PA Environment Digest Blog: State Budget: Chesapeake Bay Foundation Urges PA Lawmakers To Reinvest In Clean Streams Fund; Citizens To Contact Their Legislators

On June 21, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation urged Pennsylvania lawmakers to reinvest in the Clean Streams Fund as part of the 2024-25 state budget and encouraged citizens to contact their House and Senate members to support clean water.

In 2022, the $220 million Clean Streams Fund was created to help tackle the top three sources of stream pollution in the Commonwealth: certain agricultural activities, acid mine drainage, and urban/suburban stormwater runoff.

Programs within the Clean Streams Fund, particularly the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP), have been wildly successful and are almost out of resources.

This program helps farms adopt critical conservation practices.

Most of this funding is now committed at a faster rate than anticipated.

Legislators now have the opportunity to prioritize local clean water as well as our Pennsylvania farms and now it’s time to amplify our progress by supporting dedicated funding for the Clean Streams Fund during this budget.

Click Here for more information and to contact your legislator.

For more on Chesapeake Bay-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA webpage. Click Here to sign up for Pennsylvania updates (bottom of left column). Click Here to support their work.

Also visit the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership to learn how you can help clean water grow on trees.

CBF has over 275,000 members in Bay Watershed.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

The draft 2024 report has an interactive report viewer that allows you to zoom in to your own address to see if the streams near you are impaired and why.

Click Here to check out your streams. Click Here for a tutorial on using the viewer.

State Budget Resource Links:

-- State Budget: Growing Greener Coalition Urges Lawmakers To Support $80 - $100 Million Healthy Outdoors For All Program; Contact Your Legislator [PaEN]

-- State Budget: Chesapeake Bay Foundation Urges PA Lawmakers To Reinvest In Clean Streams Fund; Citizens To Contact Their Legislators [PaEN]

-- State Budget: PA Environmental Council Sends Budget, Policy Recommendations To PA House, Senate Members [PaEN]

-- State Budget: PA Parks & Forests Foundation: Pennsylvania Residents Overwhelmingly Support Investments In Trails [PaEN]

-- PUC: Act 13 Drilling Impact Fee Revenue Drops $100 Million From Last Year’s Record To $179.6 Million; Puts Hole In State, Local Budgets [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro’s Proposed 2024-25 Budget Includes DEP Permit Modernization Initiative, Expands PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Testing; Expands DCNR Trails Program, PA Outdoor Corp [PaEN]

-- DCNR Budget Testimony Reviews Funding Requests, Need For Continued Investment In Recreation, Natural Resources, Workforce Development [PaEN]

-- DEP Testimony Provides Overview Of Budget Request, Progress On Permitting, Environmental Justice, Infrastructure Investments, PFAS, Watershed Cleanup, Climate, Clean Energy Initiatives [PaEN]

-- DEP: Oil & Gas Regulatory Program Will Be In The Red By Fall; All Sectors Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program No Go; Update On Permitting Reform [PaEN]

-- DEP Reports ZERO Shale Gas Well Permits Under Review; DEP May Have Only 20% Of The Revenue Needed To Fund Its Oil & Gas Regulation Program [PaEN]