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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/24/2024 02:23 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=15522
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: December 3, 2014 10:28 AM
From: Senator Elder A. Vogel, Jr.
To: All Senate members
Subject: Competitive Bidding - Low-Cost Watershed Nutrient Reduction
 
In the near future I intend to re-introduce legislation from 14/15 session that will enable opportunities to comply with Federal nutrient management requirements. SB 944 PN 1209

Historically, the state has been subjected to costly mandates from the EPA for clean water activities. The Susquehanna watershed is currently under a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirement from the EPA. The existing approach to addressing Bay nutrient reduction issues is not driven by cost effectiveness. The existing approach mandates high cost, low value solutions for nutrient reduction such as wastewater and storm water upgrades.

In March of 2012, a Chesapeake Bay Commission (CBC) study titled “Nutrient Credit Trading for CB---An Economic Analysis” (http://www.chesbay.us/Publications/nutrient-trading-2012.pdf) concluded that verified nutrient reductions from agriculture would significantly reduce Chesapeake Bay nutrient TMDL compliance costs. Moreover, in January 2013, the PA Legislative Budget & Finance Committee (LBFC) issued a report and projected that a competitively bid verified nutrient procurement program would reduce nutrient compliance costs by up to 80% (http://lbfc.legis.state.pa.us/reports/2013/77.PDF). The report focused on large scale agricultural projects as the primary source of low cost large scale nutrient reductions.

Please contact Michael Rader at 787-3076 if you have any questions.


Introduced as SB724