House-Passed State Budget Includes Nearly $700 Million In Funding To Support Farm Conservation, Water/Sewer Projects, Mine Reclamation, State Park/Forest/Recreation Infrastructure

On July 7, the House, in a bipartisan vote, approved what they said was the final FY 2022-23 state budget which includes nearly $700 million in funding to support on-farm conservation, water and sewer projects, mine reclamation and state park, forest and recreational infrastructure projects.

The two main budget bills are now in the Senate for a concurrence vote-- Senate Bill 1100 (General Fund) and House Bill 1421 (Fiscal Code).

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate and House, hunters, anglers, farm, environmental, recreation groups are all working together to bring home a win on this Growing Greener III funding.  Read more here.

What’s In It

The House-passed budget includes--

Federal American Rescue Plan Funding [Senate Bill 1100] --

-- $320 million to Commonwealth Financing Authority for water & sewer projects 

       -- $214.4 million of that goes into the CFA H2O Program water & sewer project account with $105.6 million of that reserved for projects from $30,000 up to $500,000 [House Bill 1421 page 70]

-- $220 million to a new Clean Streams Fund [House Bill 1421 page 78] --

       -- 70% State Conservation Commission - new Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program [in House Bill 1421 page 50]

       -- 10% to PennVEST

       -- 10% to Nutrient Management Fund

       -- 4% to DEP for Stormwater Management Grants

       -- 4% to DCNR for Keystone Tree Restricted Account

       -- 2% for Abandoned Mine Drainage Abatement

-- $100 million in State Parks and Outdoor Recreation Program [House Bill 1421 page 43]

DCNR Oil & Gas Lease Fund [Senate Bill 1100] --

-- $56 million for a State Parks & Forests Infrastructure Program

Other funding includes--

-- $6.8 million increase for county conservation districts [Senate Bill 1100]

-- $12.3 million is allocated from Personal Income Tax revenue to pay Growing Greener II debt service [House Bill 1421 page 135]

-- $15 million transfer from Oil & Gas Lease Fund to Marcellus Legacy Fund to Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund [House Bill 1421 page 49]

-- $55.789 million transfer from Oil & Gas Lease Fund to support DCNR operations [Senate Bill 1100]

Overall Agency Budgets--

-- DEP - overall increase $13.6 million

-- DCNR - overall increase $12.9 million

-- Agriculture - overall increase $$51.9 million (most Agricultural Preparedness & Response (spotted lanternfly)

Budget Documents--

-- Click Here for Senate Republican summary of entire budget.

-- Click Here for budget spreadsheet.

Budget Bills--

-- Senate Bill 1100 - General Fund Budget (including federal American Rescue Plan funding)

-- House Bill 1421 - Fiscal Code

[Note: This post will be updated as new information becomes available.]

Budget Briefing:

-- Environmental Groups Host July 13 State Budget Briefing Webinar  [PaEN]

Bills On Governor's Desk:

-- Bills On The Governor’s Desk - Will Wolf Hold Oil & Gas Drillers Accountable?  [PaEN]

Budget Related Articles:

-- Gov. Wolf Now Has To Decide To Hold Oil & Gas Drillers Accountable, Or Create A $5.1 Billion Cleanup Liability For Taxpayers  [PaEN]

-- At The Request Of The Natural Gas Industry, House, Senate Give Final Approval To Bill Prohibiting Communities From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Address Climate Change [PaEN]

-- After 12 Years, House, Senate Pass Bill To Control Overuse Of Fertilizer On Turf  [PaEN]

[Posted: July 7, 2022]  PA Environment Digest