Updates
December 5, 2011
Senate Passes Package of Flood Related Bills
The Senate passed a package of flood related bills and sent them to the House. Among the bills approved were:
– Senate Bill 1264 (Baker-R-Luzerne) enacting the Flood Relief Act for September 2011 making an appropriation of $20 million for individual assistance;
– Senate Bill 1266 (Gordner-R-Columbia) authorizing the incurring of $150 million in debt to fund flood damage recovery projects;
– Senate Bill 1267 (Blake-D-Lackawanna) authorizing real estate tax abatement as a result of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee;
– Senate Bill 1268 (Gordner-R-Columbia) authorizing the incurring of debt to repair flood damaged highways;
– Senate Bill 1269 (Yaw-R-Bradford) adoption of capital projects to repair or replace flood damaged highways and bridges;
– Senate Bill 1271 (Yudichak-D-Luzerne) an itemized list of flood damaged highway and bridge repair projects;
– Senate Bill 1297 (Baker-R-Luzerne) establishing a $10 million Small Business Flood Relief Program of 2011; and
– Senate Bill 1323 (Yaw-R-Bradford) establishing the Agriculture Disaster Recovery Program to provide disaster assistance to agricultural operations.
November 21, 2011
PACD: Important Bill to Provide Long-Term Funding to Districts Sent to House
Passing the senate by a nine vote margin, the Marcellus Shale bill that includes long-term, sustainable funding for Pennsylvania’s county conservation districts has been sent to the House of Representatives for its consideration.
The bill, introduced and championed for by Senator Joseph Scarnati’s bill proposes imposing a sliding fee of $50,000 per well in the first year of production, with a $10,000 reduction each subsequent year. Starting in the 11th year until the 20th year of the well, an annual fee of $10,000 is imposed.
The Conservation Districts would receive $5 million annually, with $2.5 million for 2011; the State Fire Commissioner and the Fish and Boat Commission would each receive $1.5 million annually. That would come off the top of the total amount collected from the fees. The remaining amount of the fees would be split up between local governments impacted by natural gas activity and state government accounts for statewide funding.
The bill now moves to the House for its consideration.
PA House Passes Marcellus Shale Bill, Includes Funding for Conservation Districts
Following a week of lively debate and negotiation, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 1950 that will allow counties and municipalities affected by the drilling of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale play to enact a local impact fee. For the first year, a $40,000 fee could be placed on wells that are in operation. Following that year, the fee would drop to $30,000 for the second year, $20,000 for the third year, and $10,000 for the fourth through 10th years.
This legislation includes $15 million per year starting in 2013 for the Conservation District Fund. This funding will derive from gas royalties the state receives for gas production on state lands. As with the Senate impact fee legislation, one half of the CD funds will be distributed evenly among all 66 districts. The second half of the CD funding will be distributed by the SCC according to their statement of policy.
The bill now moves to the Senate for its consideration.
PACD President MaryAnn Warren Testifies Before Senate Committee
Pennsylvania Association of Conservation District President MaryAnn Warren testified before a joint public hearing of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and Senate Majority Committee to discuss flood mitigation and stormwater management in light of recent severe weather events that caused damage to communities across Pennsylvania.
The two-day hearing brought together experts, regulators, local government officials and others to discuss ways to improve flood prevention and mitigation.
“Pennsylvania’s abundance of water resources provides an exceptional quality of life for our residents, thriving ecosystems, agriculture prominence, and economic prosperity throughout the commonwealth,” stated Warren. “But this great fortune can also come with a price. Flood waters, as we know and have recently witnessed, can be destructive and devastating. Water can wreak havoc on homeowners, businesses, and entire communities when flood protection measures are overcome by an unrelenting mother nature.”
Warren continued, “And when we think about this devastation, we often think of the damage caused to homes, businesses and utilities, but what about Pennsylvania’s valuable agricultural industry? What about the crops? The land? The livestock? The nearby streams that can be polluted from runoff from the storm and damage caused by the flooding?”
Throughout her testimony, Warren outlined a number of recommendations on behalf of the county conservation districts to better assist the agricultural industry when a flood disaster strikes. From new regulations to policy changes, a complete copy of the testimony to the committee can be found here. Video: http://youtu.be/lsL3xajY9lw
November 7, 2011
Marcellus Shale House Bill Includes Annual Funding to Conservation Districts
Republican Representative Brian Ellis (Butler County) recently introduced House Bill 1950 that is proposed to provide $15 million annually to county conservation districts beginning in 2013 from the royalties Pennsylvania receives from companies drilling for natural gas on state land. In addition, the bill also mentions the possibility of conservation districts having a role in the expedited permitting (by delegation agreement) of Marcellus Shale activity. The bill is scheduled to be voted on the week of November 14.
Conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff can help secure dedicated, long-term funding by contacting the House of Representative members that have not already been contacted regarding this issue. Here is a fact sheet for your use. Now is the time for action!
PACD President to Testify before Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee
PACD President MaryAnn Warren has been asked to testify before the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on November 16 to discuss the role of Pennsylvania’s County Conservation Districts during flooding emergencies in our agricultural communities. President Warren’s full testimony will be available on the PACD website following her remarks.
October 28, 2011
Senate Bill 1100 Takes Step Forward
The Senate Appropriations Committee amended SB 1100 (Marcellus Shale Local Impact Fee), stripping all funding distribution and designation within the bill. Members of the committee voted to remove funding designations from the bill in order to move the bill forward, while still allowing the ability to negotiate the final distribution of funds.
The funding distribution/designation is currently being negotiated by legislative leaders and many expect that next week a new amendment with the agreed upon funding distribution will be again voted on in the Appropriations Committee.
Senate Bill 1100 was written and proposed to supply a steady, long-term funding stream to the districts that continue to provide environmental protection activities in the Marcellus Shale region. The bill appropriates annual funding, which will be split equally with half of the funding going to each district for local distribution to assist conservation districts in their efforts to provide vital services at the local level. Money for the districts would be placed into the Conservation District Fund administered by the State Conservation Commission.
Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Passes PENNVEST Bill
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee met this week and passed SB 152, which expands PENNVEST’s ability to use Clean Water State Revolving Fund money to fund stormwater management and other non-point source projects. Current law limits projects to county-prepared watershed plans. Under the bill, nonprofit and watershed organizations would become eligible recipients for this PENNVEST funding.
October 11, 2011
Take Action to Ensure Conservation Districts are Included in Impact Fee Legislation
In the past two weeks, PACD staff has met with Governor Corbett’s office, House and Senate members, and their staff, on the issue of an impact fee. While PACD staff continues to keep in contact with key players, conservation district staff and board members need to keep discussing dedicated funding with members of the House, Senate and the Governor’s office to keep conservation districts in the forefront of the impact fee issue. So far, nearly every impact fee/severance tax proposal introduced includes some type of dedicated funding for conservation districts! Working together, dedicated funding may finally become a reality!
