PRINTER'S NO. 611
No. 551 Session of 1987
INTRODUCED BY PETERSON, MADIGAN, JUBELIRER, LEMMOND, RHOADES,
SHAFFER, CORMAN AND WILT, MARCH 11, 1987
REFERRED TO FINANCE, MARCH 11, 1987
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Rural Economic Development Program for rural
2 Pennsylvania; imposing additional powers and duties on the
3 Department of Commerce, the Department of Education and the
4 State System of Higher Education; making appropriations; and
5 making a repeal.
6 TABLE OF CONTENTS
7 Chapter 1. General Provisions
8 Section 101. Short title.
9 Section 102. Legislative purpose.
10 Chapter 3. Rural Research and Development
11 Section 301. Hardwood utilization.
12 Section 302. Brine research and development.
13 Section 303. Rural marketing and promotion.
14 Section 304. Rural tourism.
15 Section 305. Feasibility studies.
16 Chapter 5. Educational Programs
17 Section 501. Educational development programs.
18 Section 502. State System of Higher Education.
19 Chapter 7. Appropriations
1 Section 701. Appropriations to the Department of Commerce.
2 Section 702. Appropriation to the Department of Education.
3 Section 703. Appropriation to the State System of Higher
4 Education.
5 Section 704. Nonlapsing.
6 Chapter 9. Miscellaneous Provisions
7 Section 901. Repeal.
8 Section 902. Effective date.
9 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10 hereby enacts as follows:
11 CHAPTER 1
12 GENERAL PROVISIONS
13 Section 101. Short title.
14 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Rural
15 Economic Development Program Act.
16 Section 102. Legislative purpose.
17 The purpose of this act is to establish a comprehensive rural
18 economic development program for Pennsylvania as defined in this
19 act.
20 CHAPTER 3
21 RURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
22 Section 301. Hardwood utilization.
23 The Department of Commerce shall, through the Northcentral
24 Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, enter
25 into a contract with the Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group
26 for the purpose of achieving the following objectives:
27 (1) Promoting better efficiency of the existing hardwood
28 industries within this Commonwealth.
29 (2) Expanding the hardwood industrial base, including
30 the expansion of existing hardwood industries and the
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1 recruitment of new hardwood industries.
2 (3) Expanding the use of hardwood resources, including
3 new product development.
4 (4) Insuring cooperation and communication between the
5 hardwood industry and the Department of Agriculture, The
6 Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extention, the
7 Bureau of Forestry in the Department of Environmental
8 Resources, the Department of Commerce and the academic and
9 research community.
10 Section 302. Brine research and development.
11 (a) Departmental program.--The Department of Commerce shall
12 provide financial assistance to eligible applicants for
13 qualifying research and development projects to promote the
14 environmentally safe and economically viable management,
15 disposal and reuse of brine and other wastewaters produced in
16 conjunction with oil and gas operations in this Commonwealth.
17 (b) Project grants.--The financial assistance shall be used
18 for grants by the Advanced Technology Center of Central and
19 Northern Pennsylvania Inc., to be administered by a project
20 review committee.
21 (c) Composition of committee.--The project review committee
22 shall be composed of five members, all of whom shall be
23 residents of this Commonwealth. Four members shall be either
24 petroleum engineers, petroleum geologists or experienced
25 drillers' representatives designated by the Pennsylvania Oil and
26 Gas Association and Pennsylvania Natural Gas Associates. One
27 member shall be the Secretary of Environmental Resources or his
28 designated representative.
29 (d) Committee duties.--The project review committee shall
30 solicit and review applications for assistance and shall
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1 recommend for approval the type and level of funding for
2 qualifying projects.
3 (e) Matching grants.--Nonprofit institutions and
4 organizations and educational institutions shall provide
5 matching funds or support in an amount equal to no less than 15%
6 of the total project cost. Business enterprises and other
7 private persons shall provide matching funds or support in an
8 amount equal to no less than 50% of the total project cost.
9 (f) Definitions.--As used in this section the term "research
10 and development project" means an activity entirely or largely
11 conducted in Pennsylvania relating to:
12 (1) Basic and applied research concerning the
13 management, handling, disposal and reuse of brine and
14 wastewaters produced in association with the production of
15 oil and gas in this Commonwealth.
16 (2) Demonstration of appropriately scaled, innovative or
17 commercially unproven technology which facilities the
18 management, handling, disposal and reuse of oil and gas
19 production brines and which is economically viable for the
20 small independent oil and gas producers in this Commonwealth.
21 (3) Activities which remove obstacles to the management,
22 handling, disposal and reuse of brine and wastewaters
23 produced in association with the production of oil and gas in
24 this Commonwealth.
25 Section 303. Rural marketing and promotion.
26 (a) Program.--The Department of Commerce shall establish a
27 program for the development of a rural marketing plan and
28 promotion of industries, available commercial and industrial
29 sites and products indigenous to the area covered by local
30 development districts. The marketing plan shall be developed
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1 through cooperative efforts of existing economic development
2 groups within the region served by the local development
3 district and shall include a computerized inventory of available
4 industrial and commercial sites and supporting infrastructure
5 for each site.
6 (b) Administration.--The Department of Commerce shall
7 administer the program by providing grants to Appalachian Local
8 Development Districts, not to exceed $100,000 per district, for
9 the development of the marketing plan. Decisions concerning the
10 priority of a grant shall first consider those areas with the
11 highest level of unemployment and the extent of the rural area
12 served.
13 Section 304. Rural tourism.
14 (a) Department grants.--The Department of Commerce shall
15 provide grants to Appalachian Local Development Districts, not
16 to exceed $30,000 per district, for the development of a
17 regional tourism brochure and map designating the historic sites
18 and tourist attractions within the region served by the
19 district. This information shall be developed through
20 cooperative efforts of existing tourism promotion and
21 development agencies within the area served by the district.
22 (b) Regional centers.--Each local development district shall
23 establish a regional tourism development center as a component
24 of the economic development program of the local development
25 district.
26 Section 305. Feasibility studies.
27 The Department of Commerce shall make grants to the
28 appropriate local development districts to conduct the
29 following:
30 (1) A feasibility study conducted by the local
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1 development district or the county or any designee thereof,
2 to develop a regional tourism development and investment
3 strategy to determine the economic feasibility of a
4 recreational complex within the Allegheny National Forest.
5 (2) A feasibility study conducted by the local
6 development district or the county or any designee thereof,
7 to develop a regional tourism development and investment
8 strategy to determine the economic feasibility of a
9 recreational complex adjacent to the Cook Forest State Park.
10 CHAPTER 5
11 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
12 Section 501. Educational development programs.
13 The Department of Education shall enter into purchase of
14 service contracts with the following institutions:
15 (1) The University of Pittsburgh, Titusville Campus, for
16 the implementation of the instructional and student
17 development programs established for, but not limited to,
18 rural students coming from educationally disadvantaged
19 backgrounds.
20 (2) The Warren-Forest Higher Education Council for the
21 establishing of rural postsecondary services in Warren and
22 Forest Counties.
23 (3) The University of Pittsburgh, Bradford Campus, to
24 fund Elk County Higher Education Council.
25 (4) The Pennsylvania State University Cooperative
26 Extension for expansion of existing rural leadership training
27 programs.
28 Section 502. State System of Higher Education.
29 The State System of Higher Education shall develop a contract
30 with Mansfield University of the State System of Higher
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1 Education for the Mansfield University Rural Services Institute
2 to develop an education outreach program providing educational
3 tools geared to rural community needs.
4 CHAPTER 7
5 APPROPRIATIONS
6 Section 701. Appropriation to the Department of Commerce.
7 The sum of $1,025,000, or as much thereof as may be
8 necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of Commerce
9 for the fiscal year July 1, 1986, to June 30, 1987, to carry out
10 the provisions of Chapter 3. This appropriation shall be
11 allocated as follows:
12 (1) The sum of $200,000 is allocated for purposes of the
13 hardwood utilization program.
14 (2) The sum of $100,000 is allocated for purposes of the
15 brine research and development program.
16 (3) The sum of $500,000 is allocated for purposes of the
17 rural marketing and industrial promotion program.
18 (4) The sum of $175,000 is allocated for purposes of the
19 rural tourism program.
20 (5) The sum of $25,000 is allocated for purposes of the
21 Allegheny National Forest feasibility study.
22 (6) The sum of $25,000 is allocated for purposes of the
23 Cook Forest State Park feasibility study.
24 Section 702. Appropriation to the Department of Education.
25 The sum of $250,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary,
26 is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education for the
27 fiscal year July 1, 1986, to June 30, 1987, to carry out the
28 provisions of section 501. This appropriation shall be allocated
29 as follows:
30 (1) The sum of $100,000 shall be allocated to the
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1 student education development program at Titusville Campus.
2 (2) The sum of $100,000 shall be allocated to the rural
3 postsecondary education program in Warren and Forest
4 Counties.
5 (3) The sum of $35,000 shall be allocated for the
6 funding of the Elk County Higher Education Council.
7 (4) The sum of $15,000 shall be allocated for the
8 expansion of the rural leadership training program.
9 Section 703. Appropriation to the State System of Higher
10 Education.
11 The sum of $100,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary,
12 is hereby appropriated to the State System of Higher Education
13 for the fiscal year July 1, 1986, to June 30, 1987, to carry out
14 the provisions of section 502.
15 Section 704. Nonlapsing.
16 The appropriations made in sections 701, 702 and 703 shall be
17 continuing appropriations and shall not lapse until June 30,
18 1988.
19 CHAPTER 9
20 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
21 Section 901. Repeal.
22 The appropriation in the amount of $2,750,000 to the
23 Department of Commerce for Rural Economic Development in section
24 208 of the act of July 1, 1986 (P.L. , No.5A), known as the
25 General Appropriation Act of 1986, is repealed insofar as that
26 appropriation exceeds the sum of $1,375,000.
27 Section 902. Effective date.
28 This act shall take effect immediately.
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