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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 22, 2024 06:16 AM |
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| From: | Representative Mike Armanini and Rep. Jamie Barton, Rep. Jonathan Fritz, Rep. Kristin Marcell, Rep. David H. Rowe, Rep. Brian Smith |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Using waste products from the Commonwealth’s past to power the next generation of technologies |
| Earth’s critical elements are key components of the many devices and systems we rely on every day, including smartphones, computers, defense systems, and automobiles. The reliability of our modern supply chain requires dependable access to these critical elements. American dependence on these rare and critical elements will only grow, since the next generation of sustainable electric production and the necessary energy storage technologies require them. However, much of the extraction and processing of critical elements occurs in other countries, some of which are not reliable trading partners with our country or use unacceptable refinement methods. Securing access to Earth’s critical elements is necessary for a growing economy and a stable future. These concerns guided provisions of the federal Inflation Reduction Act (Public Law No. 117-169) that encourage domestic sourcing of products like batteries that rely on elements currently mined and refined abroad. Interestingly, the remnants of the Commonwealth’s industrial heritage can play an important role in securing access to Earth’s critical elements from domestic sources. Elements like cobalt, indium, lithium, manganese and zinc can be found in mine and industrial lands, acid mine treatment sludge, and coal and iron mine waste. This recovery process can dovetail with the cleanup of these former industrial sites, which will benefit local communities. Recovering Earth’s critical elements from these former industrial sites in Pennsylvania will create jobs for Pennsylvanians, secure domestic access to critical industrial inputs, and remediate past environmental degradation. |
Document #1
| Description: | DOCUMENT 1 (Rep. Mike Armanini): Updating the Commonwealth’s tax structure to reflect the economic realities of the reclamation of Earth’s critical elements. The tax structure of the Commonwealth is inherently reactive and adaptations to new ways of doing business tend to be adopted after the fact, rather than prospectively. This slows the growth of the new economic opportunities presented by critical element reclamation, while doing very little to help the governments that rely on that growth to fund important programs. This legislation will take the pre-emptive step of updating the Commonwealth’s tax structure in preparation for the new industry of reclaiming critical elements from former industrial sites. Because development of this industry carries extremely high up-front costs, qualified critical element development expenses will be permitted to be expensed immediately, rather than taking the deductions over many tax years. The provisions of the Coal Refuse Energy and Reclamation Tax Credit will be adapted to reflect the new possibilities of reclaiming critical elements from coal refuse. In addition, the burgeoning critical element reclamation and processing industries will be added to the existing Pennsylvania Economic Development for a Growing Economy (PA EDGE) Tax Credit. |
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Document #2
| Description: | DOCUMENT 2 (Rep. Brian Smith): Extending reasonable protections to owners of real property with mine waste and other legacy industrial byproducts that are used to reclaim Earth’s critical elements. The amount of legal liability that surrounds any effort to reclaim spoiled lands can be staggering. Because this discourages positive reclamation efforts, the General Assembly has passed several laws to provide certain levels of civil liability protection for third parties that assist and finance the reclamation of polluted lands and those who finance environmentally beneficial redevelopment. Similar protections should be provided to owners of land with mine waste and other legal industrial byproducts that are used to reclaim Earth’s critical elements. This will ensure landowners make their properties available for this important new technology that has an environmental benefit, while ensuring those extracting the ore follow best environmental practices. |
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Document #3
| Description: | DOCUMENT 3 (Rep. Jonathan Fritz): Establishing an experimental permit program for new technologies to reclaim Earth’s critical elements from Pennsylvania’s former industrial sites. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s regulatory system for traditional ore development has evolved over the last century of mines and changing methods of extraction, but this system is not adequately prepared for the novel industry of critical element reclamation from mine waste and other legacy industrial byproducts, like coal refuse piles, waste coal, and mine tailings. No standard economical process for this reclamation has been developed, so the Commonwealth’s regulatory process will need to be flexible in adapting to changing technology. This legislation will establish a regulatory framework and permitting requirements that will allow the Department of Environmental Protection to review the proposed technologies and processes for use in reclamation of Earth’s critical elements from former industrial sites and to issue an experimental permit for those activities. Each experimental permit will be crafted to address the technology or process being developed in a way that protects the environment and allows for the new technologies and processes to be tested for economic feasibility. The regulatory certainty will help make the economics of this possible industry clearer. And the environmental protection measures will ensure that the spoiled lands are reclaimed. Establishing these requirements now, rather than after the industry has already begun, will create regulatory certainty that will allow the economics to work, while codifying the robust environmental protections that Pennsylvanians deserve. |
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Document #4
| Description: | DOCUMENT 4 (Rep. David Rowe): Preventing taxpayer money from being used to purchase electric vehicles using components produced with forced labor. When we rely on countries like China and the Republic of Congo to source our supply of Earth’s critical elements, we can inadvertently support those other countries’ unacceptable labor and environmental practices. For example, the use of forced labor practices against the Uyghur ethnic minority in China’s critical element production have drawn attention from federal lawmakers, culminating in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (Public Law No. 117-78). News reports have described the cobalt mines in Congo as modern-day slavery. Pennsylvania taxpayers deserve to know whether state or local government money is being used to purchase electric vehicles that rely on components that were produced using forced labor. This legislation would prohibit the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from purchasing electric vehicles without a certification from the manufacturer that the vehicle was produced through a process free of forced labor. |
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Document #5
| Description: | DOCUMENT 5 (Rep. Kristin Marcell): Leveraging existing industrial site reuse programs for responsible reclamation of Earth’s critical elements. The General Assembly has established several programs to financially assist those who help to reclaim land and water spoiled by pollution. For example, the Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP) provides grants and low-interest loans for environmental site assessments and remediation at former industrial sites. This legislation will ensure that similar efforts that are undertaken as part of recovery of Pennsylvania’s critical elements are eligible and given priority. |
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Document #6
| Description: | DOCUMENT 6 (Rep. Jamie Barton): Leveraging the Energy Development Authority to provide financial assistance necessary to demonstrate the financial viability of reclaiming Pennsylvania’s critical elements. The technology necessary to reclaim critical elements from legacy industrial byproducts is currently the subject of exciting research, including here in the Commonwealth. This legislation will use the existing Energy Development Authority to provide funding for projects that can serve as the technological bridge for projects necessary to develop and scale this new technology. Further, this legislation will allow for low-interest loans to be used for projects necessary to demonstrate the commercial viability of the possible business model for such reclamation practices. |
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