PRINTER'S NO. 1303
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1239
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY QUINN, HERRIN, ZABEL, ZIMMERMAN, FREEMAN, HILL-
EVANS, WEBSTER, NEILSON, GUENST, MADDEN, HOHENSTEIN, SAPPEY,
CONKLIN, BRIGGS AND VITALI, APRIL 20, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
APRIL 20, 2021
AN ACT
Amending Title 27 (Environmental Resources) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in environmental stewardship and
watershed protection, further providing for legislative
findings and for agencies and establishing duties for the
Department of Community and Economic Development, the
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the Pennsylvania Game
Commission and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Growing Greener III Act.
Section 2. Sections 6102 and 6105 of Title 27 of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
§ 6102. Legislative findings.
The General Assembly hereby determines, declares and finds as
follows:
[(1) Ninety-six percent of the water-quality-impaired
watersheds in this Commonwealth are polluted because of
nonpoint sources of pollution such as past mining activities,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
urban and agricultural runoff, atmospheric deposition, on-lot
sewage systems and earthmoving.
(2) The Commonwealth continues to have unmet needs in
the area of water and sewer infrastructure. New and improved
water sources, treatment and distribution systems are
necessary for public drinking water supplies.
(3) The Commonwealth owns approximately 2.4 million
acres of State park and State forest lands and many of these
lands suffer from past environmental problems, including
unreclaimed mines, acid mine drainage and abandoned oil and
gas wells.
(4) Open space, greenways, recreational trails, river
corridors, fish and wildlife habitats, parks and recreation
areas and scenic environments protect the environment,
conserve natural resources and add value to communities.
(5) State programs and State funding should provide
maximum flexibility for elected county and municipal
governmental officials to identify, prioritize and address
local environmental concerns, including odor abatement
problems at sewage treatment plants.]
(1) As stated in section 27 of Article I of the
Constitution of Pennsylvania:
The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to
the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and
esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public
natural resources are the common property of all the
people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of
these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and
maintain them for the benefit of all the people.
(2) The Commonwealth has an obligation to provide
20210HB1239PN1303 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
greater investments to conserve land and water resources,
restore damaged waterways and land, and create prosperous and
sustainable communities.
(3) Clean water is vital:
(i) to the continued economic growth of this
Commonwealth;
(ii) to support tourism, agriculture, industry,
power generation and recreation;
(iii) for drinking water supplies; and
(iv) to protect public health and aquatic life.
(4) This Commonwealth has over 26,000 miles of polluted
streams and rivers that do not meet Federal and State water
quality standards to protect aquatic life and provide
swimmable rivers and drinkable water supplies.
(5) Nonpoint sources of pollution, including past mining
activities, urban and agricultural runoff, atmospheric
deposition, on-lot sewage systems and earthmoving continue to
have a significant negative impact on this Commonwealth's
environment.
(6) This Commonwealth continues to have unmet needs in
the area of water and sewer infrastructure. New and improved
water sources, treatment and distribution systems are
necessary for public drinking water supplies.
(7) As noted in the Commonwealth's award-winning 2014-
2019 Pennsylvania Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation
Plan, our 5,600 local parks and recreation areas are the most
frequently visited recreational asset in this Commonwealth,
but most face the challenges of limited funding, aging
infrastructure, deferred maintenance and limited capacity to
carry out programs and services.
20210HB1239PN1303 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(8) The Commonwealth owns approximately 2.4 million
acres of State park and State forest lands and many of these
lands suffer from past environmental problems, including
unreclaimed mines, acid mine drainage and abandoned oil and
gas wells. Our State park system is also burdened by a
tremendous backlog in infrastructure and deferred maintenance
needs, including dams, roads, bridges, water and wastewater
treatment facilities, buildings and boat launches.
(9) Abandoned mines scar 189,000 acres in 44 counties
and are the cause of more than 5,300 miles of biologically
dead streams.
(10) More than 2,000 working farms remain on county
waiting lists to be preserved for continued agricultural use.
(11) Open space, greenways, recreational trails, river
corridors, fish and wildlife habitats, parks and recreation
areas and scenic environments protect the environment,
conserve natural resources and add economic and quality-of-
life value to communities.
(12) Investments in urban parks, trails, greenways,
riverfronts, green infrastructure and other natural assets
are increasingly understood to be advantageous to local
economies, attracting and retaining residents and providing
opportunities to creatively address significant challenges,
including storm water and flooding.
(13) State programs and State funding should provide
maximum flexibility for elected county and municipal
government officials to identify, prioritize and address
local environmental concerns.
§ 6105. Agencies.
(a) The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.--
20210HB1239PN1303 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(1) The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
shall utilize money it receives from the fund for the
following purposes:
(i) To rehabilitate, repair and develop State park
and State forest lands and facilities and the acquisition
of [interior] lands [within] for State parks and State
forests.
(ii) To provide grants to a county or other
municipality, council of governments, conservation
districts and authorized organizations for the purpose of
planning, education, acquisition, development,
rehabilitation and repair of greenways, recreational
trails, including connections between trails, open space,
natural areas, river corridors and access to riverfronts,
watersheds, community [and heritage] parks and recreation
facilities; community conservation and beautification
projects; forest conservation[;], including conservation
of forested riparian buffers; heritage areas and other
conservation and recreation purposes. Grants under this
paragraph may not be used by an authorized organization
for land acquisition unless the authorized organization
obtains the approval of all counties in which the land is
situated. Grant moneys may also be used for the
acquisition of farmland for the purposes set forth in
this paragraph.
(iii) To provide grants to a county or other
municipality and authorized organizations for the purpose
of research, planning, inventories and technical
assistance intended to protect and conserve the
biological diversity of this Commonwealth.
20210HB1239PN1303 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(iv) To provide funding to the Wild Resource
Conservation Fund for the purposes and programs provided
in section 6108(b) (relating to Wild Resource
Conservation Fund and duties of Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources).
(v) To provide funding for the Heritage Area Program
established under Article XVI-J of the act of April 9,
1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code.
(2) The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
may require matching funds as a condition of the award of a
grant under this subsection.
(b) The Department of Environmental Protection.--
(1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall
utilize money it receives from the fund for the following
purposes:
(i) To implement acid mine drainage abatement and
cleanup efforts and abandoned mine land cleanup efforts
and plug abandoned and orphan oil and gas wells.
(ii) To provide funding for technical assistance and
financial incentives to facilitate remining.
(iii) To provide grants to a county or other
municipality, council of governments, county conservation
districts, watershed organizations and other authorized
organizations for acid mine drainage abatement, mine
cleanup efforts and well plugging.
(iv) To provide grants and technical assistance to a
county or other municipality, council of governments,
county conservation districts, watershed organizations
and other authorized organizations to plan and implement
local watershed-based conservation efforts.
20210HB1239PN1303 - 6 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(v) To improve water-quality-impaired watersheds,
including those polluted by past mining activities,
agricultural and urban runoff, atmospheric deposition,
on-lot sewage systems and earthmoving activities.
(vii) For watershed protection.
(viii) For grants to characterize, remediate or
eliminate environmental hazards at abandoned industrial
properties.
(ix) For nonstructural floodplain management and
mitigation measures to minimize flood damage, reclaim and
restore the quality of floodplains, remove obstacles and
improve the natural functions of stream channels.
(x) For grants to municipalities and municipal
authorities to design and build projects and implement
best management practices, with an emphasis on green
infrastructure, in order to implement Municipal Separate
Storm Sewer System (MS4) plans or that count toward the
reductions identified in the Pennsylvania Integrated
Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report, implement
Total Maximum Daily Load Plans or the Chesapeake Bay
Total Maximum Daily Load requirements.
(xi) To establish, with the cooperation and approval
of the authority, a water quality trading market that
includes credits for reductions in nutrient, sediment and
storm water pollution.
(2) County conservation districts may further distribute
grants received under this section to watershed organizations
and other authorized organizations to assist in the
implementation of this chapter.
(3) The Department of Environmental Protection may
20210HB1239PN1303 - 7 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
require matching funds as a condition of the award of a grant
under this subsection.
(4) For the period commencing with the effective date of
this chapter and ending June 30, 2004, the Department of
Environmental Protection may utilize up to 10% of the money
allocated annually to it under section 6104(d) (relating to
fund) to provide grants for safe drinking water projects and
wastewater treatment projects. Grants under this paragraph
shall be made for the same purposes and shall be subject to
the same limitations as grants authorized in former section
6110 (relating to environmental infrastructure grants to
water and wastewater treatment facilities).
(c) Department of Agriculture.--Funds allocated to the
Department of Agriculture under this chapter shall be [deposited
in the] used for the following purposes:
(1) For counties to preserve farmland through the
Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Fund [and are]
subject to the provisions of the act of June 30, 1981
(P.L.128, No.43), known as the Agricultural Area Security
Law.
(2) For grants to authorized organizations to preserve
farmland through the purchase of agricultural conservation
easements.
(3) For disbursement to the State Conservation
Commission for the cost of tax credits for eligible
agricultural operations that meet the requirements of the
Resource Enhancement and Protection Tax Credit under Article
XVII-E of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as
the Tax Reform Code of 1971.
(4) To provide funding and technical assistance, in
20210HB1239PN1303 - 8 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
cooperation with the State Conservation Commission, to assist
the owners of farms and other properties in improving the
quality of the soil, water and air through the installation
and maintenance of best management practices.
(5) To encourage new farmers and enhance their access to
farmland and capital through a low-interest loan program
administered by the Department of Agriculture.
(d) The authority.--The authority shall utilize money it
receives from the fund to provide financial assistance in the
form of grants and matching grants for storm water, water and
sewer infrastructure projects, including construction or
rehabilitation of collection and conveyance systems. The
authority shall develop criteria to be used to award grants
under this subsection. The criteria and proposed changes thereto
shall be submitted to the Environmental Resources and Energy
Committee of the Senate and the Environmental Resources and
Energy Committee of the House of Representatives for review and
comment. The committees shall have 60 days to submit comments to
the authority. Criteria shall be reviewed by the authority and
the committees at least once every three years.
(d.1) Department of Community and Economic Development.--The
Department of Community and Economic Development shall utilize
money it receives from the fund for the following purposes:
(1) For grants to support community planning efforts.
(2) For grants to support the greening of urban
communities, including, but not limited to, bicycle and
pedestrian trails, greenways, downtown parks, community
gardens, retrofits of significant community buildings,
streetscape improvements and renewable energy projects. The
grants shall have a demonstrable environmental or
20210HB1239PN1303 - 9 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
conservation benefit. The Department of Community and
Economic Development shall consult with the Department of
Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources on the recommendations of projects to
be funded.
(d.2) Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.--Funds
allocated to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission under
this chapter shall be used for the following purposes:
(1) Improvements to public access areas owned by the
commission or grants to municipalities or organizations for
the purpose of improving public access to the waters of this
Commonwealth.
(2) Maintenance and rehabilitation of dams located at
lakes owned by the commission, including the installation of
habitat enhancements and improved public access while lakes
are drawn down for dam repairs.
(3) Upgrades and improvements to State fish hatcheries
to maintain and improve water quality.
(4) Grants to organizations that participate in the
Cooperative Nursery Program.
(5) Projects to improve fish habitat, including, but not
limited to, instream fish habitat, riparian buffers, fish
passages and the removal of small dams.
(d.3) Pennsylvania Game Commission.--Funds allocated to the
Pennsylvania Game Commission under this chapter shall be used
for the following purposes:
(1) To rehabilitate water control structures on State
game lands in order to improve wetland habitat and water
quality.
(2) For improvements to facilities on State game lands,
20210HB1239PN1303 - 10 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
including, but not limited to, enhanced access for persons
with disabilities and older persons and the construction of
two wildlife conservation education centers.
(d.4) The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.--
Funds allocated to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission under this chapter shall be used for a historic
preservation project grant program for the planning and
development of publicly accessible historic resources listed in
or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic
Places.
(e) Administrative expense limitation.--The departments,
commissions and the authority may not expend more than 2.5% of
the moneys received from the fund on administrative expenses.
The Department of Environmental Protection may not expend more
than an aggregate of 2.5% of the moneys received from the fund
and the moneys directed to the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund
pursuant to section 6104(d)(4) and (5) on administrative
expenses. Grant recipients that receive moneys from the fund for
the purposes set forth in this section may not expend more than
5% of the moneys received from the fund on administrative
expenses.
(f) Expenditure limitation.--No moneys made available
through the fund shall be used for any purpose which, directly
or indirectly, precludes access to or use of any forested land
for the practice of sustainable forestry and commercial
production of timber or other forest products. This subsection
shall not apply to funds used [by the Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources, counties or municipalities] for the
purchase or improvement of park land to be used for public
recreation.
20210HB1239PN1303 - 11 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(g) Regulations.--The departments, the commissions and the
authority may promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the
purposes of this chapter.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
20210HB1239PN1303 - 12 -
1
2
3
4