PRINTER'S NO. 906
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
132
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY YAW, MAY 13, 2015
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MAY 13, 2015
A RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passage and signing
into law of Acts 2, 3 and 4 of 1995, creating Pennsylvania's
Land Recycling "Brownfields" Program on May 19, 1995.
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania had thousands of abandoned, neglected
and unwanted industrial, manufacturing and commercial properties
across this Commonwealth with real and unknown environmental and
public health hazards that were not being cleaned up and made
safe; and
WHEREAS, Private individuals, local governments, economic
development agencies and commercial landowners faced with the
challenge of using these sites for valuable economic purposes,
eliminating these hazards and promoting the productive reuse of
these properties found that existing State laws and regulations
did not set consistent, uniform environmental cleanup standards,
and did not offer a clear process for reviewing and approving
cleanup plans; and
WHEREAS, Banks, other financial institutions and economic
development agencies were reluctant and often did not even
consider providing funding for the voluntary environmental
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cleanup and reuse of industrial and manufacturing sites because
of the lack of clear standards and environmental liability
concerns; and
WHEREAS, The lack of a voluntary cleanup and reuse program
resulted in an eroding tax base and a loss of jobs and economic
opportunity in cities and communities across this Commonwealth;
and
WHEREAS, Farmland and open space was lost as development
pushed into greenfield areas, rather than having growing
businesses reuse existing commercial properties in already
developed areas with the infrastructure needed to support
commercial reuse; and
WHEREAS, The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy
Committee saw action was needed to attract private investment to
voluntarily clean up these environmental hazards and initiated a
consensus building process on May 22, 1992, with the
introduction of Senate Bill 1734, with eight sponsors; and
WHEREAS, In the next session on April 22, 1993, an improved
draft, Senate Bill 972, was introduced with 46 sponsors, and the
consensus building continued utilizing both the Senate
Environmental Resources and Energy and the Community and
Economic Development Committees during a tumultuous period of
time when the majority of the Senate moved from one party to the
other and the committee responsibilities moved from one set of
chairmen to another; and
WHEREAS, Despite the political changes in the Senate, the two
committees worked in a bipartisan way, holding eight public
hearings, taking testimony from 84 witnesses and soliciting
input by sending copies of five separate proposals to more than
2,000 interested residents; and
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WHEREAS, Senate Bill 972 was passed by a vote of 44 to 2 and
sent to the House of Representatives where it was considered in
the House Conservation Committee and reported out of committee
on October 5, 1994, but went no further; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bills 1, 11 and 12 were introduced in the
next session on January 17, 1995, and were passed by the Senate
on March 1, 1995, by a vote of 46 to 0, and passed by the House
of Representatives, after amendment, on May 2, 1995, by a vote
of 163 to 35. The House amendments were concurred in by the
Senate on May 3, 1995, by a vote of 50 to 0, after which the
bills were presented to the newly elected Governor, Tom Ridge,
who signed them on May 19, 1995; and
WHEREAS, Act 2 of 1995, the Land Recycling and Environmental
Remediation Act, Senate Bill 1, established uniform cleanup
standards, standardized review procedures for cleanup plans, and
released property owners from further cleanup liability once
strict environmental standards were met; and
WHEREAS, Act 3 of 1995, the Economic Development Agency,
Fiduciary and Lender Environmental Liability Protection Act,
Senate Bill 11, provided protection from cleanup liability for
banks, economic development and other agencies involved in
promoting the reuse of industrial and commercial properties
through financing; and
WHEREAS, Act 4 of 1995, the Industrial Sites Environmental
Assessment Act, Senate Bill 12, provided funding to
municipalities, economic development agencies and similar groups
for environmental site assessments and provided performance-
based remediation loans and grants for cleaning up environmental
and public health hazards; and
WHEREAS, Acts 2, 3 and 4 of 1995 created a model for
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promoting voluntary environmental cleanups used by the Federal
Government, more than 40 other states and other countries and
created a whole new "Brownfields Reuse" industry; and
WHEREAS, Setting a clear process and standards for reviewing
and approving cleanup plans and releasing agencies and property
owners of further liability when the cleanup standards are met
prompted hundreds of millions of dollars in private investments
to remediate environmental hazards and put these sites back into
productive use; and
WHEREAS, Since enactment of Pennsylvania's Land Recycling
Program, 5,466 commercial and industrial sites in every county
in this Commonwealth have been cleaned up and made safe for
reuse, with another 1,251 sites now moving through the program;
and
WHEREAS, Sites reused under the program have resulted in the
creation or retention of tens of thousands of jobs that
otherwise would have been lost or created somewhere else; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's Land Recycling Program has been
recognized for its innovation and accomplishment by its peers in
the Federal Government, the State government, environmental
professionals and academic institutions, including the Ford
Foundation and Harvard University with the Innovations in
Government and the Best Innovations in American Government Award
Over the Past 15 Years; the Council of State Governments
Innovations Award; the National Governor's Association Center
for Best Practices; the National Association of Environmental
Professionals National Environmental Excellence Award for
Environmental Management; the American Legislative Exchange
Council Model Legislation Program; and by President George W.
Bush, who signed the national Brownfields legislation into law
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in Pennsylvania; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the contribution
Pennsylvania's Land Recycling Program has made over the past 20
years protecting the environment, eliminating health hazards and
building Pennsylvania's economy by creating economic opportunity
where there was none before; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate extend its congratulations to the
members of the Senate and the House of Representatives for their
leadership in passing Acts 2, 3 and 4 of 1995, to Governor Tom
Ridge for signing the bills into law and to the leadership and
employees of the Department of Environmental Protection for
making the program work; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be provided to the
sponsors and cosponsors of Senate Bills 1, 11 and 12 of 1995, to
Governor Tom Ridge and to the Department of Environmental
Protection.
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