CLEAN WATER - Good to the last drop!

There have been numerous writings in the news media the past several weeks expressing concern to outrage at proposed "clean water" cuts to state and federal budgets.

Clean water is life! It is essential for healthy communities, vibrant economies, environmental quality, and the quality of life we enjoy here in Pennsylvania, everyday. Plato summed it up best - “Only what is rare is valuable, and water, which is the best of all things…is also the cheapest.”

A study published in Forbes magazine (Nov. 29, 2012) finds Americans willing to pay more for water according to the Value of Water report, released by global water technology and equipment provider Xylem. The report found that 75 percent of Americans were willing to pay more for water infrastructure that conserves energy and 70 percent were willing to pay more for water to ensure that all Americans have access to clean water.

Last Tuesday, June 6th, Pennsylvania's independent Citizens Advisory Council Tuesday unanimously approved the text of a letter to Senate and House Appropriations Committee Chairs expressing serious concerns about current funding levels at the Department of Environmental Protection saying, in part, “consistent cuts to DEP over the last 2 decades has reached an unsustainable level.”

“At the same time, reliance on federal funding including augmentations and special funds where appropriate have risen to cover the decreasing General Fund dollars, but this solution also has finite applicability.

 Pennsylvania advocates for the Bay and clean water are hoping for new dedicated funding to clean up the Susquehanna River in the midst of another tough budget year in Harrisburg, where environmental programs are being cut again.

Legislation has been introduced to renew Pennsylvania’s popular Growing Greener program [Senate Bill 795 (Killion-R-Delaware)], which over nearly two decades has poured roughly $1.3 billion into protecting water resources and preserving open space and farmland.

But the Growing Greener program is running short of money, and lawmakers have yet to figure out how to pay for a new round of projects.

Nor are they any closer to finding the increased funds needed to deal with Pennsylvania’s polluted streams and rivers, its lax oversight of drinking water safety or its federally mandated obligation to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

It is clear to me that "clean water" should be the Commonwealth's number #1 priority! All else come afterwards. The Pennsylvania Constitution states:  

§ 27.  Natural resources and the public estate.

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.

(May 18, 1971, P.L.769, J.R.3).

What is the cost of clean water? According to the Circle of Blue's annual report on water rates, between 2010 and 2017 a family of four using 150 gallons per day on average, increase nationally from $72 to $108 per month.

 

So, how do we pay for clean water? In the simplest of terms, there are three ways to pay for clean water:

1. Consumptive use (i.e., drinking water)
2. Productive use (e.g., anybody who uses the public domain of water to produce goods and/or services for profit), and
3. Restorative use (i.e., wastewater treatment; pollution abatement and mitigation; source water protection).

I've always been reminded of the value of clean water from the old Maxwell House coffee commercial - "good to the last drop".

We'd like to hear from you and your ideas and suggestions on how Pennsylvania should fund clean water sustainably for today, and future generations.


 

Chesapeake Bay Implementation Plan Listening Session June 5, Formal Comment Period Now Open

Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Planning Steering Committee hosted a Chesapeake Bay Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan Kickoff and Listening Session June 5 at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

DEP also formally published notice in the June 3 PA Bulletin. The comment period on the planning process is open and will be accepting comments until July 7.

The purpose of the June 5 listening session is to gather ideas on how to meet the Chesapeake Bay cleanup milestone in each of these areas: urban and suburban stormwater, wastewater, agriculture, forestry, funding and local planning and area goals. 

Public input is specifically being invited to determine what initiatives are needed in agriculture, forestry, funding, local planning, stormwater and wastewater to improve the health of local streams, rivers and lakes.

The public is encouraged to answer the following questions in their comments: 

1. What key elements need to be included for this effort to be a success? What priority issues must be addressed in the Phase 3 WIP for you to consider it a success?
2. That measurable outcome does the Commonwealth need to achieve by 2025 that would make this effort successful? 
3. Is there a particular initiative, action, partnership or training that would aid this effort?, and 
4. Are there possibilities for continuing and enhancing current projects or initiatives?

In 2010, the EPA established a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to address chlorophyll-A, dissolved oxygen and clarity impairments within the Chesapeake Bay. A TMDL is a regulatory term in the Federal Clean Water Act describing a value of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards.

Nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment are the main pollutants to the Chesapeake Bay that cause the previously listed issues. WIPs are the roadmaps for how the Chesapeake Bay states, in partnership with Federal and local governments, will achieve the Chesapeake Bay TMDL allocations.

The Commonwealth is mandated by the EPA to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment levels in waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed counties by 2025.

The Commonwealth fell short of its Phase 1 goal, set in 2010, and Phase 2 goal, set in 2012.

This year, the EPA is conducting a midpoint assessment of these levels, the results of which will define how the Commonwealth designs its Phase 3 WIP to achieve the desired reductions in pollutants.

Since the Commonwealth has not met the EPA's requirements to reduce water pollution under the requirements of Federal court orders and regulations, the Commonwealth is working to focus and increase resources and technical assistance, reinvigorate partnerships and create a culture of compliance in protecting the Commonwealth's water quality.

Comments, including comments submitted by e-mail, must include the originator's name and address. Commentators are encouraged to submit comments using the Department's online eComment system. You can also see the comments submitted by others on that webpage. Written comments should be submitted by e-mail to: ecomment@pa.gov or by mail to the Department of Environmental Protection, Policy Office, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063.  Comments submitted by facsimile will not be accepted.

Over Two Hundred Kick Off Planning to Reduce Water Pollution in Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed Counties

This past Monday, June 5th, 2017, more than 200 Pennsylvanians representing local governments, the farming community, and other stakeholders gathered today to share ideas for a plan to best achieve federally mandated water pollution reductions in the state’s 43 counties in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and improve the environment and economy for all.

 

The Departments of Environmental Protection, Agriculture, and Conservation and Natural Resources are partnering in leading the charge.

 

“Clean water is essential to Pennsylvanians’ quality of life,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “We want vital communities. We need healthy farms. We need economic development, jobs, and thriving businesses. All of this depends on clean water sources.”

 

To succeed, the plan must be locally implementable, said McDonnell, accounting for economic realities as well as environmental benefits of clean local waters. This makes on-the-ground committed action essential. 

 

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding noted that “the agricultural sector accounts for the lion’s share of the clean water challenge. The plan developed from today’s listening session must recognize the co-equal goals of improving water quality while preserving healthy and viable farms.”

 

“We know that many farmers have been voluntarily implementing best management practices on their own sites,” Redding noted, citing positive success stories, such as the best management practices some farmers have initiated on their own. “The 2016 survey tracked and quantified impressive on-farm measures taken at the farmers’ own expense,” he added.

 

DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn emphasized the importance of connecting more Pennsylvanians to their local streams, rivers, and lakes to help them understand the impact land use has on water. Having trees and other vegetation on a river bank, for example, plays a key role in keeping sediment out of the water. “When land is healthy, water is healthy,” Dunn said, noting that DCNR is working on developing public outreach in this area.

 

The discussions formed the bulk of a daylong public meeting at the Radisson Hotel Harrisburg in Camp Hill hosted by the steering committee leading development of Phase 3 of Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan. 

 

Participants represented township, city, and county governments; the agriculture community; conservation districts; river basin commissions; watershed associations; conservancies; businesses; colleges; and many other entities.

 

In breakout groups, they discussed initiatives they believe are needed in agriculture, forestry, funding, local planning, stormwater, and wastewater to improve the health of local streams, rivers, and lakes. For anyone who couldn’t attend in person, a public online comment period is open through July 7 on DEP eComments.

 

Pennsylvania is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment levels in waters in its Bay watershed counties by 2025. The Commonwealth has fallen considerably short of its Phase 1 goal, set in 2010, and Phase 2 goal, set in 2012. 

 

While Pennsylvania has made significant progress toward meeting the EPA targets, particularly since launch of the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Strategy, considerable work remains to be done.
 

The event was scheduled to coincide with the second annual Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week, June 3-10, instituted by the Chesapeake Bay Program.

 

The Watershed Alliance of York (WAY), Inc. was present and participated by leading two discussion sessions, one each on:

• Need for continuous real-tim water quality monitoring at the local level, and 
• Enforcing the existing environmental laws and regulations to create positive tension and voluntary compliance 

 Lively discussions were had during both sessions and group consensus on key outcomes and partners were presented to DEP.

 

I encourage all York Countians to get involved and be heard! Clean water is critical to community health, vibrant economies, and the quality of life we all enjoy.