March 11, 2010

House Appropriations Committee Approves Budget Bill
The House Appropriations Committee approved a budget bill, which may be considered by the full House by March 22.  Members of the Appropriations Committee approved House Bill 2279 that mirrors Governor Ed Rendell’s budget proposal introduced in February, but does not include any tax increases proposed by the Governor. 

House Democratic Policy Committee Discusses Buffers
The House Democratic Policy Committee held a public hearing on the environmental impact of buffers on waterways. Dr. Bernard Sweeney, Director of the Ground Water Research Center, discussed how streamside forest buffers improve water quality. Grant Gulibon, Regulatory Specialist for the Pennsylvania Builders Association, said the Association opposes a mandatory statewide buffer requirement because it would “fail to provide necessary flexibility to meet the specific conditions that may exist on a given development site.”  He argued that the  “stormwater BMP offset” they proposed at the PACD winter meeting in January would be a “much more flexible, efficient and cost-effective means of controlling water pollution throughout Pennsylvania.”  Marel Raub, Pennsylvania Director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, said the “Chesapeake Bay is impaired under the Clean Water Act” and indicated that the Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of developing a “Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Bay.” Raub said riparian buffers “can and will be part of our accelerated effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay” and affirmed that existing riparian buffers “will help us to maintain water quality as our region continues to develop.” Finally, David Wise, Pennsylvania Watershed Restoration Manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, discussed the Pennsylvania Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and spoke about how it could help fund forested buffers. 

State Forest Land Leasing
Several House members said Governor Rendell should abandon plans to lease more state forest land for drilling because the natural gas extraction could ravage the environment. The governor proposes using $180 million from the leases to help fill next year’s budget, a plan similar to one used last year, when the state leased 32,000 acres to raise $60 million for the current fiscal year’s budget.

“We simply can’t lease any more land out responsibly,” said Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), head of the “Green Dog” caucus. He and other lawmakers centered their comments on concerns the leasing would short-sightedly damage one of Pennsylvania’s most precious resources, state forests, repeating mistakes that the state made decades ago that let industry damage wide swaths of state forest land.

The leasing opponents said they would prefer to raise the revenue through a tax on the natural gas extraction. The governor has supported that idea by including it in his plan to create a reserve funding account this year, designed to cushion the blow when federal stimulus money expires. But the severance tax isn’t included in his proposal for next year’s budget, and Senate Republicans have said they don’t think now is the appropriate time to levy the tax on a still new industry in Pennsylvania.

On a related note, Rep. Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) introduced legislation that would establish a number of tax-exempt Keystone Green Zones in Pennsylvania, along with a severance tax on natural gas drilling to offset the exemptions. Rep. Lentz said businesses in the new Keystone Green Zones would be exempt from a variety of state and local taxes, but only if they manufacture green technologies and are located in areas served by community colleges with a science technology and engineering math program.  If enacted, it would authorize the Department of Community and Economic Development to create 15 Keystone Green Zones across Pennsylvania. Within those zones, businesses that manufacture “clean and energy-efficient products or products used in the renewable energy industry” would be eligible for 15 years of exemption from certain taxes.  To offset the lost tax revenue in the green zones, money from a new severance tax on natural gas drilling would be directed to reimburse the state and local governments.

Act 38 Questioned
A number of groups held a rally to urge the Legislature to make changes to Act 38, the ACRE law. They were concerned that the law is diminishing the quality of life by allowing sewage sludge to be spread on farmland. The groups want to see the law amended to enable local governments to enact safety regulations. They questioned whether land application of sewage sludge is a “normal agricultural operation.”

Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee Met
The Senate Environmental Resources Committee met to consider six bills.

SB 1092 amends the Oil and Gas Act, stating any oil and gas well operator must provide DEP with a cement quality log to evaluate the adequacy of the cement meeting the prescribed regulation prior to drilling. The purpose of the bill is to address the public’s concern with groundwater contamination caused by the increased drilling in Pennsylvania.

SB 1159 grants the Department of General Services the authority to make and execute contracts or leases for the mining or removal of any valuable mineral resources that may be found in the state lands or under the waters of the Commonwealth. The bill further provides for advertising, bidding and bonding and requires payments or royalties received by the department to be deposited into the Environmental Stewardship Fund. The purpose of the legislation is to give the Department of General Services the authority to enter into mineral leases for state-owned land. The minerals would include coal, oil, natural gas, coal bed methane, limestone and any other valuable minerals in state-owned lands or waters. 

There were three bills allowing the EQB to adjust filing fees through the regulatory process.

SB 1250 amends the Air Pollution Control Act to require 25% of any air pollution fine awarded be transferred to the municipality. If the damage exceeds 25% of the fine, more money from the fine may be transferred to the municipality by the department. 

Chapter 102 Update
In February, the Department of Environmental Protection provided the Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC) and Agricultural Advisory Board with an overview of the changes expected to be made to the Chapter 102 proposed rule. At next week’s special WRAC meeting, scheduled for March 17th, DEP will review of the actual wording in the draft final rule. Based on comments from over 1300 individuals, organizations & agencies, revisions were made to several sections including a revised fee schedule that will be based on the size of the disturbance, modification to the buffer implementation criteria and deletion of the proposed permit-by-rule. The February WRAC overview presentation, as well as the draft final rule can be found on the WRAC website at http://www.depweb.state.pa.us (select Public Participation, then select Advisory Committees).

Initiative to Encourage Voluntary Fencing
The State Conservation Commission is working in cooperation with Lancaster Conservation District (LCCD) and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) on an initiative to encourage farmers to voluntarily fence livestock out of streams. The SCC is asking conservation districts to complete the survey at the link below and email it back to Roy Richardson no later than March 26, 2010.
Link: Survey

March 4, 2010

Budget Hearings Continue
The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing this week on the annual DEP budget.  Secretary Hanger fielded questions concerning a variety of DEP issues, including questions about conservation district funding. As with the House DEP Appropriations hearing, the Secretary agreed with Senators praising conservation districts and the work districts accomplish. Secretary Hanger again justified the decision to remove conservation district from the oil and gas erosion and sediment permit process, stating that conservation districts are already overburdened with too much work and too little funds. He said DEP employees are already going to the drill sites, and could review/inspect E & S plans. He went on to state the change is a cost-effective way to accomplish the same goals and relieve conservation districts of an overwhelming workload, saving them time and money.

February 25, 2010

Packed House Attends Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Hearing on HB 2213 in Clearfield
Well over 100 people turned out to listen to testimony at a public hearing held by the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee in Clearfield, PA. The hearing was held to solicit testimony on the proposed House Bill 2213, which would amend the existing Oil and Gas Act of 1984. The purpose of the bill is to provide further protection to surface land and water supplies from natural gas drilling activities. HB 2213 would:

• Require the DEP to inspect Marcellus well sites during each drilling phase;
• Extend to 2,500 feet, from 1,000 feet, the presumed liability of a well polluting a water supply;
• Require disclosure of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing of the natural gas from the earth;
• Update bonding requirements to cover the costs of decommissioning a well; and
• Clarify local governments’ traditional authority to regulate oil and gas activities.

On a related note, Marcellus Shale wells accounted for a quarter of all enforcement actions brought by the DEP last year. DEP chose to pursue 173 enforcements against Marcellus Shale drillers, resulting from 638 shale violations recorded in 2009. Enforcement actions typically lead to fines and/or settlement agreements.  In total there were 678 enforcement actions issued on 3,361 violations in Pennsylvania, including both shallow and deep wells.

House Appropriations Hearings
The House Appropriations Committee held budget hearings on the Departments of Environmental Protection, Agriculture, and Conservation and Natural Resources this week. Conservation district funding was discussed at all three meetings. Members of the Appropriations Committee stressed the importance of conservation districts in their area and urged each cabinet member to support additional funding for the Conservation District Fund.