PRINTER'S NO. 3004
No. 500 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY BEBKO-JONES, READSHAW, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI,
CAWLEY, CLYMER, COHEN, CRAHALLA, DALEY, DeLUCA, DENLINGER,
DeWEESE, DIVEN, J. EVANS, FABRIZIO, FICHTER, GEORGE, GERGELY,
GINGRICH, GOOD, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, JOSEPHS, KOTIK, MANN,
MARKOSEK, NAILOR, PISTELLA, BELARDI, REICHLEY, ROSS,
SCAVELLO, SHANER, SOLOBAY, STABACK, SURRA, THOMAS, TIGUE,
YOUNGBLOOD, YUDICHAK, DERMODY, PETRONE, KIRKLAND, LEVDANSKY
AND FRANKEL, NOVEMBER 1, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
NOVEMBER 1, 2005
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the General Assembly to reinstate funding for the
2 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Sewage
3 Treatment Plant Operations Grant Program.
4 WHEREAS, Act 339 of 1953 was enacted by the General Assembly
5 to preserve and improve the purity of the waters of this
6 Commonwealth by providing local governments with the funding
7 needed through the Sewage Treatment Plant Operations Grant to
8 construct and maintain sewage treatment plants in accordance
9 with the Clean Streams Program; and
10 WHEREAS, Local governments and municipal authorities cannot
11 be expected to further invest and replace Pennsylvania's aging
12 infrastructure, including sewage treatment facilities, without
13 the acquired financial resources to do so; and
14 WHEREAS, The Sewage Treatment Plant Operations Grant helped
15 local governments and municipal authorities defray costs
1 associated with acquiring, operating and improving the
2 infrastructure of sewage treatment plants; and
3 WHEREAS, The General Assembly has failed to include funding
4 for the Sewage Treatment Plant Operations Grant Program in the
5 State budget since fiscal year 2003-2004; and
6 WHEREAS, Over the past 50 years, the Sewage Treatment Plant
7 Operations Grant Program has provided $875,000,000 in subsidies
8 to municipal and sewage authorities, school districts and
9 counties; and
10 WHEREAS, The Sewage Treatment Plant Operations Grant Program
11 has helped more than 1,000 recipients Statewide finance the
12 construction, operation and maintenance of sewage treatment
13 facilities; and
14 WHEREAS, Although other programs at the Federal and State
15 level have been developed to minimize local governments' costs
16 associated with constructing and operating sewage treatment
17 facilities, the Sewage Treatment Plant Operations Grant Program
18 is vital to the management and maintenance of sewage facilities
19 and a welcome source of local government funding; and
20 WHEREAS, Elimination of funding from the Sewage Treatment
21 Plant Operations Grant Program has caused municipal authorities
22 to implement significant rate increases for sewage operations,
23 causing greater financial hardship for elderly customers and
24 low-income families already troubled by ever-increasing home
25 energy costs; and
26 WHEREAS, The loss of Sewage Treatment Plant Operations Grant
27 Program funding has a significant impact on local governments'
28 budgets and has contributed to municipality borrowing from other
29 arenas, affecting construction of other items; therefore be it
30 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the General
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1 Assembly to reinstate funding for the Sewage Treatment Plant
2 Operations Grant Program; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That this funding be implemented as soon as
4 possible to assist local governments' sewage treatment plant
5 costs and thereby avoid unnecessary fee increases to
6 subscribers.
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