The bills reported out of Committee include--
-- Senate Bill 679 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) directs the Environmental Quality Board to develop regulations that authorize counties to adopt a program for “stream cleaning” and maintenance and the removal of obstructions and flood-related hazards from our local waterways (sponsor summary).
“Maintaining our streams and waterways has been an issue across my Senate District for years,” said Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair of the Committee. “Just like we take care of roads, we need to have a program that takes care of our streams. In recent years, there have been a number of instances where microbursts have created all kinds of issues, a lot of which are created due to obstructions in the streams. We need to have them properly maintained and this bill will provide a framework.”
“Maintaining our streams and waterways has been an issue across my Senate District for years,” said Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair of the Committee. “Just like we take care of roads, we need to have a program that takes care of our streams. In recent years, there have been a number of instances where microbursts have created all kinds of issues, a lot of which are created due to obstructions in the streams. We need to have them properly maintained and this bill will provide a framework.”
Sen. Yaw also lamented the fact the state does not do enough to take proactive action to clean trees and other hazards out of streams to prevent flooding.
[Note: Perhaps if the people who now run the General Assembly provided adequate funding for watershed restoration projects and green infrastructure like communities and environmental groups have been literally begging for for years, the situation would be different, instead of reducing environmental protection standards. Click Here for background.]
DEP has taken a series of steps over the last several years to improve the emergency permit process used to clear streams of flood debris hazards, educate landowners and municipalities on the requirements, held an open house in Williamsport and other counties and published an easy to understand guide on the whole process.
-- Senate Bill 766 (Leach-D-Montgomery) increases the matching grants available for household hazardous waste collection events rom $100,000 to $250,000 per county per fiscal year (sponsor summary).
-- House Bill 476 (Mako-R-Northampton) requires municipalities be notified of state and federal waste law violations (House Fiscal Note & Summary).
The bills now go to the full Senate for action.
Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-3280 or sending email to: gyaw@pasen.gov. Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7105 or sending email to: yudichak@pasenate.com.
Related Article:
[Posted: November 19, 2019] www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com
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