PRINTER'S NO. 959
No. 112 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY PIPPY, KASUNIC, M. WHITE, FONTANA, COSTA, BOSCOLA,
WASHINGTON, PUNT, ORIE, ERICKSON, TARTAGLIONE, RAFFERTY,
O'PAKE, BRUBAKER, LAVALLE, MUSTO, FERLO, LOGAN, EARLL,
C. WILLIAMS, WONDERLING, WAUGH, ROBBINS, STOUT, FOLMER,
McILHINNEY, D. WHITE, GREENLEAF, TOMLINSON, BROWNE AND
ARMSTRONG, MAY 2, 2007
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MAY 2, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Senior
2 Environment Corps and designating the month of May 2007 as
3 "Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps Month."
4 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps was
5 founded in May 1997 as the first Statewide program of its kind
6 in the United States to give seniors a meaningful opportunity to
7 help monitor and protect water quality and to share their
8 concern for and knowledge of the environment with others,
9 especially younger generations; and
10 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps has grown
11 from just under 200 volunteers in 1997 to now more than 2,900
12 members throughout this Commonwealth; and
13 WHEREAS, Volunteers with the Pennsylvania Senior Environment
14 Corps have taken the initiative to go through special training
15 and have been provided the equipment to monitor water quality in
16 52 counties; and
1 WHEREAS, Members of the Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps
2 now monitor water quality at 628 sites throughout this
3 Commonwealth and have generated more than 469,000 units of water
4 quality data over the last ten years using a quality assurance
5 plan officially accepted by the Department of Environmental
6 Protection and the United States Environmental Protection
7 Agency; and
8 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps created
9 the first Internet-based water quality testing result database
10 allowing citizen monitoring groups to post water sample results
11 and retrieve them for analysis; and
12 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps members
13 contribute more than 37,400 volunteer hours annually to do water
14 sampling and to educate the public and youths about water
15 quality and other issues contributing the equivalent of more
16 than $8 million worth of volunteer time during its ten-year
17 history; and
18 WHEREAS, Volunteers with the Pennsylvania Senior Environment
19 Corps have expanded their activities to include mentoring high
20 school students for Envirothon competitions, locating and
21 marking more than 600 abandoned oil and gas wells, educating the
22 public on how to protect local drinking water supplies and on
23 the proper disposal of household hazardous waste, clearing
24 invasive species from watersheds, photodocumenting the results
25 and progress of abandoned mine reclamation projects and
26 educating the public on West Nile virus and the dangers of radon
27 in homes; and
28 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps Program
29 was recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme on
30 its Global 500 Honour Roll for its contribution to protecting
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1 the environment, joining the work of individuals like Jacques
2 Cousteau and Jane Goodall; and
3 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps was
4 recognized by the President's Council on Sustainable Development
5 and Renew America as an outstanding example of community
6 participation; and
7 WHEREAS, Members of local chapters of the Pennsylvania Senior
8 Environment Corps have received numerous honors and recognition
9 from county governments, watershed groups and other
10 organizations; therefore be it
11 RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate members of the
12 Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps for their volunteer
13 efforts to protect and monitor water quality in this
14 Commonwealth's rivers and streams; and be it further
15 RESOLVED, That the Senate honor members of the Pennsylvania
16 Senior Environment Corps for their initiative in educating the
17 public and young people about the environment and protecting our
18 water, air and land; and be it further
19 RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of May 2007 as
20 "Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps Month" in recognition of
21 the valuable service Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps
22 volunteers perform for the citizens and the environment of this
23 Commonwealth.
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