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Pennsylvania State Senate
09/23/2024 01:26 PM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20210&cosponId=33785
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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: December 29, 2020 08:17 AM
From: Senator Gene Yaw
To: All Senate members
Subject: Creating a Nutrient / Sediment Reduction Procurement Program in PA
 
In the near future, I will be introducing legislation, an update to SB 575 from the 2019-20 session, creating a market for verified / measurable, low cost nutrient and sediment reductions that will help meet the Commonwealth’s Chesapeake Bay obligations.
 
This is a significant departure from the last 50 years of clean water programs where taxpayer funding was directed to the implementation of approved practices by specific sectors.  The legislation will create a transparent competitively bid procurement program that will utilize taxpayer funding to purchase results, regardless of practice or sector, and transfer the risk from the taxpayer to the private sector.
 
The legislation is designed to protect the taxpayer from the risks inherent in the existing programs. The key protections built into the program include:
  • Private sector funding of the up-front project costs.
  • The public funding can only be used to purchase verified / measurable nutrient and sediment reductions after they are certified by the PA DEP and only as the reductions continue throughout the life of a multi-year contract.

  • The funding represents the total expense to taxpayers for the reductions under the agreement.
    • If a project receives other public funding (grants) as part of its implementation or operational funding, their funding under the awards program will be reduced accordingly.
    • This includes both capital costs and operating costs.
  • A competitively bid procurement program or equivalent will be used to direct awards. Measurable environmental benefits to the local community (e.g. nutrient/sediment/pathogen reductions to local streams) will be valued in the awards process.
  • The program will be a pilot, scheduled to sunset in 10 years.
I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation.



Introduced as SB475


Memo Updated: December 29, 2020 08:18 AM