Elections, Budget Will Dominate 2018 Legislative Politics And Session

With the Governor, all of the House and half the Senate up for grabs in 2018, election year politics can’t help but color every action of the General Assembly, budget deliberations especially.

Add the fact House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) and Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York) have both announced they are running for the Republican nomination for Governor, and the plot thickens, as they say.

Senate

In the Senate, Republicans have 18 seats up for re-election and so far have two of their members retiring-- Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Bucks), long-time Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York), as noted running for Governor.  

Republicans up for reelection include: Tomlinson (R-Bucks), Majority Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee; McIlhinney (R-Bucks), Majority Chair of the Law & Justice Committee; Browne (R-Lehigh), Majority Chair of the Appropriations Committee; Baker (R-Luzerne), Majority Chair Health & Human Services Committee; Mensch (R-Montgomery); McGarrigle (R-Delaware), Eichelberger (R-Blair), Majority Chair Education Committee; Stefano (R-Fayette), Majority Chair of the Game & Fisheries Committee; Corman (R-Centre), Senate Majority Leader; Aument (R-Lancaster); Vulakovich (R-Allegheny); Scavello (R-Monroe), Majority Chair Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee; Rafferty (R-Montgomery), Majority Chair of the Transportation Committee; Bartolotta (R-Beaver); Folmer (R-Lebanon), Majority Chair State Government Committee; and Brooks (R-Crawford).

Senate Democrats have 7 seats up with no announced retirements so far.  Democratic districts include: Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia); Haywood (D-Philadelphia); Williams (D-Philadelphia), Minority Chair State Government Committee; Yudichak (D-Luzerne), Minority Chair Environmental Committee; Boscola (D-Lehigh), Minority Chair Consumer Protection Committee; Blake (D-Lackawanna); and Fontana (D-Allegheny).

House

The House lost two members to other positions December 31-- Rep. Brandon Neuman (D-Washington) to be a county judge and Scott Petri (R-Bucks) Majority Chair of the Gaming Oversight Committee, will become head of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

Three House members-- all Republicans-- said they are not running for re-election so far-- John Taylor (R-Philadelphia), Majority Chair of the House Transportation Committee, Eli Evankovich (R-Westmoreland) and Lewis (R-Chester).

Three other House Republicans are running for other seats-- Rep. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York)-- for Sen. Wagner’s seat; Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh)-- to fill Dent’s Congressional seat; and Rep. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland)-- running for Barletta’s Congressional seat.

Gerrymandering Cases

The wildcard in the upcoming election season are challenges in federal and state courts to the way the state drew its Congressional districts.  Both courts have promised decisions quickly in time to have an impact, or not, on 2018 Congressional races.
Commonwealth Court Judge Kevin Brobson issued a 130-page report Friday saying in his view the Democratic voters suing to invalidate the current Congressional districts have no proven it unfairly favors Republicans.

The report was ordered by the PA Supreme Court, but it is not clear what the justices will do with it. The Court has scheduled oral argument on the case for January 17.

Technically, Pennsylvania will have three open Congressional seats.  A special election to fill Republican Tim Murphy’s seat in Western Pennsylvania will be held on March 13, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Lou Barletta said he will not be running for his Congressional seat that stretches from Harrisburg to Wilkes-Barre and Congressman Charlie Dent in the Lehigh Valley announced he was retiring at the end of his term.

State Tax Cuts On Top Of Federal Tax Cuts

State lawmakers have already announced plans to introduce legislation to cut state personal and corporate taxes and make other changes in response to federal tax changes. In addition, implementing the provisions of the homestead property tax referendum passed by voters last November will be a hot topic, especially in this election year.

Rep. Seth Grove (R-York) circulated a co-sponsor memo just before Christmas proposing to piggyback on federal tax cuts by cutting Pennsylvania’s Personal Income Tax from 3.07 percent to 2.8 percent and the corporate net income tax from 9.99 percent to 4 percent and “end corporate welfare.”

It’s another attempt by conservatives to shrink the size of government.

Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh) said she plans to introduce legislation allowing owners of homestead residential properties to deduct their real estate taxes from their state income tax since federal changes limited that deduction.

House Majority Leader David Reed (R-Indiana) and Sen. David Argall (R-Schuylkill), prime sponsor of Senate Bill 76 the school property tax replacement bill, have both said implementing the homestead exemption property tax referendum will be a catalyst for restructuring Pennsylvania Tax Code.

Of course neither the Independent Fiscal Office or Governor’s Budget Office revenue projections so far include any state tax cuts or the impact from federal tax changes or local property tax replacement proposals.  

Revised IFO revenue estimates are due in late January.

Budget

With the Independent Fiscal Office saying the state faces a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall in FY 2018-19 funding and the Governor’s Budget Office saying no, no  revenue increases or supplemental appropriations are needed in the coming year, we’ll have to wait to see what reality brings.

Everyone is holding their breath that revenue counted as part of the budget, including from the sale of casino licenses-- $238.5 million and the expanded Sales Tax-- $43.5 million--  and a new tax on fireworks-- $31.7 million -- $313.7 million in all, will actually be collected.

Then there’s the legal challenge to the transfer of $200 million to the General Fund from the Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association Fund now working its way through court.  Court action successfully thwarted a similar transfer last year, we’ll see what happens this year.

The FY 2018-19 budget season formally kicks off on February 6 with the Governor’s Budget Address.

With Republicans talking about tax cuts to one-up the Governor, the IFO saying there will be a $1 billion deficit to make up, the Governor’s Office saying the state’s structural deficit is all but gone and election year politics affecting everything, this budget season is shaping up to be a real humdinger!

The Senate and House open the new legislative session January 2, but don’t get down to real work until the week of January 22.

Welcome to 2018!

(Written By: David Hess)

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In Memoriam: Robert Eppley, Jr., A Passionate Volunteer Restoring The Environment

Dr. Robert L. Eppley Jr., an environmental scientist and chemist and long-time active member of the Blacklick Creek Watershed Association in Cambria and Indiana Counties, passed away on December 24.  He was passionate about the environment.

Some of his accomplishments include developing partnerships to clean up abandoned coal mine drainage and discovering caves as president and technical director of Blacklick Creek Water Association, leading and participating in the National Speleological Society and Chestnut Ridge Explorers Association and serving as past president of the Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation.

He received the Evergreen Conservancy’s lifetime achievement award and the Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation Mayfly honor.

The Association said, “Dr. Eppley became very instrumental in securing and managing a number of DEP Growing Greener and other grants, resulting in the construction of a series of successful passive AMD treatment systems.  These efforts culminated in the watershed receiving the PaDEP Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.  These systems remain in existence today and stand as Dr. Eppley's legacy of being a tireless, environmental advocate for the Blacklick Creek Watershed Association.”

“The legacy of Bob Eppley’s work is more than a dozen mine drainage treatment projects, miles of streams clean streams and restored landscapes, it is a permanent monument to the power of partnerships to cleanup our environment,” said former DEP Secretary David E. Hess, who had the opportunity to meet Bob and talk about his vision for the watershed.  “Volunteers like Bob who care about their watershed can and have accomplish amazing things all across Pennsylvania, when given the right tools and support, something we need to remember now more than ever.”

Here’s a PA Environment Digest profile of Blacklick Creek Watershed Association accomplishments featuring Bob Eppley and his involvement in cleaning up the watershed that is a wonderful review of this part of his life--

It’s tough to start a watershed association, just ask Bob Eppley of the Blacklick Creek Watershed Association in Cambria and Indiana counties. But, the rewards are worth it.

“One of our first projects was an acid mine drainage conference and a mine owner heard me on the radio talking about mine drainage problems,” said Bob Eppley, President of Blacklick. “He came storming into the meeting wanting to see the S.O.B. that was talking bad about mine operators!

“Thanks to someone else, it didn’t come to blows,” said Eppley. “But you know, that same mine operator later donated land and helped us with one of our mine treatment projects”

The Association started in the 420 square mile Blacklick Creek Watershed in 1993 and now boasts about 150 members.

The watershed has 270 miles of streams polluted by 90 discharges from more than 300 coal mines and 170 coal refuse piles.

The Association has so far completed 13 mine drainage treatment and reclamation projects in the watershed, has a regular water sampling program staffed by volunteers and works with many diverse partners to do their projects. Some of those partners include the DEP, Game Commission, Fish & Boat Commission, county officials, township officials, conservation districts, Indiana University of Pennsylvania students and faculty, utilities and coal mining companies.

The group is now completing the Laurel Run 2 project in a tributary to the Blacklick that will treat the second of two large abandoned deep mine discharges. Re-mining operations, mining that recovers coal left behind from previous mining and reclaims the land to modern standards, successfully stopped two other discharges in the Run.

“In the 1920s Laurel Run was a native brook trout stream with a beautiful waterfalls, until deep and surface mines came and turned the stream acid and orange,” said Eppley. “Two years ago we finished the project to treat the first discharge with Stream Restoration, Inc. and in May we started the Laurel Run 2 project.”

The project involves filling in and grading a 290 foot long, 60 foot highwall as well as building two treatment ponds to treat water coming from a mine seal that blew out in 1970. The ponds use a relatively new sulfate reducing bacterial technology. The 160 acre project was funded by a $287,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation.

“We partnered with Robindale Energy Services, Inc. who is bringing in alkaline fluidized bed coal ash from the Seward Power Station free of charge to fill in the highwall,” said Eppley. “It works out well for them because they then carried abandoned strip pit coal refuse from the nearby State Game Land No. 276 to Seward to burn.”

About 22,000 tons of ash will be needed to fill in the highwall area that is now about two-thirds full. The project is expected to be complete later in November.

The Laurel Run 2 project should restore the final three miles of the stream down to the main stem of Blacklick Creek.

“We also just finished another project with Robindale Energy Services, Inc. and DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation near Vintondale along the Ghost Town Trail that involved hauling out about 65,000 tons of coal refuse on 4.5 acres and filling in a 160 foot deep mine shaft and several hazardous concrete abandoned coal cleaning pits with beneficial alkaline ash,” said Eppley.

Why do people like Bob Eppley take on this huge challenge? He explains it this way…

“I was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania’s coal and steel country. My father and grandfather Eppley worked in the mills. My maternal grandfather worked in the coal mines - having begun as a teenage shaft digger.

“Where I grew up, most of the streams were orange, much of the terrain was black and often the sky was grey. Even so, I learned to appreciate clean streams, fishing and water.

“When I got a chance to attend college (and then grad school) I decided never to return to the coal regions except as a visitor. However, after a layoff from a large technology firm in New York State and after some medical problems, my wife and I decided to return to the area to secure recovery and employment.

“Seeing the streams and dumps again spurred my interests in environmental science. For the next 35 years, I was employed by industries associated with mining and electrical generation. However, I began to do environmental consulting on the side. I also was given the opportunity to teach chemistry at the college level as an adjunct evening faculty member. During that stint, I presented a section on "Water in the Environment".

“In 1994 after another corporate layoff, I was asked to join the newborn Blacklick Creek Watershed Association. As a fisherman with environmental interests, I joined and soon was inducted into leadership in the organization. My environmental science consulting continued and meshed well with watershed projects. I was designated Project Manager for BCWA remediation projects.

“Projects have grown both in size and difficulty. Many have resulted in significant successes in remediation and restoration of streams, refuse piles and abandoned mine areas.

“My backgrounds in chemistry, geosciences and management have given me an opportunity to provide services useful in environmental projects. Approximately 60 percent of my present efforts are volunteer.

“The Laurel Run 2 Project is an opportunity to at least get one complete stream in the Blacklick Creek watershed restored to pre-mining, historical conditions.”

Stories like these are repeated often across Pennsylvania and it’s one of many reasons watershed organizations have grown from less than 100 to over 400 since the start of the original Growing Greener Watershed Restoration Program in 2000.

Work like this is not only personally rewarding, but Blacklick Creek Watershed Association has won recognition as well. In 2003, the Association was awarded the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.

Keep up the great work out there!

Click Here to read the full obituary for Robert Eppley.
Comments On Bob Eppley's Passing-- -- The Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition wishes to thank Bob Eppley for his love, knowledge, and persistence in addressing abandoned mine impacts in the Blacklick Creek Watershed. Bob has left a legacy that will continue to benefit the environment and contribute to future development of technology. -- Margaret Dunn said," As described in the Memoriam, Bob also realized the value of the many volunteers and organizations involved, including the state programs and agencies that enabled construction of the passive treatment systems and provided on-going encouragement and support."

(Photo: Dr. Eppley caving, courtesy Kim Metzgar.)

DEP Published 3,025 Pages Of Permit Notices In PA Bulletin During 2017

In 2017, DEP published 3,025 pages of public notices in the PA Bulletin related to permit actions, 38 percent of the Bulletin's pages. DEP had more pages of public notices in the Bulletin than any other agency, except the Unified Court System.
DEP published 30 pages of public notices related to proposed and final permit and approval/disapproval actions in the December 30 PA Bulletin - pages 7866 to 7896.
Sign Up For DEP’s eNotice: Did you know DEP can send you email notices of permit applications submitted in your community?  Notice of new technical guidance documents and regulations?  All through its eNotice system.  Click Here to sign up.

Hearing, If Requested, On Graymont Company, Centre County RACT II Air Quality Plan Set For Feb. 9

The Department of Environmental Protection will hold a hearing on the proposed RACT II Air Quality Plan for the Graymont facility in Centre County on February 9, if a hearing is requested.  (PA Bulletin, page 7895)

To request a hearing, to register to speak at a hearing, or to inquire if a hearing will be held, contact Megan Lehman at 570-327-3659. The last day to preregister to speak at a hearing, if one is held, will be January 29, 2018.

The hearing, if held, will be at DEP's Northcentral Regional Office, 208 West Third Street in Williamsport starting at 10:00.

All pertinent documents are available for public review between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Northcentral Regional Office, 208 West Third Street, Suite 101, Williamsport, PA 17701. Appointments for scheduling a review may be made by calling the Department at 570-327-0550.

See the PA Bulletin notice for all the details. (PA Bulletin page 7895)

DEP Board Publishes 2018 Schedule Of Sewage Enforcement Officer Certification Exams

DEP’s State Board for Certification of Sewage Enforcement Officers published notice of its 2018 schedule of certification exams in the December 30 PA Bulletin.

For more information, visit DEP’s State Board for Certification of Sewage Enforcement Officers webpage.  Questions should be directed to Kristen Szwajkowski by calling 717-772-2186 or send email to: kszwajkows@pa.gov.

DEP Extends First Come, First Served Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebates Thru June 30

The Department of Environmental Protection has extended its Alternative Fueled Vehicle Rebate Program through June 30.  (formal notice)

The rebates available include--

-- A $1,750 rebate for battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) with a battery capacity greater than or equal to 20 kWh.

-- A $1,000 rebate for BEVs and PHEVs with a battery capacity between 10 kWh and 20 kWh.

-- A $750 rebate for BEVs and PHEVs with a battery capacity less than 10 kWh.

In addition to rebates for new vehicles, residents in Allegheny, Armstrong, Bucks, Butler, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Washington and Westmoreland counties are eligible for rebates on used alternative fueled vehicles if they meet certain other requirements.

Approximately 500 rebates at all levels will be available on a first come, first served basis.

All AFV rebates must be submitted online using the eGrants system.

For all the details, visit DEP’s Alternative Fueled Vehicle Rebate Program webpage.

Opportunity To Bid On DEP Well Plugging In Clinton County, Water Line In Clearfield County

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the December 30 PA Bulletin of the opportunity to bid on an orphan oil and gas well plugging project in Clinton County and a water main extension project in Clearfield County.

The Department of Environmental Protection has available a current list of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Acid Mine Drainage, Surface Mine Reclamation, Cleaning Out and Plugging Oil and Gas Wells, Waterways Engineering (Concrete Dams/Concrete Lined Channels, Walls and Box Culverts, etc.), Hazardous Site Remediation, Removal and Disposal of Underground Storage Tanks, and Wetland Restoration projects available for bidding.  Click Here for the list.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a current list of bid proposals for construction projects in State Parks and State Forests available online.  Click Here for the list.

UPDATED: DEP, EQB Schedule Additional Hearings On Water Toxics Strategy, Triennial Water Quality Reg Changes For Jan. 30

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the December 30 PA Bulletin scheduling additional public hearings on proposed changes to the Water Quality Toxics Management Strategy bu DEP and proposed changes to the Triennial Water Quality Standard regulations by the Environmental Quality Board for January 30.

The notice also formally extends the comment period for both the proposed changes to February 16.

The DEP hearing on the Water Quality Toxics Strategy will be held at DEP’s Southeast Regional Office, 2 East Main Street in Norristown, Montgomery County at 1:00 p.m.

The EQB hearing on the Triennial Water Quality Standard regulations will be held at DEP’s Southeast Regional Office, 2 East Main Street in Norristown, Montgomery County at 2:00 p.m.

DEP and the EQB held three hearings on each of the Water Quality Toxics Strategy and the related Triennial Water Quality Standard regulation changes earlier in December.

Click Here for more information on the proposed changes to the Toxics Strategy.  Click Here for more information on the changes proposed in the Triennial Water Quality Standard regulations.

For more information, to submit comments and to review copies of the proposals, visit DEP’s eComment webpage.

Sign Up For DEP’s eNotice: Did you know DEP can send you email notices of permit applications submitted in your community?  Notice of new technical guidance documents and regulations?  All through its eNotice system.  Click Here to sign up.