pa environment digest march 21, 2016

8/19/2019 Pa Environment Digest March 21, 2016

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P A 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 #612 Harrisburg, PA March 21, 2016

4th Senate, House Republican Budget Sent To Governor In The Face Of Veto Threat

Senate and House Republicans, in overwhelmingly

party-line votes, took final action to send House Bill1801 (Irvin-R-Centre) containing $6.05 billion in

supplemental appropriations for FY 2015-16 (Senate-

31 to 18, House- 128 to 63), the Fiscal Code bill--

House Bill 1327 (Peifer-R-Pike) (Senate- 30 to 19,

House- 120 to 71) and the bills funding state-related

universities to the Governor for his action.

Gov. Wolf said Wednesday afternoon he

would veto the bills, but we don’t know at this point

if that means the entire bills or whether he will use his line-item veto.

The bills were formally presented to the Governor for action on Thursday by the Senate

and House.House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) said Friday without closing out the FY

2015-16 budget, negotiations cannot begin to talk about the FY 2016-17 budget. He and other

Republicans urged Gov. Wolf to sign the budget bills on his desk.

Regardless of the veto, Speaker Turzai did hint there might be enough Democratic votes

in the House to override the veto.

“We were very appreciative that we picked up 13 of our Democratic colleagues’ votes,

we think that many more of our Democratic colleagues—many of us who are good friends, very

professional—understand the need to close the 15-16 budget,” Rep. Turzai said.

Reacting to the Speaker’s comments Friday afternoon, House Democratic Caucus

spokesperson Bill Patton said the Speaker “is continuing to refuse to acknowledge reality.”

“Every step the governor has taken has been an action to close the deficit, not make itworse,” he said. “The people that are making the deficit worse are the House Republican

leadership who would not let the House take a vote on a real budget."

House Bill 1327 (Peifer-R-Pike) amends the Fiscal Code to among other things, kill DEP

Chapter 78 conventional drilling regulations and make DEP start over, reduce Growing Greener

watershed restoration funding by $15 million this fiscal year and to slow consideration of any

state plan to comply with the EPA Clean Power Climate Plan.

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The bill would also transfer $12 million from the High Performance Green Buildings

Program to the Natural Gas Infrastructure Development Fund administered by the

Commonwealth Financing Authority.

House Republicans and some Democrats finally reached the required two-thirds vote and

passed funding for the state-related universities-- Penn State, Pitt, Lincoln and the University of

Pennsylvania in Senate Bills 912, 913, 914, 915 and 916-- and sent them to the Governor for hisaction.

Gov. Wolf threatened to veto these bills as well.

This entire package of bills put together by Senate and House Republicans represents a

$30 billion FY 2015-16 General Fund budget restoring many, but not all, of the line-item vetoes

Gov. Wolf made in the $30.2 billion Republican budget approved in December.

Republicans say the budget requires no additional tax revenue and increases funding for

basic education and nonpreferred appropriations to state-related universities.

Gov. Wolf and Senate and House Democrats say the Republican budget is out-of-balance

by at least $290 million, would create a year end deficit of more than $1.6 billion in 2016-17 and

would force Pennsylvania “off the fiscal cliff.”

Specifically, Democrats say, it does nothing to fund state programs administered bycounties.

Click Here for a copy of the line-by-line General Fund spreadsheet by House

Republicans.

This is the fourth budget Republicans have sent to the Governor since June 30 of last

year. ( Click Here for the timeline.)

The General Fund budget was vetoed entirely by the Governor last July. A stopgap

budget package in September was vetoed by the Governor in its entirety. And finally, $6.8

billion of the General Fund budget passed in December was line-item vetoed by the Governor.

In between those budgets, the House failed in 14 attempts to override the Governor’s veto

of the June 30 budget.

And now we have budget #4.

Governor’s Veto Threat

Gov. Wolf issued this statement just after the Senate vote on the Republican budget:

“Despite repeated efforts by my administration to work with Republican leaders to find

compromise, including over the last couple days, Republican leaders are once again insistent on

passing another irresponsible and unbalanced budget that does not fund our schools or fix the

deficit.

“This is further indication that the Republican leaders have no intention of working

together with me to produce a final budget. This is the third time they have attempted to pass an

unbalanced budget with no consultation with the administration. This is simply unproductive and

a waste of taxpayer resources.“The math in the latest version still does not work. Even using the Republicans’

questionable math and assumptions, the budget creates a $1.6 billion deficit that will prompt

massive cuts to education, teacher layoffs, higher property taxes, and cuts to vital programs for

seniors. This budget not only does nothing to address Pennsylvania’s challenges, but by

continuing to kick the can down the road, it further exacerbates our problems,

“In its current form, I will veto this budget, and I urge Republicans in the legislature to

stop the partisan games and come back to the table to negotiate a final budget that funds our

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schools and eliminates the nearly $2 billion deficit. I look forward to working with both parties

in the legislature to finally end this impasse, fix our schools, and eliminate the deficit.”

In later comments, Gov. Wolf said specifically he will veto funding for state-related

universities because there is no revenue to support it.

Senate Republican Comments

Senate Republican Leaders offered the following statements on the passage of the budgetWednesday--

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson): “Today’s vote took an

important step to close the 2015-16 budget impasse which has now entered its ninth month. I am

pleased that we are finally completing this budget year without raising taxes on Pennsylvania’s

hardworking residents. The supplemental budget passed by the Senate today will provide our

schools, agriculture programs, critical access hospitals and many other worthwhile programs

with the funding they need to keep their doors open. Gov. Wolf’s desire to create a crisis by line

item vetoing funding last December was completely inappropriate. It is long past time to close

the 2015-16 budget and move on to working to provide a timely and responsible budget for

2016-17.”

Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-Centre): “We are in an emergency situation.Let’s stop looking at what this budget isn’t and focus on what it is. This budget is $200 million

new dollars for education and keeps our schools from closing their doors. It restores the funding

for our agricultural community and means Penn State won’t lay off 1,100 employees. Rural

hospitals receive their funding as do regional cancer centers, poison control facilities and more.

This plan gets our communities the money they desperately need without the tax increases the

Governor so desperately wants.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Majority Chair Pat Browne (R-Lehigh): “We cannot

continue down the path we are on where schools are facing the real prospect of being forced to

close and where vital nonprofits and social service organizations are unable to keep their doors

open and operating. We have a fundamental and constitutional responsibility to provide funding

to these critical state programs and services. This supplemental 2015-16 appropriations budget

restores most of the Governor’s line-item veto cuts from December and provides increased

funding for education, restores funding to correctional facilities and social service agencies and

does so without raising taxes on our hard-working families and job creators.”

Senate Majority Whip John Gordner (R-Columbia): “I am pleased the Senate has acted

to restore funding to our schools, agricultural community, rural critical access hospitals and other

vital programs. This responsible budget reverses the punitive cuts inflicted by Governor Wolf

through his line-item vetoes and at the same time increases public school funding by $200

million without raising a single tax.”

General Fund Bill Contents

House Bill 1801

(Irvin-R-Centre) includes $6.05 billion in supplementationappropriations for--

-- Dept. of Agriculture - $83.8 million

-- Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources - $2.25 million Heritage Parks Program

-- Dept. of Environmental Protection - does NOT restore $900,000 for Sewage Facilities Grants

Click Here for a copy of the line-by-line General Fund spreadsheet by House

Republicans.

NewsClips:

http://www.pabudget.com/Display/SiteFiles/154/Documents/FY%202015-16%20GF%20Budget/March%20Close%20Out%20Budget/2015-16%20HB1460%20Adjusted%20Trk%20Run%20-%20Caucus.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1801


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McNickle: Phone Call Telegraphs Wolf’s Real Intent On Shale Gas?

Swift: Worsening Budget Mess Awaiting Lawmakers

Editorial: Better Leaders Would End The Budget Impasse

Auditor General To Examine Act 13 Impact Fee Spending

PCN: PA Supreme Court Arguments On Act 13, Oil & Gas Lease Fund

PLS: Speaker Turzai Implores Gov. Wolf To Sign Budget Wolf Threatens Veto Of Republican Budget

Sen.Yudichak (D) Rips Wolf, Legislature Over Budget Impasse

Thompson: GOP Ponders Veto Override, With Growing Dem Support

Budget Impasse Concerns Penn State Extension Director

Penn State Extension, 4-H Programs Hang In Balance

Penn State’s Agricultural Extension Dollars Affect Your Table

Lancaster Penn State Extension Office Faces Closure

Related Stories:

2nd Senate Budget Hearing: DEP: 12 Special Funds Will Have Funding Shortfalls By 2018

PEC Opposes Killing Conventional Drilling Regs, Delaying Clean Power Plan

Growing Greener Coalition Calls For Boost In Funding For Environmental Agencies Growing Greener Coalition Thanks House For Passing Heritage Areas Bill

Joint Conservation Committee: Heritage Areas Generate $2 Billion For PA’s Economy

Commonwealth Court Upholds Ability Of A Governor To Line-Item Veto Fiscal Code Bill

PEC Opposes Killing Conventional Drilling Regs, Clean Power Plan Delay In Fiscal Code

The PA Environmental Council Wednesday sent a letter to all members of the Senate expressing

its opposition to provisions House Bill 1327 (Peifer-R-Pike) amends the Fiscal Code to among

other things, kill DEP Chapter 78 conventional drilling regulations and make DEP start over,

reduce Growing Greener watershed restoration funding by $15 million this fiscal year and to

slow consideration of any state plan to comply with the EPA Clean Power Climate Plan.




The bill is now on the Governor’s desk for action.

The text of the letter follows--

“On behalf of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), I am writing to express

our strong opposition to provisions in House Bill 1327 (P.N. 2969) that utilize the fiscal code as

a vehicle to negate important, publicly-developed environmental regulatory provisions relating to

oil and gas development, and to seek further delay of Clean Power Plan implementation planning

in Pennsylvania.“If the General Assembly wishes to address these matters, it should do so in stand alone

legislation with due public notice and opportunity for involvement. Use of the fragmented state

budget process to advance unrelated measures of substantive law is against good public policy

and violates the single subject rule of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

“We call on members of the Senate to reject these provisions, as well as the practice of

circumventing public participation in issues of environmental law that are wholly unrelated to

the budget.”

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1327http://pecpa.org/http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=34434http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/joint-conservation-committee-heritage.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/pa-growing-greener-coalition-thanks.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-greener-coalition-calls-for.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/pec-opposes-killing-conventional.htmlhttp://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35228http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-county-penn-state-extension-office-faces-closure/article_fde4e80c-e7a9-11e5-a783-8b180eed6dc8.htmlhttp://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/03/how_the_threat_to_penn_states.html#incart_river_homehttp://www.goerie.com/pennsylvania-extension-and-4-h-programs-hang-in-the-balancehttp://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20160317/NEWS02/160319594http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/03/pa_house_democrats_break_ranks.html#incart_2boxhttp://timesleader.com/news/local/522357/state-sen-john-yudichak-rips-gov-tom-wolf-legislature-over-budget-impassehttp://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/10156634-74/republican-wolf-billionhttp://www.plsreporter.com/Home/TabId/56/ArtMID/472/ArticleID/1208/Speaker-Turzai-implores-Gov-Wolf-to-sign-budget-supplemental.aspx#.VuxPYlJ4c-4.twitterhttps://pcntv.com/2016/03/11/march-11-7-pm-pa-supreme-court-session/http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2016/03/15/Audit-to-examine-Marcellus-shale-impact-fee-spending-Pennsylvania/stories/201603150007http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160313_Inquirer_Editorial__Better_leaders_would_end_state_s_budget_impasse.htmlhttp://citizensvoice.com/news/worsening-budget-mess-awaiting-lawmakers-1.2018317http://triblive.com/opinion/colinmcnickle/10085941-74/quigley-pennsylvania-shale


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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 . Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.

Related Stories:


2nd Senate Budget Hearing: DEP: 12 Special Funds Will Have Funding Shortfalls By 2018 Growing Greener Coalition Calls For Boost In Funding For Environmental Agencies

Growing Greener Coalition Thanks House For Passing Heritage Areas Bill




DEP Secretary John Quigley Monday told the Senate Appropriations

Subcommittee on Infrastructure, Environment and Government

Operations DEP will have 12 special funds running in the red by 2018

and at least two of those funds will require legislative action to fix.He said to make up for the shortfalls in the other funds, DEP will

be proposing permit fee increases to cover administrative costs in the

absence of more General Fund support for the agency.

Secretary Quigley said DEP needs a major investment in

information technology capacity to not only become more efficient and

effective, but to potentially reduce the need for more staff in the future.

He pointed to a proposal by Gov. Wolf to increase DEP’s Oil and

Gas Program staff by 50 positions last year, saying if the agency can invest in iPads and mobile

technology and the systems to back them up, perhaps DEP would not need all those new

positions.

Secretary Quigley said DEP has been looking at many other opportunities to cut costs by

consolidating functions within the agency, partnering with other agencies to share costs,

reviewing the need for office space and closely reviews filling every single staff vacancy .

He told Senators, however, that DEP has been the victim of relentless and debilitating

budget cuts for more than a decade.

“This agency isn’t lean, it’s emaciated, and we can’t cut our way to cleaning up the

environment,” Secretary Quigley said. “We are perilously close to not meeting the agency’s

mission.

“Every function of the agency has been compromised” by the cuts in DEP’s budget.

He added, regulatory requirements don’t go away, if anything they expand.

[

Note: DEP administers over 40 state environmental protection and public health andsafety laws assigning responsibilities to the agency. None have ever been repealed, but many

have been replaced with new and more significant requirements.]

At the same time, Secretary Quigley said, DEP’s employees have been doing an

outstanding job, in spite of the lack of resources, meeting Permit Decision Guarantee Program

review deadlines 89 percent of the time, where the agency is given complete applications, and 80

percent of the time even when applications are incomplete.

Secretary Quigley said, overall, 22 percent of DEP’s costs are funded by the General

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Fund, 28 percent are federal funds and 50 percent come from permit review and administration

fees and a small percentage from penalties.

He said DEP has a complement of about 2,683 positions, down from 3,200 in 2002-03.

This second hearing on DEP’s budget by the Senate Appropriations Committee was

chaired by Sen. John Eichelberger (R-Blair). He noted the Subcommittee is bipartisan, but

Democratic members choose not to attend this hearing.Click Here to watch the Subcommittee hearing online.

While much of the hearing was a rehash of the original Senate hearing on DEP’s budget ,

here’s a quick summary of some specific questions asked during this hearing--

-- Special Funds Shortfalls: Sen. Eichelberger (R-Blair) said there were 12 or 13 special funds

associated with DEP that will go into the red shortly and asked if DEP had any proposals for

dealing with the issue. Secretary Quigley said 12 special funds at DEP will go into the red

sometime in 2018.

He said DEP will propose fee increases to address the shortfalls in most of these funds,

but legislative action will be needed in at least two cases-- the Hazardous Sites Cleanup and

Storage Tank funds. He noted fee increases are in a 3 year review schedule and always lag

behind costs because of the nature of the regulatory process used to increase fees.In a related question, Sen. Elder Vogel (R-Beaver) said the proposal to increase the state

waste tipping fees would only result in the fee being paid by consumers. Secretary Quigley said

the reason for the fee increase was to provide enough money to transfer $35 million to the

Environmental Stewardship (Growing Greener) Fund and Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund.

If the fee increase is not enacted, these funds would do without or alternatives would

have to be found.

Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York) said he can’t support increased fees, or any appropriations

increase, until agencies “turn over every rock” to reduce costs.

-- How Much Work Does DEP Do That Isn’t Mandated By Statute?: In response to this

question by Sen. Eichelberger (R-Blair), Secretary Quigley said all of what they do is required

by federal or state laws. “DEP got rid of all the extras a long time ago.”

-- Level Of Effort To Meet Federal Funding: Sen. Robert Mensch (R-Montgomery) asked

about the level of effort needed to keep federal funding coming in for DEP programs. Secretary

Quigley said the agency has seen slight increases in some federal funds, but most of the federal

funds require matching state funds which has caused problems. He pointed to two examples: the

mining program had to turn back $6.5 million in federal funding because they didn’t have state

match over the last 6 years and EPA withheld $3 million in Chesapeake Bay Program funding

because DEP did not have adequate staff. He noted the Bay Program funding

has since been

released

because of the Chesapeake Bay Program eboot announced in January. ( Click Here for

more information on shortfalls in DEP funding and staff identified by federal agencies.)

-- Information Technology:

Sen. Robert Mensch (R-Montgomery) asked again aboutinvestments in information technology noting the cost of hardware has dropped significantly

over the years. He said he recognizes “we are dropping the ball on investments in information

technology” and would like to help address the issue since he comes from an IT background.

Secretary Quigley said DEP is still using 1990s technology, like the eFACTS database

that will shortly not be supported by the company who wrote it. As a result, he said, DEP’s

ability to do its basic work is being hamper.

He noted there was a $2 million information technology line-item in the Governor’s

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budget-- $1 million to replace eFACTS and $1 million for mobile technology like iPads for

inspectors.

Staff Buy Their Own Technology: Sen. Mensch suggested, and Sen. Scott Wagner

(R-York) supported, the idea that DEP employees might be asked to buy their own technology.

Secretary Quigley pointed out that technology needs to connect to and that’s where there is a real

challenge for DEP.-- Measuring Agency Performance: Sen. Eichelberger (R-Blair) said one of the general issues

the Subcommittee is looking at is to identify more accurate agency performance measures.

Secretary Quigley said he would like to have a management dashboard, but DEP isn’t built for

that sort of approach and needs a major investment in new information technology, like replacing

eFACTS, to get to that level.

-- Severance Tax Lobbying: Sen. Wagner (R-York) questioned why Secretary Quigley was

spending so much time lobbying for the Governor’s natural gas severance tax proposal.

Secretary Quigley said he responds to questions when asked, but he doesn’t spend time lobbying

for the severance tax. [Note: None of the severance tax revenue generated by Gov. Wolf’s

proposal would go to support DEP programs.]

Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) later commented the Wolf Administration keeps saying thestate doesn’t have a severance tax and asked if changing the name of the Act 13 drilling impact

fee to severance tax would deal with the problem or doesn’t the impact fee raise enough money?

Secretary Quigley said the state needs to find additional new, sustainable sources of

revenue to deal with a $2 billion structural deficit in the state budget. He said he believes the

existing impact fee has an effective tax rate of 1.5 percent and disputed the 5.5 percent tax rate

published by the Independent Fiscal Office .

He noted the CEOs of 5 different natural gas companies recently pointed to how uniquely

positioned they were in Pennsylvania because of the low cost of production and proximity to

market to deal with the current natural gas market. He said the severance tax proposal, which

includes a credit for impact fees paid and certain production costs, would place Pennsylvania

squarely in the middle of the pack of those states with severance taxes.

Secretary Quigley said Gov. Wolf wants the gas industry to succeed and said the

Administration is addressing one of the industry’s biggest problems-- getting natural gas to

market. About one-third of finished wells cannot be connected to any market because the

pipelines are not there. The Governor’s Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force made 184

recommendations, including 84 for which DEP has responsibility, to help with the pipeline

development in a responsible way. He said the first recommendation was for DEP to have more

staff.

-- Privatizing Oil and Gas Regulatory Program: Sen. Browne (R-Lehigh) asked if it was

possible to get along with privatizing parts of the Oil and Gas Program to avoid hiring some

permanent staff given the ups and downs of the industry. Secretary Quigley said while thenumber of new permits have declined by about one-third, DEP still has vacancies in the program.

He said he believes permit reviews are a basic function of government and in some instances

DEP may be prohibited from having private, third parties do reviews of permit applications. He

noted DEP has to justify filling every single vacancy in his agency. In earlier budget testimony,

Secretary Quigley, pointed out DEP has also not been inspecting conventional and

unconventional wells with the frequency they believe is necessary.

-- EPA Clean Power Climate Rule: Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York) asked if DEP should

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discontinue any work on plans to meet EPA’s Clean Power Plan Climate Rule until the courts

have reviewed the issue. Secretary Quigley said DEP has put work on a Pennsylvania Plan on a

“low boil,” but was continuing to work on a plan at a reasonable pace until there is some clarity

from the federal courts. He said DEP is also “wrapping up” its work with a National Governor’s

Association project on modeling alternative compliance strategies for the state.

However, Secretary Quigley said if DEP stops work altogether, the state would be behindthe curve if the EPA rule is upheld. He noted renewable energy and cheap natural gas will

continue to replace expensive and inefficient coal-fired power plants in the future regardless of

what the state does. There is also a concern, he said, about defining the role nuclear power

plants will play because they represent 95 percent of carbon-free energy generation now in the

state.

-- Nutrient Credit Purchases By State: Sen. Wagner (R-York) asked about the program

suggested by Sen. Vogel to have the state buy nutrient credits to meet Chesapeake Bay

requirements. Secretary Quigley said having the state buying nutrient credits would be

unprecedented and very expensive. The technology advocated by Sen. Vogel’s legislation, he

said, would require the state paying an estimated $11 per pound of nutrient reduction, when

currently credits are selling for less than $1 for practices like forested buffers. DEP is activelylooking at market-based solutions and is proposing changes to its market-based Nutrient Credit

Trading Program to make it more competitive.

-- New Growing Greener Program: In response to a question from Sen. Vogel (R-Beaver),

Secretary Quigley said the Governor’s Office has had discussions about a new Growing Greener

funding initiative with stakeholders and would be anxious to continue that dialogue with

legislators.

-- Recycling Law Update: Sen. Eichelberger (R-Blair) said waste haulers in his district have

expressed concerns about finding markets for all the recycled materials they pick up and asked if

it wasn’t time to take another look at the Act 101 recycling law. Secretary Quigley said he

would like to have a conversation about increasing the state’s recycling targets and pointed to a

specific concern now is changing the electronics waste recycling law

to deal with electronics

recycling issues.

-- Permit Reviews: In response to a question from Sen. Wagner (R-York), Secretary Quigley

said a number of factors have affected permit review times. He said DEP lost 671 positions over

the last decade-- 441 of those were permit writers and inspectors. He pointed to the Harrisburg

Regional Officer as an example of the impact of these reductions where 4 permit writers have

200 permit applications on their desk with new ones coming in every day. He said DEP has also

lost people to the private sector because of higher private salaries and is having difficulty filling

positions.

In addition, in the near future, 30 percent of DEP’s workforce-- about 800 people -- will

be old enough to retire and their experience will be lost to the agency.In spite of these difficulties, Secretary Quigley said DEP, under its Permit Review

Guarantee Program, meets the deadline for permit reviews 89 percent of time when applications

are complete and even 80 percent of the time when they aren’t complete.

He also explained, permit reviews at DEP, he said, are not “box checking operations,”

they require actual review.

Secretary Quigley said 39 percent of the permit applications coming in the door at DEP

have deficiencies, according to a recent study by DEP, and the private sector needs to “up their

http://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/ProgramIntegration/DecisionGuarantee/Pages/default.aspx#.Vub-XMea10chttp://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/ProgramIntegration/DecisionGuarantee/Pages/default.aspx#.Vub-XMea10chttp://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35166http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=32016http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=34849http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=34849


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game,” but, he added, “I will own any problems in my agency.”

Sen. Wagner followed up by saying there should be an “Angie’s List” for consulting

firms and understood the issue because he was personally involved in a permit issue where he

was not well served by a consultant.

Status Of Permit Reviews: Sen. Eichelberger (R-Blair) expressed concerned about

permit applications moving at their own pace and going into a “black hole.” Secretary Quigleysaid the Permit Decision Guarantee Program provides deadlines for review where applications

are complete. He said he also understand there will be applications that have significant

economic development opportunities behind them. It all comes back to limited staff, he said.

Length Permit Review Times: Sen. Mensch (R-Montgomery) asked if there are other

ways to address the permit review issues by lengthening permit review times a bit, for example.

Secretary Quigley said they have been looking at a variety of ideas for refining DEP’s permit

review programs including electronic permitting.

-- Restructuring Programs: Sen. Browne (R-Lehigh) asked about opportunities to restructure

programs and the agency to save money, create synergies and make staff more effective.

Secretary Quigley said they have reorganized to meet Chesapeake Bay commitments, but there

was no opportunity to save money. He pointed out again water quality-related programs in particular have been hard hit by budget cuts and “we are underwater” as the agency. He pointed

to the 25 percent reduction in staff in Safe Drinking Water Program as another example.

-- Controlling Overtime: In response to a question from Sen. Pat (R-Lehigh) about the steps

taken to control overtime, Secretary Quigley said he has authorized some overtime for permit

processing. He pointed out DEP staff responds to emergencies that frequently involve work on

weekends or outside normal work hours and overtime is authorized in those circumstances.

Click Here to watch the Subcommittee hearing online.

NewsClips:

McNickle: Phone Call Telegraphs Wolf’s Real Intent On Shale Gas?

Swift: Worsening Budget Mess Awaiting Lawmakers

Editorial: Better Leaders Would End The Budget Impasse

Auditor General To Examine Act 13 Impact Fee Spending

PCN: PA Supreme Court Arguments On Act 13, Oil & Gas Lease Fund

PLS: Speaker Turzai Implores Gov. Wolf To Sign Budget

Wolf Threatens Veto Of Republican Budget

Sen.Yudichak (D) Rips Wolf, Legislature Over Budget Impasse

Thompson: GOP Ponders Veto Override, With Growing Dem Support

Budget Impasse Concerns Penn State Extension Director

Penn State Extension, 4-H Programs Hang In Balance

Penn State’s Agricultural Extension Dollars Affect Your Table

Lancaster Penn State Extension Office Faces Closure Related Stories:



Growing Greener Coalition Calls For Boost In Funding For Environmental Agencies




http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=34434http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/joint-conservation-committee-heritage.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/pa-growing-greener-coalition-thanks.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-greener-coalition-calls-for.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/pec-opposes-killing-conventional.htmlhttp://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35226http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-county-penn-state-extension-office-faces-closure/article_fde4e80c-e7a9-11e5-a783-8b180eed6dc8.htmlhttp://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/03/how_the_threat_to_penn_states.html#incart_river_homehttp://www.goerie.com/pennsylvania-extension-and-4-h-programs-hang-in-the-balancehttp://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20160317/NEWS02/160319594http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/03/pa_house_democrats_break_ranks.html#incart_2boxhttp://timesleader.com/news/local/522357/state-sen-john-yudichak-rips-gov-tom-wolf-legislature-over-budget-impassehttp://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/10156634-74/republican-wolf-billionhttp://www.plsreporter.com/Home/TabId/56/ArtMID/472/ArticleID/1208/Speaker-Turzai-implores-Gov-Wolf-to-sign-budget-supplemental.aspx#.VuxPYlJ4c-4.twitterhttps://pcntv.com/2016/03/11/march-11-7-pm-pa-supreme-court-session/http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2016/03/15/Audit-to-examine-Marcellus-shale-impact-fee-spending-Pennsylvania/stories/201603150007http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160313_Inquirer_Editorial__Better_leaders_would_end_state_s_budget_impasse.htmlhttp://citizensvoice.com/news/worsening-budget-mess-awaiting-lawmakers-1.2018317http://triblive.com/opinion/colinmcnickle/10085941-74/quigley-pennsylvania-shalehttp://appropriations.pasenategop.com/http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=34611


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Budget Hearing: DEP: State Can’t Cut Its Way To A Better Environmen t

Senate Hearing: DEP Does Not Have Enough Staff To Meet Needs In Any Of Its Programs

DEP Secretary John Quigley’s Written Budget Testimony-Full Text

Governor’s Office Latest Regulatory Agenda: DEP Permit Fee Increase For 6 Programs

DEP Tells House Committees Chesapeake Bay Program Faces Inadequate Resources, Data Agriculture Secretary Says More Resources Needed To Meet Clean Water Commitments

House Budget: DCNR To Propose $40 Fee For Natural Diversity Inventory Permit Reviews

Senate Budget : DCNR: No Drilling Rigs Now On State Forest Land

DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn Written Budget Testimony-Full Text

PUC Asks For Increased Funding For More Rail, Pipeline Inspectors

After 9 Months, No Due Date For Resolving State Budget Impasse


The PA Growing Greener Coalition Monday called on the Wolf Administration and state

lawmakers to boost funding for the Department of Environmental Protection, citing concerns thatinadequate technology and bare bones staffing levels are putting Pennsylvania's environment at

risk.

In addition, the Coalition urged the Governor and legislators to also provide adequate

funding for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of

Agriculture to address Pennsylvania's growing environmental needs.

"If we want to improve and protect the quality of our water and air, the state must stop

short-changing environmental protection," said Andrew Heath, executive director of the

Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition. "Inadequate funding directly threatens the health of

Pennsylvania's land, air and water and consequently, our communities."

As discussed in Monday's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing , DEP simply cannot

absorb further budget cuts without sacrificing the ability to enforce regulations that protect the

Commonwealth's environment, and in fact, the state should be putting more money – not less –

toward programs that protect and preserve Pennsylvania's open spaces, family farms, parks and

trails, waterways and historic sites.

"With hundreds of acres of open space lost to development each day in Pennsylvania, we

need to be doing more to protect our natural resources, not less," said Heath. "As the

Environmental Stewardship Fund continues to shrink, now is the time for lawmakers from both

sides of the aisle to come together to advance a Growing Greener III initiative and continue

Pennsylvania's conservation, recreation, and preservation legacy."

Funding for the Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund has decreased from

an average of $200 million in the mid-2000s to approximately $60 million in 2014.The Coalition also called for restoring funding for the state Department of Agriculture,

which along with DEP, plays a critical role in ensuring Pennsylvania meets its commitments to

cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and urged the Wolf Administration to save DCNR's

Heritage Areas Program from being eliminated.

The PA Growing Greener Coalition is the largest coalition of conservation, recreation

and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth.

Related Stories:

http://pagrowinggreener.org/http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/budget-hearing-dep-12-special-funds.htmlhttp://pagrowinggreener.org/http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/after-9-months-no-due-date-for.htmlhttp://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35000https://goo.gl/cFwpa6http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/02/senators-express-support-for-heritage.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/02/house-budget-dcnr-to-propose-40-fee-for.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/agriculture-secretary-says-more.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/02/dep-tells-house-committees-chesapeake.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/02/governors-office-latest-regulatory.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/02/dep-secretary-john-quigleys-written.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/02/dep-budget-hearing-dep-does-not-have.htmlhttp://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35070http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-greener-coalition-calls-for.html


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Reservations Now Being Accepted For April 19 Governor’s Environmental Awards Dinner

The PA Environmental Council is now accepting

reservations for the April 19 dinner to honor the 2016

winners of the Governor’s Environmental Excellence

Award to be held at the Harrisburg Hilton.

The Governor’s Awards are presented each year by the

Department of Environmental Protection to highlight the best in environmental innovation and

expertise throughout the Commonwealth.

The awards are the highest statewide honor bestowed upon businesses and organizationsfor environmental performance and innovation from cleaning up watersheds, saving energy, and

eliminating pollution, to reducing waste and more.

DEP Secretary John Quigley will provide the keynote address and DCNR Secretary

Cindy Adams Dunn will provide special commentary for this special event.

Janelle Stelson, news anchor with WGAL Channel 8 in Lancaster, will be the program

emcee.

The year’s sponsors include: Platinum- Dominion Resources, Silver- UGI Corporation,

Bronze-Crisci Associates, Environmental Excellence Sponsor- Groundwater Sciences

Corporation and Innovator Dinner Sponsors- K&L Gates LLP and RT Environmental Services,

Inc.

For all the details and to register, visit PEC’s Governor’s Award Dinner webpage or send

an email with your questions to Angela Vitkoski at: [email protected] .

Presque Isle State Park Beaches Named Best Freshwater Beach By USA Today

The beaches at Presque Isle State Park in Erie were

named the best freshwater beaches in the United

States by the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice

Contest

Friday.

The contest page described Presque Isle this

way: "Visitors to Presque Isle State Park are in for asingular Pennsylvania experience: the state's only

formidable shoreline, which boasts a number of

beaches.

Beach 11 (photo) is the park's most sheltered,

and therefore most serene. Its shallow water is a safe

option for visitors with little ones and boasts views of the Erie skyline.

Beach 6 on the other hand, is a draw for young people, with its concession stands and

http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-freshwater-beach/?CMPID=USAT-Cardshttp://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-freshwater-beach/?CMPID=USAT-Cardshttp://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/presqueisle/mailto:[email protected]://pecpa.org/event/pec-harrisburg-dinner-honoring-recipients-of-the-2016-governors-awards-for-environmental-excellence/http://pecpa.org/event/pec-harrisburg-dinner-honoring-recipients-of-the-2016-governors-awards-for-environmental-excellence/http://pecpa.org/event/pec-harrisburg-dinner-honoring-recipients-of-the-2016-governors-awards-for-environmental-excellence/http://pecpa.org/http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=34434http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/joint-conservation-committee-heritage.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/pa-growing-greener-coalition-thanks.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/03/pec-opposes-killing-conventional.htmlhttp://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35228http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35226


12/85

volleyball courts. The flip side, it is often the most crowded."

Presque Isle encompases 3,200 acres on a sandy peninsula that arches into Lake Erie. As

Pennsylvania’s only seashore, Presque Isle offers its visitors a beautiful coastline and a variety

recreational activities, including swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, bicycling and in-line

skating.

A National Natural Landmark, Presque Isle is a favorite spot for migrating birds. Becauseof the many unique habitats, Presque Isle contains a greater number of the state's endangered,

threatened and rare species than any other area of comparable size in Pennsylvania.

Also featured at the park is the Tom Ridge Environmental Center which is not only home

to a visitor and education center for the park, but also houses ground-breaking research facilities

on Great Lakes and water quality issues affecting Lake Erie and a 75 foot observation tower.

For more information, visit DCNR’s Presque Isle State Park webpage.

NewsClips:

Presque Isle Wins National Best Beach Contest

Philadelphia Chosen To Host 2021 International Parks Conference

DCNR Secretary Recognized For Role In Preserving Environment

New Northwest Lancaster County River Trail Section, Visitor’s Center Open Waterfront Road Will Fill Gap In D&L Trail

Lackawanna Heritage Valley Holds Meeting On Fell Twp Trail

Kennett Township Greenway Gets Green Award In Chester

Crowd Provides Input Into New Section Of Lackawanna Heritage Trail

Lackawanna Heritage Trail To Get 14 Cameras

Goal Reached To Save Appalachian Trail Hotel

Tourists Spent $1 Billion In Route 6 Corridor In 2014

Susquehanna River People Seeks To Save Island Retreat

National Geographic Effort To Boost Lehigh Valley Geotourism

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.

You’ll 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.

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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

comment to any blog posting.

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Senate/House Agenda/Session Schedule/Gov’s Schedule/ Bills Introduced

Here are the Senate and House Calendars and Committee meetings showing bills of interest as

well as a list of new environmental bills introduced--

Bill Calendars

House (March 21): House Bill 544 (Moul-R-Adams) further providing for liability protection

for landowners who open their land for recreation ( sponsor summary ); House Resolution 60

(Emrick-R-Northampton) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a

comprehensive review of the state’s program to regulate the beneficial use of sewage sludge;

Senate Bill 307 (Yudichak-D-Luzerne) providing for an independent counsel for the

Environmental Quality Board; Senate Bill 811 (Hughes-D- Philadelphia) FY 2015-16 Capital

Budget bill; Senate Bill 1071 (Browne-R-Lehigh), the “agreed-to” pension reform bill; Senate

Bill 1073 (Browne-R-Lehigh) “agreed-to” $30.8 billion General Fund budget bill; Senate

Resolution 55 (Hutchinson-R-Venango) re-establishing the Forestry Task Force under the Joint

House/Senate Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee( sponsor summary ). Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (March 21): Senate Bill 805 (Boscola-D- Lehigh) allowing an Act 129 opt-out for large

electric users ( sponsor summary ); Senate Bill 1123 (Vogel-R-Beaver) extends the one-pound

Reid Vapor Pressure waiver for gasoline sold in Pennsylvania that is due to expire on May 1,

2016; Senate Bill 1142 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amends the Storage Tank Act to add members to the

Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund Board; House Bill 806 (Causer-R-Cameron)

providing for county-specific use values for land in forest reserves ( sponsor summary ). Click

Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meeting Agendas This Week

House: the Appropriations Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 385 (Pileggi-R-Delaware)

further providing for Transit Revitalization Investment Districts; the Environmental Resources

and Energy Committee meets, but the agenda is not yet available, DEP’s Chapter 78 drilling

regulations may be discussed; the House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on

incentivizing use of natural gas. Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/CO/HM/COHM.HTMhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0385http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/SC/SC/0/RC/CAL.HTMhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/SC/SC/0/RC/CAL.HTMhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=17643http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0806http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1142http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2015&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1123http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=18088http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0805http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/SC/HC/0/RC/SCHC.HTMhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=17546http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=R&bn=0055http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=R&bn=0055http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1073http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1073http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1071http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0811http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0307http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=R&bn=0060http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=16928http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0544http://www.twitter.com/PaCapitolDigesthttp://pacapitoldigestcrisci.blogspot.com/


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Senate: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee is scheduled to consider Senate

Bill 1114 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) allowing the use of alternative on-lot septic systems on the sewage

facility planning process ( sponsor summary); Senate Bill 1041 (Schwank-D-Berks) amending

Act 101 to authorize counties and local governments to charge a recycling fee ( sponsor

summary ); Senate Bill 1145 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amending the Oil and Gas Conservation Law to

exempt drilling companies that pass through the Onondaga formation without producing it froma $5,000 permit fee (sponsor summary ); House Bill 1712 (R.Brown-R-Monroe) establishing a

Private Dam Financial Assurance Program ( House Fiscal Note and summary). Click

Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.

Other: the Joint Conservation Committee holds a hearing on Collapse of Pennsylvania’s

Electronic Waste Recycling Program .

Bills Pending In Key Committees

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 JusticePublic Health and Welfare

Transportation

Links for all other Standing Senate Committees

Bills Introduced

The following bills of interest were introduced this week--

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/StandingCommittees.cfm?CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=19&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=33&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=29&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=39&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=23&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=31&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=7&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=9&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=3&CteeBody=Shttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/StandingCommittees.cfm?CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/StandingCommittees.cfm?CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=38&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=28&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=24&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=56&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=54&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=10&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=8&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=12&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/index.cfm?Code=4&CteeBody=Hhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/02/joint-conservation-committee-hearing-on.htmlhttp://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2016/02/joint-conservation-committee-hearing-on.htmlhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/CO/SM/COSM.HTMhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/CO/SM/COSM.HTMhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/FN/2015/0/HB1712P2772.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1712http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=19662http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1145http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=18547http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=18547http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1041http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=19376http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1114http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1114


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Storage Tanks: House Bill 1895 (Metzgar-R-Bedford) changing the members of the

Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Board ( sponsor summary ).

Greenhouse Gas Reductions: House Bill 2030 (Santarsiero-D-Bucks) setting a goal of reducing

greenhouse gas emissions in Pennsylvania by 50 percent (sponsor summary

).

World Water Day: House Resolution 741 (McClinton-D-Delaware) designating March 22 as

World Water Day in PA (sponsor summary).

Session Schedule

Here is the latest voting session schedule for the Senate and House--

Senate

March 21, 22, 23

April 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13May 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18

June 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

House

March 21, 22, 23

April 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13

May 2, 3, 4, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

June 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Governor’s 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. Wolf’s 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--

Supplemental FY 2015-16 Appropriations:

House Bill 1801

(Irvin-R-Centre) containing $6.05 billion in supplemental appropriations for FY 2015-16 developed by Republicans were passed by

votes of-- Senate- 31 to 18, House- 128 to 63 and sent to the Governor for his action. . Click

Here for a copy of the line-by-line General Fund spreadsheet by House Republicans. A Senate

Fiscal Note and summary are available.

FY 2015-16 Fiscal Code Bill: House Bill 1327 (Peifer-R-Pike) amending the Fiscal Code to

implement the FY 2015-16 Republican General Fund budget were passed by votes of--(Senate-

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1327http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/SFN/2015/0/HB1801P2968.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/SFN/2015/0/HB1801P2968.pdfhttp://www.pabudget.com/Display/SiteFiles/154/Documents/FY%202015-16%20GF%20Budget/March%20Close%20Out%20Budget/2015-16%20HB1460%20Adjusted%20Trk%20Run%20-%20Caucus.pdfhttp://www.pabudget.com/Display/SiteFiles/154/Documents/FY%202015-16%20GF%20Budget/March%20Close%20Out%20Budget/2015-16%20HB1460%20Adjusted%20Trk%20Run%20-%20Caucus.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1801https://governor.pa.gov/schedule/http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=19856http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2015&sind=0&body=H&type=R&bn=741http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=19762http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2015&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=2030http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=19798http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2015&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1895


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30 to 19, House- 120 to 71) and sent to the Governor for his action. A House Fiscal Note and

summary are available.

The bill amends the Fiscal Code to among other things, kill DEP Chapter 78 conventional

drilling regulations and make DEP start over, reduce Growing Greener watershed restoration

funding by $15 million this fiscal year and to slow consideration of any state plan to comply with

the EPA Clean Power Climate Plan.The bill would also transfer $12 million from the High Performance Green Buildings



Senate/House Bills Moving

The following bills of interest saw action this week in the House and Senate--

House

Stormwater:

House Bill 1103

(Zimmerman-R-Lancaster) providing for exemptions from

stormwater permitting for agricultural high tunnels was removed from the Table, 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.

Heritage Areas: House Bill 1605 (James-R-Venango) which would establish the program in

law, was removed from the Table, referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee

and was passed by the House. A House Fiscal Note

and summary is available. The bill now

goes to the Senate for action.

Transit Revitalization District:

Senate Bill 385 (Pileggi-R-Delaware) further providing forTransit Revitalization Investment Districts was removed from the Table, amended on the House

Floor and was referred to the House Appropriations Committee. (A House Appropriations

Committee meeting has been scheduled for March 21 to consider the bill.)

Potomac River Basin Commission: House Bill 577 (Moul-R-Adams) authorizing designees

with proxy voting rights for certain members of Interstate Commission on the Potomac River

Basin ( sponsor summary) was reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy

Committee and Tabled.

USTIF Board: House Bill 1895 (Metzgar-R-Bedford) changing the members of the

Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Board (

sponsor summary

) was amended to requirethe Senate and House to appoint 4 members of the 10 member board leaving the Governor to

appoint 2 members and reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy

Committee and Tabled.

Forestry Task Force: Senate Resolution 55 (Hutchinson-R-Venango) concurrent resolution

reestablishing the Forestry Task Force under the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution

Control and Conservation Committee was given final action by the House and now becomes

http://jcc.legis.state.pa.us/http://jcc.legis.state.pa.us/http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=R&bn=0055http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=19798http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2015&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1895http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=16811http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0577http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0385http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/FN/2015/0/HB1605P2320.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1605http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/FN/2015/0/HB1103P1419.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1103http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/FN/2015/0/HB1327P2969.pdf


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effective.

Senate

Supplemental FY 2015-16 Appropriations: House Bill 1801 (Irvin-R-Centre) containing $6.05

billion in supplemental appropriations for FY 2015-16 developed by Republicans were passed byvotes of-- Senate- 31 to 18, House- 128 to 63 and sent to the Governor for his action. . Click

Here for a copy of the line-by-line General Fund spreadsheet by House Republicans. A Senate

Fiscal Note and summary are available.

FY 2015-16 Fiscal Code Bill: House Bill 1327 (Peifer-R-Pike) amending the Fiscal Code to

implement the FY 2015-16 Republican General Fund budget were passed by votes of--(Senate-

30 to 19, House- 120 to 71) and sent to the Governor for his action. A House Fiscal Note and

summary are available.

The bill amends the Fiscal Code to among other things, kill DEP Chapter 78 conventional

drilling regulations and make DEP start over, reduce Growing Greener watershed restoration

funding by $15 million this fiscal year and to slow consideration of any state plan to comply withthe EPA Clean Power Climate Plan.




USTIF Board: Senate Bill 1142 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amends the Storage Tank Act to add

members to the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Fund Board was amended to require

the Senate and House to appoint 4 members of the 10 member board leaving the Governor to

appoint 2 members and reported out of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and is now

on the Senate Calendar for action.

1-Pound Waiver: Senate Bill 1123 (Vogel-R-Beaver) extends the one-pound Reid Vapor

Pressure waiver for gasoline sold in Pennsylvania that is due to expire on May 1, 2016 was

reported out of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and is now on the Senate

Calendar for action.

Farmland Preservation: House Bill 806 (Causer-R-Cameron) providing for county-specific use

values for land in forest reserves (sponsor summary

) was amended and reported from the Senate

Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Natural Gas Competition:

House Bill 57

(Payne-R-Dauphin) further providing for natural gascompetition ( sponsor summary ) was Tabled per the 10-day rule.

News From The Capitol

House Environmental Committee Will Review Final DEP Drilling Regulations

Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny), Majority Chair of the House Environmental Resources and

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?Code=8&CteeBody=Hhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=15697http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0057http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=17643http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0806http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2015&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1123http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1142http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/FN/2015/0/HB1327P2969.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1327http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/SFN/2015/0/HB1801P2968.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/SFN/2015/0/HB1801P2968.pdfhttp://www.pabudget.com/Display/SiteFiles/154/Documents/FY%202015-16%20GF%20Budget/March%20Close%20Out%20Budget/2015-16%20HB1460%20Adjusted%20Trk%20Run%20-%20Caucus.pdfhttp://www.pabudget.com/Display/SiteFiles/154/Documents/FY%202015-16%20GF%20Budget/March%20Close%20Out%20Budget/2015-16%20HB1460%20Adjusted%20Trk%20Run%20-%20Caucus.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1801


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Energy Committee, announced Wednesday the Committee will be reviewing the final DEP

Chapter 78 and 78a oil and gas drilling regulations at its next meeting.

Since this meeting, the Committee has scheduled a meeting for March 23 starting at 9:30

in Room B-31 Main Capitol.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Rep. Maher asked members to provide him with comments and

questions on the regulation prior to the meeting.Under the Regulatory Review Act, the Committee can offer comments to the Independent

Regulatory Review Commission or choose to report out a concurrent House-Senate resolution

blocking their implementation.

The Senate and House must pass the resolution and present it to the Governor for his

action. The resolution can be signed or vetoed by the Governor. If he signs it, the regulation is

dead and DEP would have to start over.

Rep. Maher has been a critic of the process used by DEP to develop the regulations and

voted against them at the February Environmental Quality Board meeting.

The IRRC is scheduled to meet on the drilling regulations April 21.

The Committee also reported out two bills--

-- House Bill 577

(Moul-R-Adams) authorizing designees with proxy voting rights for certainmembers of Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (sponsor summary ); and

-- House Bill 1895 (Metzgar-R-Bedford) changing the members of the Underground Storage

Tank Indemnification Board (sponsor summary). The Committee amended the bill to require the

Senate and House to appoint 4 members of the 10 member board leaving the Governor to appoint

2 members and make it look like Senate Bill 1142 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) reported out of the Senate

Banking and Insurance Committee Tuesday.

Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental

Committee and can be contacted by sending email to: [email protected] . Rep. Greg

Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by sending email to:

[email protected] .

House Committee Held Information Meeting On Natural Gas Royalty Legislation

The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Tuesday conducted an

informational meeting on House Bill 1391 (Everett-R-Lycoming) that would protect natural gas

royalty owners from unjustified post-production cost deductions.

House Bill 1391 is also co-sponsored by Reps. Sandra Major (R-Susquehanna), Matt

Baker (R-Bradford), Tina Pickett (R-Bradford) and Karen Boback (R-Lackawanna).

"This meeting is another step in what continues to be a long, ongoing process to protect

landowners from being cheated by the natural gas drilling companies when it comes to royalty

funds they have rightly earned," said Rep. Everett. "I am pleased that the committee heard from anumber of interested parties on this issue and I am hopeful this will break the logjam and help

move this badly needed legislation."

Rep. Everett said the Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act (Act 60 of 1979) simply states

that a lease for oil or natural gas shall guarantee a minimum one-eighth (12.5 percent) royalty.

The development of unconventional shale gas wells (i.e. Marcellus) in the

Commonwealth has been accompanied by an effort of some companies to reduce royalties below

this statutory minimum by deducting post-production costs from the royalty payments to

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1391http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?Code=8&CteeBody=Hmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=1142http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=19798http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2015&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1895http://www.legis.state.pa.us//cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20150&cosponId=16811http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0577http://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Energy/OilandGasPrograms/OilandGasMgmt/Public-Resources/Pages/Oil-and-Gas-Surface-Regulations.aspxhttp://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/Index.cfm?Code=8&CteeBody=H


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landowners.

These post-production costs can include compression, dehydration, transmission and

other costs incurred between the wellhead and a final market point of sale. When these expenses

are deducted, final royalty payments often are below the statutory one-eighth.

"This is clearly an issue of fairness, period," said Rep. Everett.

This is the second consecutive legislative session in which this legislation has beenoffered. Rep. Everett said he has held talks with all interested stakeholders to satisfy their

concerns.

Rep. Major, who attended the hearing, said this effort has taken a great deal of time.

"We have been working on this issue for the past few years, and I am hopeful we can

finally get this bill through the legislative process and signed into law so landowners across the

northeast region are ensured to receive fair and equitable payments for natural gas reserves under

their land," said Rep. Major.

The legal process on this issue includes a critical ruling made in 2010 that has had a

major impact on the landowners. Rep. Pickett, who also attended the meeting, said that ruling

changed the way in which royalties were calculated and that new legislation is vital for the

region and for all leaseholders."Before any more time passes, it's imperative that we enact these very basic consumer

protections," Rep. Pickett said. "When many of these leases in our area were signed, the 1979

royalty law was standard practice. It was only after further shale development and a Supreme

Court ruling in 2010 that allowed drillers to consider in calculating royalties the cost of moving

the gas from the wellhead to the marketplace – thereby known as post-production costs. I

appreciate all the landowners coming forward and sharing their experiences today, and I am

hopeful that this legislation moves forward so that when the natural gas market bounces back,

our residents will be protected."

Rep. Baker said this is a matter of the drilling companies living up the promises made in

legal contracts.

"This is important legislation that, once signed into law, will require natural gas

companies to uphold the good-faith contracts signed by landowners with respect to royalties

owed them by the companies," said Rep. Baker. "Landowners need to have a guaranteed

minimum royalty law to ensure they receive fair payment and are not undercut by any

unscrupulous practices."

Testimony was taken from Jackie Root, president of the National Association of Royalty

Owners (Pennsylvania chapter); royalty owners David DeCristo and Robert Sher; James Soto,

senior vice president and chief risk and administrative officer of PS Bank of Wyalusing; Daniel

A. Devin, state forester, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Michael DiMatteo,

chief environmental planning and habitat protection division, Game Commission; and Jessica

Brisendine, litigation manager, EQT, a natural gas and petroleum pipeline company based inPittsburgh.

Rep. Boback said she is pleased that forward progress is being made on this

long-standing issue.

"I am encouraged by the progress made on the important issue of protecting natural gas

royalty owners. It is critical that we continue to advocate for landowners and ensure they are

treated fairly by natural gas drilling companies," she said.

Rep. Everett called the meeting a success.


20/85

"Now that the Committee members have had an opportunity to learn about this issue and

my bill, it is my hope that we can get it voted out of committee and to the floor for a vote, said

Rep. Everett.

A two-bill package on oil and gas royalties sponsored by Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming)

has been in the House Environmental Committee since February of 2015-- Senate Bill 147 and

Senate Bill 148

(

sponsor summary).Copies of written testimony are available online--

-- Jackie Root , National Association of Royalty Owners

-- David DeCristo , royalty owner

-- Robert Sher , royalty owner

-- James Souto , National Association of Royalty Owners

-- Daniel Devlin , State Forester, DCNR

-- Michael DiMatteo , Game Commission

-- Jessica Brisendine , EQT

Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental

Committee and can be contacted by sending email to: [email protected] . Rep. Greg

Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by sending email to:[email protected] .

NewsClips:

Gas Royalties Bill Back In The Spotlight

Bill Would Prohibit Drilling Companies From Taking Royalty Deductions


Jane Sheffield, President of Heritage PA , told the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution

Control and Conservation Committee Monday Pennsylvania’s 12 Heritage Areas generate $2

billion to the state’s economy, according to a recent study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.

Sheffield outlined the history of the PA Heritage Area Program to House and Senate

members and others attending the Joint Committee’s Environmental Issues Forum.

She said the data showed tourists spent an estimated 7.5 million days/nights in the 12

heritage areas in 2014, and spent $2 billion in goods and services. To the state economy, she

said, that spending meant 25,708 jobs and $798 million in labor income.

Sheffield said Gov. Wolf line-item vetoed the $2.25 million allocated for the program for

FY 2015-16 and did not propose any funding for the program in FY 2016-17. She warned if new

revenue is not found in FY 2016-17, the program will begin to erode and may cease to operate as

private and federal funds leveraged by state funding will evaporate.

Rep. Lee James (R-Venango) note legislation he introduced-- House Bill 1605

(James-R-Venango)-- would establish the program in law, and is now on the House Calendar for possible action.

Pennsylvania’s 12 Heritage Areas are: Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area, Delaware &

Lehigh National Heritage Corridor , Endless Mountains Heritage Region , Lackawanna Heritage

Valley , Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor , Lumber Heritage Region , National Road Heritage

Corridor , Oil Region National Heritage Area, PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor , Rivers of Steel

National Heritage Area, Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area , and Susquehanna

Gateway Heritage Area.

http://www.susquehannaheritage.org/http://www.susquehannaheritage.org/http://schuylkillriver.org/http://riversofsteel.com/http://riversofsteel.com/http://paroute6.com/http://www.oilregion.org/http://nationalroadpa.org/http://nationalroadpa.org/http://lumberheritage.org/http://lhhc.org/http://lhva.org/http://lhva.org/http://endlessmountainsheritage.org/http://www.delawareandlehigh.org/http://www.delawareandlehigh.org/http://www.mainlinecanalgreenway.org/http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1605http://wallaby.telicon.com/pa/library/2016/20160314Tx.pdfhttp://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35120http://www.paenvironmentdigest.com/newsletter/default.asp?NewsletterArticleID=35120http://heritagepa.com/http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2016/03/15/Deductions-from-Pennsylvania-landowners-Marcellus-shale-gas-royalties-take-too-much/stories/201603150169https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/03/15/gas-royalties-bill-back-in-the-spotlight/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://wallaby.telicon.com/pa/library/2016/20160315ss.pdfhttp://wallaby.telicon.com/pa/library/2016/20160315st.pdfhttp://wallaby.telicon.com/pa/library/2016/20160315su.pdfhttp://wallaby.telicon.com/pa/library/2016/20160315sv.pdfhttp://wallaby.telicon.com/pa/library/2016/20160315sw.pdfhttp://wallaby.telicon.com/pa/library/2016/20160315sx.pdfhttp://wallaby.telicon.com/pa/library/2016/20160315sy.pdfhttp://www.legis.state.pa.u