The Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee recently celebrated its 50th anniversary by putting out a special report highlighting its history, the issues it was involved with and accomplishments.
Current Chair Sen. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) said in the introduction--
“The Committee was established with a unique mission: to monitor abandoned mine reclamation efforts, to assess water quality projects, and, most importantly, to identify further practical options for change.
“It has earned a solid reputation for crafting important environmental legislation, conducting major inquiries into conservation initiatives, and by monitoring key developments that influence the way environmental policies are determined in the future.
“The value of the Committee’s work lies in its ability to select the environmental issues of importance, along with those stakeholders having the greatest impact on those issues, and report its findings in the most objective way possible.
“It is my sincere belief that the work of this Committee has brought genuine benefit to overseeing the state’s natural resources.
“In countless ways – many of which are described in this report – Pennsylvania has been well served by having an agency like the Committee serving the General Assembly.
“I hope that you will take the opportunity to read through this retrospective and examine the events and individuals which have moved the environmental agenda forward during the past 50 years.”
Tony Guerrieri, current Executive Director, also provided some introductory remarks--
“The Committee was established by an act of the legislature and signed into law by Governor Raymond P. Shafer (1967-1971) in 1968, but its conception was the culmination of developments reaching back the beginning of the 20th century.
“Its creation was hastened by the existence of rampant and highly visible pollution. The poster child for the state’s major water quality issues was the legacy of lifeless streams, open pits and mountains of waste from our coal-mining past – rivers and streams that literally turned bright orange because of acid mine drainage from a hundred years of unrestrained coal mining in Pennsylvania.
“In the 1960s there was no U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and no Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (a predecessor of today’s DEP and DCNR).
“But in 1967, Representative Orville E. Snare (R-Huntingdon) introduced legislation that would establish an independent legislative oversight agency charged with tracking the performance of water quality projects that were being funded by a $500 million bond approved by voters in 1967.
“Along with other like-minded legislators, Snare saw his efforts realized when Governor Shafer signed Act 448 establishing the Committee in order to strengthen legislative oversight of the programs and activities funded by the conservation bond referendum.
“We were very fortunate to have visionary leaders in the General Assembly during those years and a governor who chose to address the issues of pollution, water quality and conservation and who believed that it was time to work together in a bipartisan effort to manage our shared natural resources.
“The Committee’s reputation for independence, for objective research, and for constructive criticism has made possible an open flow of communications and increasingly broad oversight activity – from the highest levels of government and business to local grassroots environmental efforts.
“As a result, the Committee has witnessed the significant influence that its activities have had in shaping public policies, government programs, environmental actions, and new initiatives.”
Click Here for a copy of the report. It’s a good way to step through Pennsylvania’s environmental history over the last 50 years.
For more information, visit the Joint Conservation Committee website, Like them on Facebook or Follow them on Twitter. Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Committee.
To learn more about Pennsylvania’s environmental heritage, visit the Pennsylvania Conservation Heritage website.
(Photo: Just one example of a mine drainage breakout problem faced by Pennsylvanians in the 1960s and today. Click Here for an overview of abandoned mine lands hazards from DEP.)
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