
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The Brodhead Watershed Association will host another Get Outdoors Poconos hike on July 15
on the Red Rock Trail in the Mount Airy Trail Network in Paradise Township in Monroe County
starting at 10:00.
Carol Hillestad will lead this moderately difficult hike of about two miles Single-track
spurs of gravel curve out and around the center, providing views through oaks and maples
toward the north and Camelback to the south.
The spur to Mount Sophia takes you to a pine and hemlock upland at 1,600 feet. When
the leaves fall, your climb is rewarded by lovely, long views over hills in all directions, and
toward the edge of the Pocono escarpment in Mount Pocono.
The Nature Conservancy-PA calls the naturally beautiful Poconos, with clean air and
pure water, one of the last great places on earth. This hike will illustrate why.
Click Here for more information.
Meet at Mount Airy Trail Networks Red Rock trailhead on Red Rock Road. From Route
191 in Paradise Valley, take Red Rock Road for eight-tenths of a mile. Trailhead is on your right.
Call 570-839-1120 or 570-629-2727; send email to: info@brodheadwatershed.org.
The hike series is administered by Brodhead Watershed Association and supported by a
grant from the William Penn Foundation.
For information about this and other hikes in this free series, visit the Get Outdoors
Poconos webpage.
NewsClips:
Western PA Conservancy Helps Add Important Land To Laurel Ridge State Park In
Somerset County
The Western PA Conservancy Friday purchased a 30-acre

property located in the headwaters of Laurel Hill Creek in
Jefferson Township, Somerset County, that has now
become a new addition to Laurel Ridge State Park.
This property, which is adjacent to the park,
provides significant water quality protection and features
2,500 feet of frontage on Shaffer Run, a major tributary to
Laurel Hill Creek.
An average of approximately 1.4 million gallons of
water per day flow from four natural artesian groundwater
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springs located on the property. The property also includes forested wetlands adjacent to the
springs.
The permanent conservation of the forests, wetlands and springs on this property will
play an important role in protecting water quality and quantity in Laurel Hill Creek, a significant
ecological and recreational asset for the Laurel Highlands region.
The Conservancy immediately conveyed this land to Pennsylvanias Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of State Parks to become part of Laurel Ridge State
Park.
DCNR prides itself in strong partnerships with conservation-based organizations, and
for decades there have been few stronger than that with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy,
said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. This latest addition to Laurel Ridge State Park is to
be applauded, and surely will be appreciated by the almost 70,000 who visit the park each year.
The Conservancy recently protected one other property totaling approximately 184 acres
that was also conveyed to DCNR to become part of Laurel Hill State Park. WPC President and
CEO Tom Saunders said Laurel Hill Creek has been identified by the Conservancy as a priority
stream for protection, so conserving properties within its watershed is a priority.
We are pleased to continue partnering with DCNR to help protect the regions water
quality and the natural and recreational value of this important creek, Saunders added. This is
another wonderful addition to the protection of lands in the Laurel Hill Creek watershed.
Conservation of this land was made possible through the generosity of the Family of B.
Kenneth Simon and through funding from DCNR.
More information is available on programs, initiatives and special events at the Western
PA Conservancy website. Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Conservancy, Like
them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter, add them to your Circle on Google+, join them on
Instagram, visit the Conservancys YouTube Channel or add them to your network on Linkedin.
Click Here to support their work.
Wildlands Conservancy Highlights Special Events, Education Programs In July
The Wildlands Conservancy in Lehigh County Thursday

outlined upcoming special events and educational
programs in July featuring--
-- July 7: Smores, Hike & Bat Count
-- July 10: Wildlife Day Camp: Wayne Grube
-- July 16: Canoeing 101
-- July 29: Building For Bees
For more information on programs, initiatives
and special events, visit the Wildlands Conservancy
website. Like on Facebook, Follow on Twitter and Join
on Instagram. Click Here to support the Conservancy.
June 28 Resource Newsletter From DCNR; Try A New Sport Stand-Up Paddleboarding
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The June 28 issue of the Resource newsletter is now available from the Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources featuring articles on--
-- Get Up And Try A New Water Sport-- Stand-Up Paddleboarding
-- Let Your Voice Be Heard Now: Planning For PA State Parks Of The Future
-- Applications Now Being Accepted For wild Resource Conservation Program Grants
-- State Forests, Parks Deer Management Assistance Program Permits Now On Sale
-- Laurel Highland Hiking Trail Chimneys To Receive New Life In Somerset County
-- PA Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area In Northumberland Earns National Recognition
-- In Memoriam: Paul Lyskave, DCNR Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council
-- Learn To Identify Trees, Shrubs At Day-Long Workshop July 8 At Canoe Creek State Park
-- Click Here to sign up for your own copy.
For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit
DCNRs website, Click Here for upcoming events. Click Here to be part of DCNRs Online
Community, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube and Flickr.
(Photo: Paddleboarding at Moraine State Park, Butler County)
copy.)
Op-Ed: Establishing A Sustainable Financial Future For Fishing & Boating In PA
by John Arway, Executive Director, Fish and Boat Commission
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission law

enforcement staff recently provided critical assistance in
several water-rescue events, including one on the
Susquehanna River near Lancaster in which hundreds of
individuals launched a variety of floatable devices during
high water.
Most of these individuals were not wearing life jackets
and many had to be rescued after being unable to
navigate the high waters.
Other incidents involved kayakers and individuals on a
pontoon boat in Eries Presque Isle Bay on a day when
the National Weather Service issued a small-craft advisory warning boaters of waves between
3-5 feet.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, thanks to the actions of PFBC waterways
conservation officers (WCO) and first responders like fire departments and water-rescue teams.
These incidents and our agency response are reminders about the importance of the
public service we provide to not just Pennsylvania anglers and boaters but to all Commonwealth
citizens.
The PFBC, for example, trains local fire departments and water-rescue groups to ensure
that they can respond to emergencies like the one on the Susquehanna.
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However, these and other critical services are in danger of being cut or reduced if the
House of Representatives fails to pass Senate Bill 30 (Eichelberger-R-Blair), which would grant
the PFBC the ability to initiate the first fishing license increase since 2005.
The Senate overwhelming passed the bill in March by a 47-2 vote. But the bill has yet to
be voted out of the House Game and Fisheries Committee.
The PFBC is funded primarily by angler and boater revenues and receives no General
Fund money. Our plan to keep spending below revenues has allowed us to provide the same
level of goods and services the public expects without major programmatic cuts.
We have cut spending in large part by reducing staff from a high of 432 to 370. At the
same time, the value of a fishing license adjusted for inflation has dropped to about $16.25,
while fish production costs have climbed dramatically.
The true cost of todays fishing license adjusted for inflation would be $37.18. At $21.90,
todays license value is a real bargain for PA anglers!
However, this fiscal year, annual operating and personnel costs are projected to exceed
annual revenues.
Without a revenue increase, the PFBC must plan to significantly cut programs by fiscal
year 201819 to meet balanced budget objectives and avoid insolvency.
The Bureau of Law Enforcement has 15 vacancies with 10 open field districts as we enter
the heart of the fishing and boating season.
With 23 officers eligible to retire - and nearly as many more in the next three years - that
number will continue to grow, and customer service, public safety, and resource protection will
continue to diminish.
With a revenue increase, we will immediately request authorization from the Governors
Office to run a new school of officers.
Fish production accounts for the other largest portion of spending. We stock about 3.2
million adult trout each year and up to 40 million warmwater and coolwater fish, including
Walleyes, Muskies, and Catfish.
Without a revenue increase, we must consider proposals to cut $2 million, $3 million and
$4 million from the budget.
A $2 million reduction would close one trout hatchery and eliminate 200,000 adult
stocked trout from 248 stream sections and eliminate the stocking of 28,000 trout in 18 lakes.
Also, we would close one warmwater/coolwater hatchery, the American Shad hatchery
and severely reduce services in the Cooperative Nursery Unit.
A $3 million reduction would close a second trout hatchery and eliminate another
240,000 stocked trout.
A $4 million reduction would eliminate a second warmwater/coolwater hatchery and
thousands of warmwater stockings.
In total, we would cut stocked trout production in streams and lakes by 440,000 fish, or
about 14 percent.
These are cuts we must make if we are to remain responsible stewards of our
Commonwealths aquatic resources and the funding provided by anglers and boaters our
customers.
This plan will be presented to the Board of Commissioners at the July 10-11 business
meeting, if it appears the agency will not be receiving a fee increase for the 2018 license year.
With a fee increase, we will continue producing and stocking fish at the rate that anglers,
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local communities and businesses have come to expect as part of Pennsylvanias $1.2 billion
fishing-related economy.
In our business, it is said that the time has come to fish or cut bait to act or not act. In
the General Assembly, it is said that the time has come to call the question.
In our last cast for support, we urge all Pennsylvanians who fish or boat to contact their
representatives in the House and demand a vote on Senate Bill 30.
Click Here for a summary of the bill. Click Here to find out who represents you in the
House.
(Photo: LancasterOnline.com.)
NewsClips:
Dozens Rescued From Susquehanna River Tubing Event
Dozens Rescued After Being Stranded In River Tubing Event
New Youth Fishing Opportunities Offered in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia
Juniata College Students Use Technology To Track Trout
Crable: Getting Hooked On Flathead Catfish Craze
AP: Ohio Politicians Call For Release Of Great Lakes Asian Carp Study
Schneck: Bears On The Move Across PA, Backyards Included
Hunt For Bigfoot Hits PA, This Thing Was Not A Bear
Rare Bird Species Settles In Upper St. Clair, Washington County
In Memoriam: Paul Lyskave, DCNR Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

is saddened by the loss of Paul Lyskava, who served as a
member of the Conservation and Natural Resources
Advisory Council.
Paul also was the Executive Director of the PA Forest
Products Association, helping to position Pennsylvania
as the leading hardwood lumber producing state in the
nation.
Paul was asked by Gov. Wolf to serve on the Governors
Green Ribbon Task Force, a commission to further
advance the forest products industry.
For the four years prior to his affiliation with PFPA, Paul served as the Executive
Director of the PA Hardwood Development Council, at the Department of Agriculture.
Though Paul was much more astute to legislation than forest harvest management plans,
and much more polished on industry issues as opposed to silvicultural academics, his efforts over
the span of his career had an equal value in impact on protecting and conserving the forest, as
well as aiding everyone involved in the forest products industry on any level, said PFPA
Chairman Burt Craig.
Among other honors, Paul was recognized with the PA Forestry Associations Joseph T.
Rothrock Award in 2015.
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(Photo: Paul Lyskava, right, at the 2015 awards event.)
NewsClip:
Remembering Paul Lyskava: Made A Difference
copy.)
Help Wanted: President, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County is seeking

qualified candidates to fill the position of President.
The mission of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association is
to conserve birds of prey worldwide by providing
leadership in raptor conservation science and education,
and by maintaining Hawk Mountain Sanctuary as a model
observation, research and education facility.
The worlds first refuge for birds of prey, Hawk Mountain
Sanctuary (Hawk Mountain) was founded in 1934 to stop
the shooting of migrating raptors along an Appalachian
ridge in eastern Pennsylvania.
In the eight decades since, the nonprofit Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association has
grown into one of the leading global voices for the conservation of birds of prey by providing
international leadership in raptor conservation science and education, and by maintaining Hawk
Mountain Sanctuary as a model observation, research, and education facility where tens of
thousands of visitors are inspired annually.
Hawk Mountain manages its 2,500-acre woodland as a publicly accessible wildlife
refuge, designed to connect people with its mountainous setting and sweeping views and to
generate appreciation for the annual hawk migration, and by association, raptors globally.
Click Here for all the details and information on how to apply.
Public Participation Opportunities/Calendar Of Events
This section lists House and Senate Committee meetings, DEP and other public hearings and
meetings and other interesting environmental events.
NEW means new from last week. [Agenda Not Posted] means not posted within 2 weeks
of the advisory committee meeting. Go to the online Calendar webpage for updates.
Note: DEP published its 2017 schedule of advisory committee and board meeting in the
December 17 PA Bulletin, page 7896.
Note: This is still budget season. House and Senate committees can add and cancel meetings
with little notice.
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July 5-- DEP Hearing On RACT II Air Pollution Controls For Wood-Mode, Inc. in Middlecreek
Township, Snyder County. DEP Northcentral Regional Office, 208 West Third Street
Williamsport. 10:00.
July 5-- DEP Hearing On RACT II Air Pollution Controls For Resilite Sports Products, Inc. in
Northumberland County. DEP Northcentral Regional Office, 208 West Third Street in
Williamsport. 10:00.
July 8-- PA Resources Council Backyard Composting Workshop. Western Allegheny

Community Library, Oakdale, Allegheny County. 10:30 a.m.
July 8-- Gifford Pinchots Grey Towers Farm To Table, Explore the Landscape Event. Grey
Towers, Milford, Pike County. 4:00 p.m.
July 11-- DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson
Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Mark Brojakowski, mbrojakows@pa.gov or 717-772-3429.
(formal notice)
July 12-- DEP Technical Advisory Committee on Diesel-Powered Underground Mining

Equipment. DEP New Stanton Office, 131 Broadview Road, New Stanton. 10:00. DEP Contact
Peggy Scheloske, mscheloske@pa.gov or 724-404-3143.
July 12-- DEP Hearing On RACT II Air Quality Control Plans For First Quality Tissue, LLC
in Castanea Township, Clinton County. DEP Northcentral Regional Office, 208 West Third
Street, Suite 101 in Williamsport. 10:00. (Click Here for more.)
July 12-- DEP Hearing On Air Quality Plan Approval For Natural Gas-Fired Beech Hollow
Power Plant In Washington County. Fort Cherry Jr./Sr. High School Auditorium at 110 Fort
Cherry Road, McDonald. Meeting- 6:00 p.m., Hearing- 7:00 p.m. (formal notice, PA Bulletin
page 3242) (Click Here for more.)
July 12-- SRBC, DEP Water Loss Management Training For Drinking Water Systems: Metering
and Billing Operations. SRBC, 4423 N. Front Street, Harrisburg. 8:30 to 3:30.
July 13-- DEP Small Water Systems Technical Assistance Center Board meeting. Room 105
Rachel Carson Building. 9:00. DEP Contact: Dawn Hissner, dhissner@pa.gov or 717-772-2189.
(formal notice)
July 13-- DEP Hearing On RACT II Air Quality Control Plans For Fairless Energy, LLC, Falls
Township, Bucks County, The Boeing Company in Ridley Township, Delaware County,
Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminal, LP, Marcus Hook Borough, Delaware County,
Global Advanced Metals USA, Inc. in Douglass Township Montgomery County. DEP
Southeast Regional Office, 2 East Main Street, Norristown, Montgomery County starting at 9:00
a.m. for Fairless Energy, LLC, 11:00 a.m. Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminal, LP, 1:30
p.m. for The Boeing Company, 3:30 p.m. for Global Advanced Metals. DEP Southeast Regional
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Office, 2 East Main Street, Norristown, Montgomery County. (Click Here for more.)
July 13-- PA Resources Council Healthy Body & Healthy Home Workshop. Community Library
of Castle Shannon, Allegheny County. 7 - 8:30 p.m.
July 14-- Penn State Extension Community Tree Management Workshop. Milford Township
Building, 2100 Krammes Road, Quakertown, Bucks County. 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
July 15-- Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling Household Hazardous Waste Collection
Event. Westmoreland CleanWays Recycling Center, 113 Innovative Lane in Latrobe. 9:00 a.m.
to 1:00 p.m.
July 15-- Penn State Extension Community Tree Management Workshop. Penn State University
Lehigh Valley Campus, 2809 Saucon Valley Road, Center Valley, Lehigh County. 10:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m.
July 15-- Food Guy Adventures, Sustainable Pittsburgh A Taste Of Sustainability: Cultural
District Restaurant Tour. Pittsburgh.
July 15-- NEW. Brodhead Watershed Association Get Outdoors Poconos Red Rock Trail Hike.
Monroe County. 10:00.
July 17-- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Selling Stormwater Workshop. Londonderry
Township Building, 783 S. Geyers Church Road in Middletown, Dauphin County. 8:00 to 3:00
July 18-- CANCELED. Environmental Quality Board meeting. Next scheduled meeting is
August 15. DEP Contact: Laura Edinger, Environmental Quality Board, 400 Market Street,
Harrisburg, PA 17101, 717-772-3277, edinger@pa.gov. (formal notice)
July 18-- CANCELED. DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson
Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Lee Ann Murray, Citizens Advisory Council, P. O. Box 8459,
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8459, 717-705-2693, LeeMurray@pa.gov.
July 18-- DEP Hearing On State Implementation Plan Revision On Fine Particulate Matter.
DEP Southeast Regional Office, 2 East Main Street, Norristown. 10:00. Persons wishing to
present testimony should contact Roma Monteiro, P.O. Box 8468, Harrisburg, PA 17105 at
717-787-9495 or send email to: rmonteiro@pa.gov to reserve a time. If no person has expressed
an interest in testifying at the hearings before July 17, the hearings will be canceled.
July 18-- DEP Hearing On State Implementation Plan Revision On Fine Particulate Matter. DEP
Southwest Regional Office, 400 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh. 10:00. Persons wishing to present
testimony should contact Roma Monteiro, P.O. Box 8468, Harrisburg, PA 17105 at
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July 18-- DEP Hearing On State Implementation Plan Revision On Fine Particulate Matter.
DEP, Room 105, Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg. 10:00. Persons wishing to present
testimony should contact Roma Monteiro, P.O. Box 8468, Harrisburg, PA 17105 at
July 18-- Environmental Quality Board hearing on VOC, NOx Emission Controls, RACT for
Major Sources Proposed Regulation. DEP Southeast Regional Office, 2 East Main Street,
Norristown. 1:00.
July 18-- NEW. Penn State Extension Community Forest Webinar Green Infrastructure - A
Lesson In Change. Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Major Sources Proposed Regulation. DEP Southwest Regional Office, 400 Waterfront Drive,
Pittsburgh. 1:00.
July 19-- DEP Hearing On Proposed State Implementation Plan Revision Setting The Base Year
Inventory For The Lebanon County Nonattainment Area For 2012 Fine Particulate Matter
Standard. DEP Southcentral Regional Office, 909 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg. 10:00.
Persons wishing to present testimony should contact Roma Monteiro, P.O. Box 8468,
Harrisburg, PA 17105 at 717-787-9495 or send email to: rmonteiro@pa.gov to reserve a time. If
no person has expressed an interest in testifying at the hearings before July 17, the hearings will
be canceled.
July 19-- DEP informal public conference on expansion permit for the Baily underground coal
mine in Greene County. Ryerson Station State Park Visitor Center, 361 Bristoria Road, Wind
Ridge, Greene County. 1:00 to 3:00.
July 20-- DEP Mining and Reclamation Advisory Board meeting. Knox District Mining Office,
310 Best Lane, Knox. 9:00. DEP Contact Daniel Snowden, dsnowden@pa.gov or
717-787-5103.
Major Sources Proposed Regulation. DEP, Room 105, Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg.
1:00.
July 20-- DEP Hearing On Proposed Transfer Of Emission Reduction Credits To Perdue
AgriBusiness, Lancaster County. Bainbridge Fire Hall, 34 South 2nd Street, Bainbridge. 6:30 to
8:30. Contact Brenda Esterline at 717-705-4704 to testify. (June 17 PA Bulletin, page 3392)
July 22-- PA Resources Council. Household Chemical Collection Event. Consol Energy Park,
Washington County.
July 24-- DEP Hearing On Draft NPDES Water Quality Permit for the Brunner Island Power
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Station, York County. Union Fire Company, 201 York Street, Manchester. 6:30 to 8:30. Those
who wish to present testimony during the hearing are asked to register in advance by contacting
John Repetz in the Southcentral Regional Office, 717-705-4904 or send email to:
jrepetz@pa.gov. (June 17 PA Bulletin, page 3432)
July 24-25-- Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional Certification Training. City Hall,
Lancaster.
July 26-- DEP Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee meeting. 12th Floor
Conference Room, Rachel Carson Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Nancy Herb, nherb@pa.gov
or 717-783-9269.
July 27-- NEW. Small Business Development Centers Technology/Science Funding Workshop.
Villanova University, Falvey Memorial Library Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship
Institute, 800 Lancaster Avenue In Philadelphia. 8:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
July 29-- PA Resources Council Hard-To-Recycle Collection Event. La Roche College,

McCandless, Allegheny County.
July 29-- NEW. 15th Anniversary Quecreek Mine Rescue Community Celebration. Quecreek
Mine Rescue Site, 140 Haupt Road, Somerset. 3:00 to 9:45 p.m.
August 1-- DEP Environmental Justice Advisory Board meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson
Building. 8:30. DEP Contact: Carl Jones, caejone@pa.gov or 484-250-5818.
August 2-- DEP Aggregate Advisory Board meeting. Hampton Inn, 202 Fairview Drive,
Monaca, Beaver County. 10:00. DEP Contact Daniel Snowden, dsnowden@pa.gov or
717-787-5103.
August 2-- NEW. DEP hearing on proposed attainment demonstration for the Warren
Nonattainment Area for Sulfur Dioxide. DEPs Warren Office, 321 North State Street in North
Warren starting at 10:00 a.m. Contact Roma Monteiro to reserve a time to testify--
717-787-9495 or send email to: rmonteiro@pa.gov. (formal notice)
August 3-- NEW. DEP hearing on proposed Air Quality Permit for the installation of additional
air pollution controls to meet RACT II nitrogen oxide reduction requirements at Homer City
Power Plant, Black Lick and Center Townships, Indiana County. Homer-Center High School
Auditorium, 70 Wildcat Lane, Homer City, Indiana County. 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Contact: Alan
Binder, P.E., Environmental Engineer Manager, 412-442-4168. (formal notice July 1 PA
Bulletin page 3608 and page 3611)
August 2-- PA Resources Council Watershed Awareness/Rain Barrel Workshop. Baldwin

Borough Public Library, Allegheny County. 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
August 5-- PA Resources Council Backyard Composting Workshop. Baldwin Borough Public
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Library, Allegheny County. 10:30.
August 9-- DEP Water Resources Advisory Committee meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson
Building. 9:00. DEP Contact: Diane Wilson, 717-787-3730 or diawilson@pa.gov.
August 12-- PA Resources Council Hard-To-Recycle Collection Event. Century III Mall, West
Mifflin, Allegheny County.
August 12-- Food Guy Adventures, Sustainable Pittsburgh A Taste Of Sustainability: Cultural
District Restaurant Tour. Pittsburgh.
August 14-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council Field Visit Meeting. Location TBD. DEP Contact:
Lee Ann Murray, Citizens Advisory Council, P. O. Box 8459, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8459,
717-705-2693, LeeMurray@pa.gov.
August 15-- Environmental Quality Board meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 9:00.
DEP Contact: Laura Edinger, Environmental Quality Board, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA
17101, 717-772-3277, edinger@pa.gov.
August 16-- SRBC, DEP Water Loss Management Training For Drinking Water Systems:
Fundamentals of Leakage and Pressure Management. SRBC, 4423 N. Front Street, Harrisburg.
8:30 to 3:30.
August 17-- CANCELED. Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. Room 105 Rachel
Carson Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Todd Wallace 717-783-9438 or send email to:
twallace@pa.gov. (formal notice)
August 17-- PA Grade Crude Development Advisory Council meeting. Location TBD. 1:00.
August 19-- PA Resources Council. Household Chemical Collection Event. Boyce Park,
Allegheny County.
August 23-- Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson
Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Todd Wallace 717-783-9438 or send email to: twallace@pa.gov.
(formal notice)
September 13-- DEP Laboratory Accreditation Advisory Committee meeting. Room 206,
Bureau of Laboratories Building, 2575 Interstate Drive, Harrisburg. 9:00. DEP Contact: Aaren
Alger, aaalger@pa.gov or 717-346-7200. (formal notice)
September 13-- PA Section of the American Water Works Association. Small Water System
Rates & Finance Workshop. PA American Water, 2736 Ellwood Road in New Castle, Lawrence
County. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
September 16-- PA Resources Council. Household Chemical Collection Event. South Park,
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Allegheny County.
September 21-- DEP Recycling Fund Advisory Committee/Solid Waste Advisory Committee
joint meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Laura Henry,
lahenry@pa.gov or 717-772-5713.
September 23-26-- Statewide Greenways & Trails Summit. DoubleTree Hotel in Reading,
Berks County.
September 24-26- PA Recreation and Parks Society PA Greenways and Trails Summit.
Reading, Berks County.
October 4-- CANCELED. DEP Low-Level Radioactive Waste Advisory Committee meeting
rescheduled to October 10. DEP Contact: Molly Adams, 717-787-2480, moadams@pa.gov..
October 5-- DCNR Snowmobile and ATV Advisory Council meeting. Promised Land State
Park, 100 Lower Lake Road, Greentown, Pike County. 10:00. DCNR Contact: Jennie Shade,
717-772-9084. (formal notice)
October 5-- PA Section of the American Water Works Association. Small Water System
Improving Drinking Water Quality Workshop. Lehigh County Authority, 1053 Spruce Street,
Wescosville, Lehigh County. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
October 7-- PA Resources Council Hard-To-Recycle Collection Event. Settlers Cabin Park,
Allegheny County.
October 10-- DEP Low-Level Radioactive Waste Advisory Committee meeting. Room 105
Rachel Carson Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Molly Adams, 717-787-2480, moadams@pa.gov.
(formal notice)
October 14-- PA Resources Council. Household Chemical Collection Event. Bradys Run Park,
Beaver County.
October 14-- NEW. 2017 Pittsburgh Solar Tour.
November 1-- Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson
Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Todd Wallace 717-783-9438 or send email to: twallace@pa.gov.
(formal notice)
November 14-- DEP Environmental Justice Advisory Board meeting. 16th Floor Conference
Room, Rachel Carson Building. 8:30. DEP Contact: Carl Jones, caejone@pa.gov or
484-250-5818.
November 16-- CANCELED. Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. Room 105
Rachel Carson Building. 10:00. DEP Contact: Todd Wallace 717-783-9438 or send email to:
83
twallace@pa.gov. (formal notice)
November 16-- PA Grade Crude Development Advisory Council meeting. Location TBD.
1:00.
December 5-7-- National Brownfields Conference - Sustainable Communities Start Here.

LEED-certified David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh.
February 7-10-- PA Association For Sustainable Agriculture Annual Conference. State

College.
Visit DEPs Public Participation Center for public participation opportunities. Click Here to sign
up for DEP News a biweekly newsletter from the Department.
Sign Up For DEPs eNotice: Did you know DEP can send you email notices of permit
applications submitted in your community? Notice of new technical guidance documents and
regulations? All through its eNotice system. Click Here to sign up.
DEP Regulations In Process

Proposed Regulations Open For Comment - DEP webpage
Submit Comments on Proposals Through DEPs eComment System
Proposed Regulations With Closed Comment Periods - DEP webpage
Recently Finalized Regulations - DEP webpage
DEP Regulatory Update - DEP webpage
February 2017 DEP Regulatory Agenda - PA Bulletin, Page 740
DEP Technical Guidance In Process

Draft Technical Guidance Documents - DEP webpage
Technical Guidance Comment Deadlines - DEP webpage
Recently Closed Comment Periods For Technical Guidance - DEP webpage
Technical Guidance Recently Finalized - DEP webpage
Copies of Final Technical Guidance - DEP webpage
DEP Non-Regulatory/Technical Guidance Documents Agenda (July 2017) - DEP webpage
Other DEP Proposals For Public Review

Other Proposals Open For Public Comment - DEP webpage
Recently Closed Comment Periods For Other Proposals - DEP webpage
Other Proposals Recently Finalized - DEP webpage
DEP Facebook Page DEP Twitter Feed DEP YouTube Channel
84
Click Here for links to DEPs Advisory Committee webpages.
DEP Calendar of Events DCNR Calendar of Events
Note: The Environmental Education Workshop Calendar is no longer available from the PA
Center for Environmental Education because funding for the Center was eliminated in the FY
2011-12 state budget. The PCEE website was also shutdown, but some content was moved to
the PA Association of Environmental Educators' website.
Senate Committee Schedule House Committee Schedule
You can watch the Senate Floor Session and House Floor Session live online.
Add Green Works In PA To Your Google+ Circle
Grants & Awards
This section gives you a heads up on upcoming deadlines for awards and grants and other
recognition programs. NEW means new from last week.
July 7-- ARIPPA Mine Reclamation Mini-Grants

July 14-- DEP Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants
July 14-- CFA Renewable Energy-Geothermal & Wind Funding
July 14-- CFA Solar Energy Program
July 14-- CFA High Performance Building Program
July 17-- Keep PA Beautiful Fresh Paint Days Grants
July 19-- Northeast Environmental Partners Award Nominations
July 21-- PA Horticultural Society/Philadelphia Airport Landscape Design Competition
July 28-- Natural Lands Growing Greener Communities Award, Montgomery County
August 4-- NEW. NRCS Clinton, Centre, Lycoming Counties Conservation Funding
August 15-- NEW. DCNR Wild Resource Conservation Grants
August 15-- NEW. DCNR TreeVitalize Tree Planting Grants
August 15-- NEW. Foundation For PA Watersheds Convening, Project Grants
August 18-- SBA Flood Disaster Economic Injury Assistance In Northcentral PA
September 1-- American Chestnut Foundation Chestnut Photo Contest
September 5-- SBA Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Economic Injury NC PA
September 7-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation Thru The Seasons Photo Contest
September 15-- CFA Renewable Energy-Geothermal & Wind Funding
September 15-- CFA Solar Energy Program
September 15-- CFA High Performance Building Program
September 30-- DEP Recycling Performance Grants
October 1-- U.S EDA Coal Community Assistance Grants
October 31-- PA Resources Council Lens On Litter Photo Contest
December 15-- DEP Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants
85
-- Visit the DEP Grant, Loan and Rebate Programs webpage for more ideas on how to get
financial assistance for environmental projects.
-- Visit the DCNR Apply for Grants webpage for a listing of financial assistance available from
DCNR.
Environmental NewsClips - All Topics
Here are NewsClips from around the state on all environmental topics, including General
Environment, Budget, Marcellus Shale, Watershed Protection and much more.
The latest environmental NewsClips and news is available at the PA Environment Digest Daily
Blog, Twitter Feed and add us to your Google+ Circle.
Sunday NewsClips
Chesapeake Bay Boosters Sound Alarm Over Federal Funding
Study: Health Of Lake Eries Ecosystem Poor, Deteriorating
Philly Ward Residents Want City, Others To Protect Kids From Lead In Soil
Op-Ed: Getting The Lead Out Of Pittsburghs Drinking Water
Residents Fight To Keep Water Flowing To Community Garden In Altoona
Temps Rising On PPL To Support Shareholder Resolution On Climate Change
Op-Ed: Heres A Conservative Argument For Containing Methane Emissions
Op-Ed: The Appalling Delusion Of 100 Percent Renewable Energy
Going Outside Adds Popularity To Environmental Charter School
Schneck: Fort Indiantown Gap Home To Last Colony Of Regal Fritillaries In Eastern U.S.
Op-Ed: A History Of Sharing The Road - Vehicles, Bikes
Op-Ed: For Sake Of Boaters, Anglers, Pass Senate Bill 30, John Arway
Editorial: Penalties Needed On Legislators For Late Budget
Sunday - The Feds
Week Ahead: G-20 Summit Among International Environmental Events
Climate Science Fight Mulled By Trump Administration
Op-Ed: Its Time For War To End On Coal, Cong. Rothfus
Counseled By Industry, Not Staff, EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Off To A Blazing Start
Air
Awards & Recognition
PA Boys Award-Winning App Is The Bees Knees For Pollinators
Budget
86
AP: Lawmakers Vote Friday On General Fund Budget, Await Plan To Pay For It
AP: $32 Billion Budget Would Send More To Schools, Pensions, Disabled
Thompson: Lawmakers Start Chewing Into $32 Billion Budget Proposal
Legislature Decides How Much To Spend, Later How To Pay For It
Senate Reveals Spending Bill, But No Revenue Plan In Sight
AP: Highlights Of $31.996 Billion Budget Agreement
15 Highlights Of Whats In $32 Billion State Budget
Thompson: State Budget Talks Stuck, Video Gaming Terminals The Dam
House, Senate Republicans Clashing Over Gaming In Budget Negotiations
AP: Budget Deadline Looms As PA Lawmakers Eye Deficit
Lawmakers Eye Gambling Revenue, Borrowing To Balance Budget
Thompson: Cigarettes, Gambling, Jobs, What You Need To Know On PA State Budget
Esack: Budget Deadline Looms With No Clear Way To Bridge $3B Deficit
Editorial: Hide Your Valuables, PA Legislature Needs Money
Chesapeake Bay
Climate
Minott
87
Compliance Action
EQT Appeals $1.1 Million EHB Penalty Over The Way It Is Calculated
Coal Mining
Deep Mine Safety
Delaware River
Drinking Water
Allegheny County Council To Take Vote On Lead Testing July 5
Economic Development
Education
Emergency Response
Fire Companies Offer Training Incentives To Community Colleges To Attract Younger
Members
Op-Ed: Federal Chemical Disaster Rule Delayed, Joseph Minott
Energy
Dominion Energy Scouting For Pumped Hydro Power Plant Sites In Virginia
Power Line Plan Under Lake Erie Moves Ahead
PPL Smart Meter Installations Coming To Lancaster County
88
PPL, Lehigh Unviersity Join In Diversity, Inclusion Initiative
PPL To Help Customers Switch Phone, TV, Internet To New Address
Lehigh Valley Schools, Agencies, Share In PPL Foundation Grants
PPL Foundation Gives $51K In Grants To Lancaster Nonprofits
Natural Gas Exports Centerpiece Of Trumps Energy Plan
President Trump Unleashes Americas Energy Potential
U.S. House Bill Cancels Most Of Trumps Clean Energy Cuts
PA Gets No Seat At The Table During White House Energy Week Panel
Trump Isnt Budging On Market-Friendly Energy Plans
Western PA Included In Trumps Energy Revolution
Energy Conservation
McKelvey: PA Housing Finance Agency Building First Platinum LEED In State
York-Area House Receives LEED Certification
PA Leans On LEED Certification To Promote Quality Affordable Housing
Environmental Heritage
White: Coal Mine Boy Tended Mules Underground
Farming
Forests
Remembering Paul Lyskava: Made A Difference
Geologic Hazards
Injection
Green Infrastructure
Littering/Illegal Dumping
AP: Huntingdon Couple Fights Litter By Patrolling Highway
Mine Reclamation
89
Companies
Land Conservation
Land Recycling
Admiring Washingtons Landings Transition From Wasteland To Wonder
Oil & Gas
EQT Appeals $1.1 Million EHB Penalty Over The Way It Is Calculated
More Information On Natural Gas Wells Available On Fractracker
EQT Moves To Next Phase Of Shale Gas Strategy
Pittsburgh Area Gasoline Prices Fall To $2.57/Gallon
Injection
Pipelines
Crable: Groups Urge Wolf, DEP To Deny Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline
Sunoco Scores 2 Wins Against Pipeline Eminent Domain Lawsuits
County Judge Delays Decision On Mariner Pipeline Due To Environmental Rights Ruling
Tree Sitters Seek To Block Mariner East 2 Pipeline
Huntingdon County Judge Rules Against Mariner East 2 Pipeline Activists
Mariner East 2 Pipeline Protesters Face Arrest, Charges On Their Own Land
Crable: Mariner East 2 Pipeline Construction Begins In Lancaster County
New Jersey Again Blocks PennEast Pipeline Water Permit, Company To Reapply
AP: Application For PennEast Pipeline Closed Over Deficiencies In NJ
Forbes: Northeast Natural Gas Pipeline Buildout Is Coming
Radiation Protection
Report: Cyberattacks Unsuccessfully Targeted U.S. Nuclear Power Plants This Year
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Court Rules Against Westinghouse In Nuclear Acquisition Deal
Recreation
Recycling/Waste
AP: Huntingdon Couple Fights Litter By Patrolling Highway: https://goo.gl/aduWVj
Regulations
Op-Ed: PA Needs Stronger Regulation Of The Regulators, Sen. DiSanto
Editorial: Regulations Save Lives
Renewable Energy
Resource Recovery Facilities
York County Waste-To-Energy Facility Operated By Covanta Gets A Makeover
Stormwater
Susquehanna River
Sustainability
Wastewater Facilities
No AG Decision Yet On Reviewing Scranton Sewer System Sale
Editorial: Scranton Sewer Deal Murky As Ever
Watershed Protection
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Wildlife
New Youth Fishing Opportunities Offered in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia
Juniata College Students Use Technology To Track Trout
Crable: Getting Hooked On Flathead Catfish Craze
AP: Ohio Politicians Call For Release Of Great Lakes Asian Carp Study
Schneck: Bears On The Move Across PA, Backyards Included
Hunt For Bigfoot Hits PA, This Thing Was Not A Bear
Rare Bird Species Settles In Upper St. Clair, Washington County
Summertime Brings More Snake Sightings As Outdoor Activities Ramp Up
Federal Policy
Companies
PA Gets No Seat At The Table During White House Energy Week Panel
Natural Gas Exports Centerpiece Of Trumps Energy Plan
President Trump Unleashes Americas Energy Potential
Western PA Included In Trumps Energy Revolution
U.S. House Bill Cancels Most Of Trumps Clean Energy Cuts
Trump Isnt Budging On Market-Friendly Energy Plans
92
Op-Ed: Federal Chemical Disaster Rule Delayed, Joseph Minott
Click Here For This Week's Allegheny Front Radio Program
Regulations, Technical Guidance & Permits
No new regulations were published this week. Pennsylvania Bulletin - July 1, 2017
Sign Up For DEPs eNotice: Did you know DEP can send you email notices of permit
applications submitted in your community? Notice of new technical guidance documents and
regulations? All through its eNotice system. Click Here to sign up.
DEP Regulations In Process

Proposed Regulations Open For Comment - DEP webpage
Proposed Regulations With Closed Comment Periods - DEP webpage
Recently Finalized Regulations - DEP webpage
DEP Regulatory Update - DEP webpage
February 2017 DEP Regulatory Agenda - PA Bulletin, Page 740
Technical Guidance & Permits
Note: DEP published 65 pages of public notices related to proposed and final permit and
approval/ disapproval actions in the July 1 PA Bulletin - pages 3587 to 3652.
The Department of Environmental Protection published an updated Non-Regulatory Agenda of

Technical Guidance Documents it plans to develop and finalize in the agency. (formal notice PA
Bulletin page 3652)
The DEP published notice in the July 1 PA Bulletin of the proposed 2017 Ambient Air
93
Monitoring Network Plan for comment.
DEP published notice in the July 1 PA Bulletin of the proposed attainment demonstration for the
Warren Nonattainment Area for Sulfur Dioxide for comment. A public hearing is scheduled on
August 2 at DEPs Warren Office, 321 North State Street in North Warren starting at 10:00 a.m.
Contact Roma Monteiro to reserve a time to testify-- 717-787-9495 or send email to:
rmonteiro@pa.gov.
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources published notice in the July 1 PA
Bulletin of two proposed exchanges of property and property rights--
-- Oil, Gas, Mineral Rights Exchange: John Young et al. proposes to convey 3,391.518 acres of
oil, gas and mineral rights underlying existing State forest lands administered by the Elk and
Susquehannock State Forest Districts in Portage and Homer Townships. In return, the Bureau
proposes to convey 2,949.72 acres of oil, gas and mineral rights underlying private property in
West Branch Township. An environmental review was conducted by the Bureau regarding the
exchange, and the review was approved by the State Forester.
-- Granville Hunting Club Land Exchange, Boundary Compromise in Juniata and Mifflin
counties.
The Department of Transportation published notice in the July 1 PA Bulletin of the approval of
BicyclePA Route J Relocation.
DEP Technical Guidance In Process

Draft Technical Guidance Documents - DEP webpage
Technical Guidance Comment Deadlines - DEP webpage
Recently Closed Comment Periods For Technical Guidance - DEP webpage
Technical Guidance Recently Finalized - DEP webpage
Copies of Final Technical Guidance - DEP webpage
DEP Non-Regulatory/Technical Guidance Documents Agenda (July. 2017) - DEP webpage
Other DEP Proposals For Public Review

Other Proposals Open For Public Comment - DEP webpage
Recently Closed Comment Periods For Other Proposals - DEP webpage
Other Proposals Recently Finalized - DEP webpage
Visit DEPs Public Participation Center for public participation opportunities. Click Here to sign
up for DEP News a biweekly newsletter from the Department.
DEP Facebook Page DEP Twitter Feed DEP YouTube Channel
Click Here for links to DEPs Advisory Committee webpages.
DEP Calendar of Events DCNR Calendar of Events
94
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Send your stories, photos and links to videos about your project, environmental issues or
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companies and nonprofit organizations.
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PA Environment Digest

An Update On Environmental Issues In Pennsylvania

Winner Of PA Association of Environmental Educators

PA Environment Digest Daily Blog Twitter Feed

Issue #679 Harrisburg, PA July 3, 2017

The Senate, House and Gov. Wolf reached a bipartisan

By Patrick McDonnell, Secretary, Department of Environmental Protection

I know I dont need to remind Pennsylvanians how important

34 local, state, regional and national

As a new state budget continues to take shape, the

PA Ag Secretary Briefs Congressional Delegation On Impact Of Proposed Federal

PA Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding Wednesday joined a panel of

PA Environment Digest Google+ Circle, Blogs, Twitter Feeds

Also take advantage of these related services from Crisci Associates--

Senate/House Agenda/Session Schedule/Govs Schedule/ Bills Introduced

House: <> Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate: <> Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.

Bills Pending In Key Committees

The following bills of interest were introduced last week--

Lake Awareness Month: House Resolution 427 (Wentling-R-Crawford) recognizing July as

Bills On Governor's Desk

Senate/House Bills Moving

Members Of Ag Lands Condemnation Board: House Bill 1518 (Causer-R-Cameron) further

Construction Code: House Bill 1469 (Heffley-R-Carbon) authorize municipalities to use

Performance-Based Budgeting: Senate Bill 181 (Mensch-R-Montgomery) providing for a

Lake Awareness Month: House Resolution 427 (Wentling-R-Crawford) recognizing July as

PUC Oversight Of Pittsburgh Water/Sewer Authority: House Bill 1490 (Turzai-R-

News From The Capitol

Senate Bill 624 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) was passed

Senate Lawn Fertilizer Application Bill Unanimously Approved By Committee

The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee

House Environmental Committee OKs 1 Year Extension Of Recycling Fee

Sen. Richard Alloway (R-Franklin) Thursday

The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Tuesday

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Reacts To EPA Waters Of U.S. Rule Repeal

News From Around The State

Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday announced the

Foundation For PA Watersheds Accepting Grant Letters Of Intent Thru August 15

The Foundation for PA Watersheds is now

LandStudies To Assist Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative Pollution

LandStudies, Inc., an ecology-focused engineering

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service-PA Friday encouraged producers in

Representatives of Colorado-based Bion Environmental

Penn State Extension Webinar July 18 On Green Infrastructure, A Lesson In Change

The Penn State Extension Community Forestry Program

PA American Water Tuesday announced eight watershed-related projects across the

Delaware River Basin Commission Releases 2016 Annual Report

The Delaware River Basin Commission Wednesday released its 2016

DEP Publishes Updated Non-Regulatory Agenda On Technical Guidance In Development

The Department of Environmental Protection published an updated Non-Regulatory Agenda of

Tuesday at the State Capitol Building in

23 Environmental Ed Centers In PA, DE, NJ Form New Alliance To Engage On Delaware

During a press conference at Fairmount Water

The Department of Environmental Protection this

Allegheny County Handling Of Public Participation On Allegheny Ludlum Air Permit

A coalition of 40 community organizations, farms,

Commonwealth Court Rules In Favor Of Private Lawsuits To Enforce Local Land

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council Thursday released a white paper,

Exelon Tuesday announced the American

PennFutures 7th annual Pittsburgh Solar Tour is set for

In 2016, a team of Penn State and U.S. Department of

Small Business Development Centers Host July 27 Workshop In Philadelphia On

15th Anniversary Of Quecreek Mine Rescue Community Celebration July 29 In Somerset

The 15th anniversary of the Quecreek Mine Rescue in Somerset