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PA Department of Environmental Protection Dangerous levels of toxic chemicals are loose in our environment and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection doesn't have the money to protect you. One of Pennsylvania's most successful and vital environmental initiatives is heading toward ruin because Governor Edward G. Rendell's plan to expand and enhance Growing Greener was not passed before the Legislature adjourned in November. This is having a serious effect on our efforts to respond to toxic emergencies and clean up contaminated sites across the Commonwealth. The Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund is essential to Pennsylvania's ability to take on many of our most serious environmental issues. This fund, created under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, or HSCA, is our tool to respond immediately when toxic chemicals or hazardous substances are spilled or leaked, or otherwise found in the environment, to eliminate any threat to public health and safety. But according to the latest accounting figures from the Comptroller's Office, the fund faces a $14 million deficit before the end of the 2004-05 fiscal year, operating as business as usual. This means that sometime in the next six months emergency response contracts have to be canceled and/or the state's highly successful brownfields program has to be eliminated. Because of the fiscal crisis, the department already has stopped new public protection projects and has been forced to triage ongoing cleanups. In addition, the state may have to notify the federal government that DEP no longer is in a position to meet its obligations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation Liability Act, commonly referred to as Superfund. The hard fact is that the revenue simply isn't there anymore to address some of the very real public health threats in Pennsylvania. Case in point: On Thursday, Nov. 9, I visited East Norriton Township in Montgomery County, where routine sampling by the county for a new well in the area turned up concentrations of perchloroethylene, or PCE, at 561 parts per billion-more than 100 times the established safety limit for that toxic chemical. Normally, DEP immediately would provide safe drinking water for affected families. The department then would begin to put in place a long-term solution to clean up the pollution, and possibly build a public water system to take homes off contaminated well water. In addition, DEP would launch a thorough investigation to pinpoint the sources of pollution and identify any and all responsible parties. Those parties then would be forced to pick up the tab for the emergency actions that had to be taken. Because the fund is on the brink of bankruptcy, DEP can assist East Norriton Township only with some limited additional well sampling. The affected families are on their own to try to find the thousands of dollars it will take to protect themselves. More than 50 homes with private wells now are forced to use bottled water for drinking and cooking-an expense that these low-income individuals hardly can afford. Unfortunately, this situation is repeating itself across the state. The message here is clear: The Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund is in heading toward financial ruin. The fund is relying on hazardous waste fees and recovered cleanup costs that amount to only $4 million per year. Without the Governor's plan, funding levels will be woefully inadequate for a key environmental program that has operated on $50 million to $60 million a year for brownfield remediation, toxic emergencies and the cleanup of contaminated sites. Governor Rendell proposed an $800 million bond initiative to expand and enhance Growing Greener to improve the quality of life in Pennsylvania and help the state win the race for new business development. The legislature must vote to put the funding for Growing Greener on the ballot so voters can choose yes or no on the plan. Despite a letter from House and Senate Republican leaders stating they would do everything in their power to enact enabling legislation in the fall, the General Assembly adjourned last month without taking up the measure. The Governor's leadership is a lifeline for this program. But even if the Legislature fulfills its commitment and puts Growing Greener II on the fall ballot, the state still faces the prospects of finding a stopgap measure to keep the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund alive. Too much time already has passed. The impact of this financial crisis is very real. Communities are being affected. Residents are beginning to pay the price. For the sake of public health and environmental protection, it is absolutely imperative that Growing Greener II gets taken up as quickly as possible. CapNews Guest Speaker: Archives |
