Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approves storm water bill

This week, the Pennsylvania Senate passed legislation that would add to the options available for local governments to address the widespread problem of storm water runoff. Senate Bill 1255, sponsored by Senator Ted Erickson, R-Delaware, was approved by a unanimous 46-0 vote.

Senate Bill 1255 builds on the passage of Act 68 of 2013, also sponsored by Senator Erickson, that allows local governments to form storm water authorities.   

Storm water authorities will allow communities to work together to address storm water issues on a watershed basis. They could also provide a potential source of stable funding for storm water projects and planning as municipalities work to fulfill their federal and state clean water obligations.

Senate Bill 1255 would give storm water authorities the option to establish a program to allow property owners to reduce any charges or fees by implementing and maintaining best storm water management practices. These best management practices would reduce the contribution to flooding and polluted runoff from individual properties and provide an incentive for private storm water management.

PennFuture thanks members of the Senate for their unanimous support of the bill, and Senator Erickson for his leadership in sponsoring Senate Bill 1255.

The bill now heads to the House Local Government Committee, where Chair Kate Harper, R-Montgomery, is the sponsor of identical legislation in the form of House Bill 2144. 

Steve Stroman is state policy director for PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg. He tweets @SteveStroman1.

VICTORY: The 2010 clean water regulations

This post is one in a month-long series speaking to 15 of PennFuture's significant victories. It was 15 years ago this September that we began our work to protect the environment and champion a clean energy economy.

In 2010, Pennsylvania adopted a pair of crucial clean water regulations that protect the drinking water of millions of Pennsylvanians and the health of our very best streams. PennFuture worked in concert with a coalition of organizations to pass both regulations.

One regulation protects over 20,000 miles of our best streams by requiring that new development projects along Exceptional Value and High Quality streams must maintain a 150-foot buffer between earth disturbances and the waterways. These buffers are one of the most cost-effective and best management practices available to control sediment and nutrient pollution of our streams and rivers. Vegetative buffers also reduce storm water pollution, create and protect wildlife habitat, and are vital to the health of cold water fish species.

The other regulation created a total dissolved solids (TDS) standard for waste water treatment that protects aquatic life and the quality of our drinking water. In particular, the regulation requires gas drilling companies that discharge water polluted with TDS to treat the discharges to meet safe drinking water standards.

In 2008, high TDS levels in the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh affected the drinking water supplied to over 330,000 people. The high TDS levels also threatened to shut down industrial facilities, including some owned by U.S. Steel, that depend on fresh river water for their operations.

Unconventional shale gas operations usually result in high levels of TDS, primarily chlorides, because of substances in the shale that dissolve during hydrofracturing operations. Thanks to these regulations, the drilling industry now must treat its waste water to the higher standards. As a result, more and more gas companies are moving to recycle their waste water.

PennFuture will celebrate 15 years of environmental victories on September 25. Please consider joining us!