“The Genesis of this hearing relating to stream impairment in Pennsylvania was a draft 2026 Pennsylvania Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report [IWQR] that the Department of Environmental Protection put out in December of 2025,” said Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), Majority Chair of the Committee.
“That report indicated that 37% of Pennsylvania stream miles were impaired. The report also covered other water bodies and had other metrics, but that's what stood out to me.
“The previous report two years ago indicated that 34% of Pennsylvania stream miles were impaired in some fashion.
“The chief sources of impairment were one, agricultural runoff, two, acid mine drainage, and three urban runoff.
“The purpose of today's hearing is to take a look at what Pennsylvania could do better, what Pennsylvania could do differently in dealing with this level of impairment,” said Rep. Vitali.
Summary Of Comments
Here are some of the key comments made by witnesses at the hearing--
Jill Whitcom, DEP Deputy Secretary of Water Programs, “Pennsylvania has the most advanced assessment program in the country and is one of the only states that uses assessment decisions and real water quality data to inform permitted pollution limits.
“A common misconception is that our Water Quality Standards, monitoring, assessments, and permitting programs prioritize aquatic life. However, human health is a priority, specifically related to drinking water, fish consumption, and water contact uses.
“Pennsylvania maintains 220,000 assessment units across almost 86,000 miles of streams and rivers and 2 million acres of bays, lakes and wetlands; this is 10 times more than any other state.
“The 2026 IWQR expanded assessments for more than 10,000 miles of streams and rivers and more than 18,000 acres of lakes, with new assessments or updated assessments for any use.
“Thanks to stronger partnerships and increased communication with county conservation districts (CCDs), watershed associations, non-profit organizations, and others, DEP saw a three-fold increase in data submissions compared to previous reports.
“In other words, we use a targeted approach to assess our waters and base our decisions on data.
“Since 2004, DEP has recorded 1,099 miles of restored streams and 35,504 acres of restored lakes.
“The leading identified sources of stream impairment are agriculture, AMD, and urban/stormwater runoff. These are nonpoint sources.
“The three leading causes of impairment are siltation, pathogens, and mercury, followed closely by metals.
“This demonstrates that nonpoint source pollution reduction and watershed restoration should remain a priority for statewide water quality improvement and restoration.”
Success Stories
“This year, one of the biggest success stories documented in the 2026 IWQR is restoration of the recreation use on Presque Isle Bay in Lake Erie.
“It took almost two decades of deliberate and targeted work and resources to reduce point source and nonpoint source pollution to achieve this restoration.
“DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation’s (BAMR) construction of AMD treatment systems have restored approximately 230 miles of Pennsylvania’s streams.
“One example of that is more than 30 miles of restored streams in the Bennett Branch Sinnemahoning Creek watershed, documented in the 2024 IWQR, where investments were made to reduce AMD pollution in that watershed.
“These projects include the soon to be completed Blacklick Creek AMD Treatment Plant in Cambria and Indiana Counties that will restore 25 stream miles.
“DEP partners with other state and federal agencies, County Conservation Districts, municipalities, farmers, and watershed and other non-governmental organizations.
“DEP provides funding to support nonpoint source watershed restoration planning and implementation through CCD Watershed Specialist mini-grants, the Chesapeake Bay Countywide Action Plan (CAP) implementation block grants, Growing Greener, EPA Section 319, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) Rebate Program, and Act 167 Stormwater Management program.
“DEP also focuses efforts at the watershed scale through Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), Advanced Restoration Plans (ARPs), and WIPs These plans identify the land uses that are impacting water quality as well as proposed and existing BMPs that should be implemented and maintained to improve water quality, with the ultimate goal of restoration.
“In addition to the Chesapeake Bay Phase 3 WIP and the Chesapeake Bay TMDL, there are 45 local WIPs, 357 TMDLs and 7 ARPs across Pennsylvania.
“Last month, DEP announced the more than $17 million 2025 Growing Greener Plus grant awards to 89 projects.
“Growing Greener is funded in whole by ESF [Environmental Stewardship Fund]. In 2025, DEP received 168 applications totaling more than $41 million in requested funds.
“This is similar to previous years, with DEP able to fund less than half of the total amount of requested funds and/or projects.
“There is much more work to be done and there is continued interest in Growing Greener as a primary funding source for watershed restoration.
Federal Funding Cuts
“I’d like to end on this final note.
“The cost of enhancing and maintaining our water quality monitoring network, conducting assessments, and restoring watersheds is only going to increase over time.
“Permitting decisions and strategic resource allocation and implementation should be completed using measurable data.
“The collection, compilation, and communication of that information is of utmost importance and is not without cost.
“Federal IIJA [Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment] funding for the Chesapeake Bay watershed is expected to end in FY2027.
“As a result, we will need to work with the General Assembly on ensuring no interruption in the services we provide through our robust water quality monitoring program and increased BMP implementation.
“This will not only impact the Chesapeake Bay watershed, but the entire state, as we have utilized these federal dollars to supplement available ESF funding.
“The ESF is a critical tool in our attempts to ensure clean water for all Pennsylvanians.”
How Clean Is Your Stream?
DEP’s draft 2026 Water Quality Assessment includes a mapping tool that allows you to check on the status of water quality near you. Click Here to check how clean your stream is.
Click Here for DEP’s written testimony.
Harry Campbell, PA Science Policy And Advocacy Director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
“At its core, Pennsylvania’s IWR tells a story through data. Every two years it tells us whether our lakes, rivers, and streams are healthy.
“It tells us what is affecting their condition. And it is beginning to tell us whether the work undertaken by the Commonwealth and the conservation community is truly making a difference in protecting and restoring our waterbodies.
“The findings are clear: 31,451 miles of Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams—about 37 percent—are listed as impaired.
“Impairment results from a wide range of identified sources, but a few dominate.
“Agricultural activities are the largest identified source, followed by the legacy of coal mining in the form of acid mine drainage, and stormwater runoff from developed areas.
“These sources reflect the combined influence of historic impacts, current land use practices, and development pressures.
“The IWR’s influence extends far beyond assessment. Its data now underpin major state and federal water‐quality programs and drive how Pennsylvania prioritizes investments.
For example:
-- NPDES permits, wastewater discharge limits, MS4 Pollution Reduction Plans, and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) establishment all rely on IWR listings;
-- The Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) uses the number of agricultural‐impaired stream miles as part of its funding formula—ensuring resources go where they are most needed; and
-- Watershed Implementation Plans, Alternative Restoration Plans, Growing Greener grants targeting, and other programs all depend on the IWR’s information to some degree.
“The IWR—along with the Clean Streams Fund (CSF) and the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP)—plays a central role in how Pennsylvania fulfills its obligations under the Chesapeake Bay TMDL6, including the newly revised Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement (“CBWA”).
“Even as the IWR remains central to Pennsylvania’s efforts, emerging challenges are stretching our capacity—and our understanding of the factors influencing the health of the Commonwealth’s waters, the life they support, and the people who depend on them.
-- “Ten of thousands of chemicals in use in the United States lack ecological safety data.
PFAS contamination is now documented across the state.
“Pharmaceuticals and personal‐care products appear in streams upstream and downstream of major drinking‐water intakes throughout the Commonwealth.
-- “Road‐salt use and urban development are raising chloride levels even in watersheds with limited development pressure.
“Elevated salinity harms aquatic life, including Pennsylvania’s state fish and amphibians—the eastern brook trout and eastern hellbender. It also mobilizes metals, degrades roads and bridges, and contaminates agricultural soils.
-- “Across Pennsylvania, microplastics—and even smaller nanoplastics—are now
widespread in rivers, lakes, and streams, raising alarms among water‐quality scientists and public‐health experts.
“Recent studies have revealed the depth of the problem: statewide sampling detected microplastics in 100 percent of more than 50 waterways tested, including some of the Commonwealth’s most iconic and highest‐quality streams.
“These plastics pose risks to aquatic organisms through ingestion, chemical exposure, and physical harm.
Federal Funding Cuts
“Unfortunately, major proposed cuts to EPA’s FY 2026 budget could challenge the basic federal–state partnership that supports Pennsylvania’s core monitoring functions.
“Reductions to programmatic grants and could slow chemical sampling, biological surveys, impairment evaluations, and the updating of the IWR itself.
“Pennsylvania’s IWR has evolved far beyond a diagnostic tool—it has become a true roadmap for renewal. It illuminates where our streams are strained, where they are thriving, and the forces shaping both.
“That insight is the compass guiding state, federal, and private investments to the places where they can deliver the most immediate benefits and the strongest long‐term gains.
“And when monitoring, science, and community action move together, ecological recovery is no longer hypothetical—it’s within reach.
“If we continue to listen to the science, care for our watersheds, and champion the restoration strategies we know deliver results, Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams will rise again—renewed, resilient, and life‐giving.
“They can become an enduring gift to every Pennsylvanian today and to all who will follow.”
Click Here for the CBF written testimony.
Robert Hughes, Executive Director, Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, “The 2026 Integrated Report provides a strong, data-driven framework for identifying impaired waters and tracking progress toward Clean Water Act goals.
“We commend PA DEP’s continued leadership on biological, chemical, and habitat assessments and the expansion of transparency around impairment causes.
“AMD [acid mine drainage] remains one of Pennsylvania’s most pervasive and persistent sources of impairment.
“As outlined in the report, AMD remains the second largest known impairment, preventing nearly 6,000 stream miles from attaining their designated use. The 2026 Report lists 5,663 miles of AMD impaired streams.
“Many AMD impaired streams have known sources and proven remedies, yet they remain on the non-attainment list year after year without a clear pathway toward restoration.
“It would be really helpful to show a summary of AMD in the report, being that it has been the second-largest source of water pollution in PA.
“Here are our recommendations to rapidly improve significant stream miles from impairment by addressing AMD--
-- “DEP must prioritize TMDL development and implementation for AMD-impacted watersheds where restoration feasibility is high and where complementary funding is available.
“Many AMD-impaired streams have well-understood pollutant sources and proven treatment solutions, making them excellent candidates for accelerated attainment.
-- “Despite improvements in assessment and data availability, AMD-impacted waters persist on the Integrated Report’s impaired waters list year after year.
“The Integrated Report should more explicitly operationalize TMDL development and implementation as a restoration roadmap.
-- “The “Restoration Priorities” section of the report and mapping tools can and should be used to identify and elevate watersheds where AMD TMDLs are needed and restoration feasibility is high.
-- “Use the Integrated Report to identify clusters of AMD impairments that can be restored strategically rather than project-by-project.
-- “Use the Integrated Report to rank AMD waters based on restoration feasibility, ecological benefit, and community impact. This strategy helps nonprofits, conservation organizations, county and state agencies to collaborate and move projects forward more quickly.
“The [federal Bipartisan] Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has dramatically expanded funding for Abandoned Mine Land (AML) reclamation, creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity to pair land reclamation with water quality restoration.
“Federal AML funding has already begun to flow into Pennsylvania, with significant allocations aimed at reclaiming legacy coalfield pollution and stimulating economic activity in impacted regions.
“Defend the IIJA funds. Recent Congressional bills have stripped PA DEP of 6.7% of their annual IIJA allocation for AML remediation.
“Data and mapping on where projects are planned and being implemented, along with their significant water quality improvements, would help defend the funds from being raided in the future and tell the story as to WHY these funds are essential.
“By intentionally aligning IIJA AML funds with AMD TMDL goals, Pennsylvania can move toward measurable stream recovery and delisting quickly. We have 14 years remaining of [federal] IIJA AML funds.
“DEP must double down on strategy to best utilize resources while they are available. Watersheds once thought ‘too complicated to fix’ or ‘too polluted to fix’ now have a chance at attaining their designated use. It’s truly a watershed moment for the coalfield communities in Pennsylvania. DEP MUST prioritize investments in AMD remediation.
“Strengthen coordination with watershed associations, nonprofits, municipal governments, and conservation districts to ensure long-term operation and maintenance of infrastructure, but also to assist with monitoring and evaluation needs as AMD projects come online.
Federal Funding Cuts
“Abandoned coal communities have been and continue to be devastated by AML and AMD.
“We are perplexed why our PA leadership would allow for nearly $169 Million dollars be repurposed to the western US instead of remaining here in Appalachia states and Northern Appalachia where PA coalfield communities are immersed in and surrounded by these legacy land and water legacies that perpetuate the loss of billions of dollars?”
Click Here for Robert Hughes’ written testimony.
Dr. John Jackson, Senior Research Scientist, Stroud Water Research Center-- “Unfortunately, many (31,451 miles, or 37%) are classified as impaired for one or more protected uses.
“It is important to note that for aquatic life, the impaired classification means there has been a major loss of pollution-sensitive macroinvertebate species (i.e., 50-100% are missing from a sample).
“This is not a minor change: It means pollution pressure is intense and will not be easily reduced.
“Based on my experience and the work of coworkers and colleagues at the Stroud Center and beyond, my recommendation is that we need more projects, better projects, and aggregated projects if we want to address the impaired streams problem in Pennsylvania.
“We need more projects because we have many impaired streams and rivers, and these impairments reflect the land and water use choices of thousands of landowners across thousands of parcels in the watersheds that form these streams and rivers.
“For example, Pennsylvania has 52,000 farms and 7.3 million acres of farmland. If we implemented pollution-reduction best management practices (BMPs) on 1,000 farms per year (at 100 acres per farm), it would take 50 to 75 years to address them all.
“Similarly, about 5% of Pennsylvania is urbanized and this represents about 4,300 miles of urban streams.
“If we implemented pollution-reduction BMPs on the properties associated with 100 miles of urban streams per year, it would take 43 years to address them all.
“This approach treats every parcel as a potential source of pollutants over time, and is therefore part of the problem and the solution.
“The Stroud Center’s approach is to address the whole farm — from fields and pastures to barnyards and even roads.
“We need aggregated projects because it is the cumulative effort that should result in the most measurable results.
“If you work on 10 random farms out of 100 farms in a watershed, then in theory you have only addressed about 10% of the pollutant load, and there is nothing in the literature that would suggest that is an adequate long-term solution because the remaining 90% would still overwhelm any positive change.
“However, if those 10 farms are aggregated on a small tributary with 15 farms, then you have addressed about 67% of the potential pollution sources, and there is a much better chance of measurable results.
“Finally, in addition to needing more projects, better projects, and aggregated projects, we need to better understand emerging pollutants and how they are presumably contributing to impairments.
“These are common products widely used across our landscapes, and they contribute to the chemical cocktail that reaches our streams.
“This includes new and old pesticides (i.e., herbicides, insecticides, fungicides), asphalt sealants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), road salt, pharmaceuticals, and most recently, tire-wear compounds (e.g., 6PPD-Q).
“Recent studies have found that these chemicals at toxic concentrations in stream water or sediments in both urban and agricultural settings.
“We cannot reduce pollutants that are stressing our streams if we are not measuring those pollutants. How would we know if they are a problem much less where and when?
Click Here for Stroud Center written testimony. Click Here for presentation slides.
Dr. Heather Hulton VanTassell, Executive Director, Three Rivers WaterKeeper, “There continues to be an increase in the number of waterways being classified as impaired from the 2024 report.
“Between the 2024 and 2026 reports, 2,845 miles of streams previously not assessed are now classified as impaired, and 852 miles previously listed as "supporting" are now reclassified as "impaired".
“Sediment and siltation remain among the most pervasive causes of impairment across Pennsylvania watersheds, particularly in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“While the Integrated Report acknowledges sediment as a leading pollutant, it does not adequately assess whether existing erosion and sediment control practices are reversing impairment trends at a watershed scale or are not adequately protecting our waterways.
“We also remain concerned by the persistent number of waters classified as Category 3 due to insufficient data.
“While the Report appropriately highlights data solicitation efforts and data acceptance protocols, ongoing limitations in monitoring capacity continue to delay both protective actions and timely restoration planning.
“In regions such as Southwestern Pennsylvania, where legacy industrial pollution, abandoned mine drainage, and ongoing development pressures intersect, these data gaps disproportionately affect communities already experiencing cumulative environmental burdens.
“To address these concerns, DEP should prioritize targeted monitoring in high-risk and environmental justice communities, and establish clear timelines for reassessing waters that have remained in Category 3 for extended periods.
“Strengthening these components could improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of the Integrated Reporting process.
“Emerging contaminants not addressed in this report are also a major concern.
“While DEP acknowledges emerging contaminants in Pennsylvania’s waters, we are concerned that the report does not substantively assess available data related forever chemicals often referred to as PFAS chemicals in surface waters, sediments, or fish tissue, nor does it evaluate whether documented PFAS contamination interferes with designated uses under Pennsylvania’s water quality standards.
“Another area of improvement is regarding environmental justice communities and related impacts.
“In the report, Environmental Justice considerations remain largely descriptive rather than operational within the current framework.
“We encourage DEP to more directly integrate Environmental Justice screening tools into core decision-making processes.
“This may include the identification of restoration priority watersheds, the selection of waters for Category 5r designation, and the allocation of restoration funding and technical assistance.
“Three Rivers Waterkeeper supports the continued evolution of Pennsylvania’s Integrated Water Quality Report and recognizes the substantial effort required to produce it.
“At the same time, our recommendations outlined throughout my testimony require significant investment in resources for the DEP to adequately assess our water quality across the state and address the impairments through restoration, remediation and policy change.”
Click Here for the Three Rivers WaterKeeper written testimony.
Julie Wheeler, York County Commissioner, “I wanted to share York County’s story regarding our first-of-its-kind Water Quality Monitoring Program.
“This initiative is the result of an incredible amount of hard work, dedication and partnership between York County, the York County Planning Commission, the United States Geological Survey, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the York County Farm Bureau, the York County Conservation District and many other stakeholders.
“We started this work after the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection reported that York County was the second-highest contributor of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment to the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay.
“We decided computer modeling wasn’t good enough. We needed to know the truth about our waterways, backed up by hard data.
“So, in 2020 we partnered with the United States Geological Survey to begin what is now a ten-year program to understand what’s really happening with York County’s waterways.
“The monitoring stations capture data from Fishing Creek at Goldsboro and Craley, the Conewago Creek, Codorus Creek, Kreutz Creek and Muddy Creek.
“The stations capture data round-the-clock and year-round, providing an accurate real-time and long-term picture of the water quality at each station.
“Today, I am pleased to share that York County’s waterways are significantly cleaner than what had originally been reported by the state.
“In fact, in some cases, the data released by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection overstated our pollutant levels by exponentially greater levels than what we now know are the accurate levels from our monitoring stations.
“Our partnership with the USGS is now just beyond its halfway point – providing critical real-time data that can now be used to help measure the county’s ongoing progress at reducing pollutants into the waterways.
“And perhaps more importantly, we can now use this data to develop targeted solutions in those areas of our watershed that have been identified to have higher pollutant levels.
“Our goal is to work together with all stakeholders – local and state government, the farming community, the business community, and local residents – to develop targeted and effective solutions that will help improve our overall quality of life in York County and across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Click Here for Commissioner Wheeler’s written comments.
Closing
Rep. Vitali closed the hearing by saying-- “We have an upcoming budget, and DEP has been chronically understaffed, under-resourced.
“And as we are making requests of DEP to act in a more efficient way, a more comprehensive way, it's important that we give them the personnel they need, the funding they need, the resources they need to do all the things we're asking them to do.
“So I just ask all [House] members just to keep that in mind in the upcoming budget process. So with that, the hearing is concluded.”
Click Here to watch a video of the hearing.
Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7647 or sending email to: gvitali@pahouse.net. Rep. Jack Rader, Jr. (R-Monroe) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7732 or click here to send an email.
(Map showing water quality status of streams-- yellow is bad.)
NewsClip:
-- Post-Gazette: DEP Report Finds Southwestern PA Streams Among 37% In State That Are Water Quality Impaired
[Posted: February 10, 2026] PA Environment Digest
