In a victory for the Susquehanna and Potomac river basins, Pennsylvania’s 2022 General Assembly passed a state budget that establishes the new Clean Streams Fund program. The Clean Streams Fund is extremely timely considering that more than one-third of Pennsylvania’s 86,000 miles of streams are so polluted that they are considered “impaired.”
Pennsylvania’s new state budget – passed with broad bipartisan support – brings an historic investment in programs and initiatives to benefit the environment across the Commonwealth:
- $100 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds for parks and recreation
- $220 million for the Clean Streams Fund to address agricultural run-off and mine drainage, especially in how it affects the Chesapeake Bay.
- $320 million for sewer and water projects to ensure that our communities have access to safe and clean water and that our streams and rivers aren’t infected by faulty or outdated water treatment systems.
New programs include the Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program, aimed at helping Pennsylvania farmers implement more conservation practices on their land, and the Municipal Stormwater Assistance Program, providing funding to municipalities to plan and implement practices that reduce stormwater runoff and improve local streams.This legislation will also cut emissions and foster more energy efficiency in homes across Pennsylvania.
This victory for clean water comes with more positive news. For over a decade, clean water advocates have sought updates to Pennsylvania’s Fertilizer Act to include more protections for waterways. Last updated in 2001, Pennsylvania’s Fertilizer Act requires state licenses for manufacturers, sets registration rules for fertilizer products, and establishes minimum labeling standards. This July, the Fertilizer Law of 2022 was signed into law establishing more environmentally beneficial turfgrass-management standards by requiring state licenses for manufacturers, setting registration rules for fertilizer products, and establishing minimum labeling standards.
In the Susquehanna and Potomac river basins alone, roughly the center half of the state, Pennsylvanians apply roughly 22 million pounds of nitrogen in the form of lawn fertilizer every year. The new Fertilizer Law of 2022 will help to ensure that anyone – not just farmers – can contribute to reducing nitrogen pollution. Tackling excess fertilizer pollution through the measures enacted will go a long way in improving the health of local rivers and streams across the Commonwealth.
As we applaud Pennsylvania’s historic investment in clean water initiatives, we look to the future where we need to find a permanent funding strategy for stopping pollution from flowing into the Susquehanna River and the Bay. This infusion of federal funding will make an impact, but we need sustained funding to protect Pennsylvania’s clean water and communities. Identifying and securing permanent funding will be difficult and probably require a suite of funding strategies. The incoming general assembly will comprise a large class of new legislators that will require education on the critical environmental, public health, climate and environmental justice issues that we need to address for future generations. We have much work still to do to secure a just and clean water future for Pennsylvania.
EN 
ES