PRINTER'S NO. 1446
No. 207 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY VANCE, JUBELIRER, BRIGHTBILL, M. WHITE, MUSTO,
WAUGH, WENGER, PICCOLA, GORDNER, ARMSTRONG, MADIGAN, RHOADES,
EARLL, THOMPSON AND LEMMOND, JANUARY 3, 2006
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JANUARY 3, 2006
A RESOLUTION
1 Directing the Department of Environmental Protection to place a
2 moratorium on all actions required of affected entities
3 relating to implementation of the Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay
4 Tributary Strategy for a period of nine months from the date
5 the adoption of this resolution.
6 WHEREAS, The Chesapeake Bay is the nation's largest estuary,
7 with its watershed spanning 64,000 square miles, including parts
8 of six states and the District of Columbia; and
9 WHEREAS, The Chesapeake Bay is a biologically diverse area
10 that provides habitat for more than 3,600 species of plants,
11 fish and shellfish; and
12 WHEREAS, The Chesapeake Bay has the highest land-to-water
13 ratio of any estuary in the world, allowing the bay to be
14 susceptible to activities that take place on surrounding lands;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, These activities have led to a decline in the
17 overall environmental quality of the Chesapeake Bay including a
18 decline in water clarity, oyster and fish populations and
19 underwater grasses that provide habitat for various species of
1 shellfish; and
2 WHEREAS, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found
3 through numerous studies of the Chesapeake Bay that excess
4 nutrients from agricultural development, population growth and
5 discharges from wastewater treatment plants along with
6 overharvesting, habitat loss and disease have contributed to an
7 overall decline in the aquatic health and environmental quality
8 of the bay; and
9 WHEREAS, The environmental status of the bay has led the
10 Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tristate legislative assembly
11 comprising Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of
12 Columbia and the EPA, to adopt voluntary agreements to restore
13 the environmental integrity of the bay; and
14 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth has recognized the role it must
15 play in being a contributing partner with the other Chesapeake
16 Bay Commission states in helping to improve the environmental
17 well-being of the bay and has worked diligently over the last
18 two decades to implement programs that will improve the waters
19 of the bay; and
20 WHEREAS, In the most recent voluntary agreement, the
21 participating Chesapeake Bay Commission states established an
22 agenda for environmental improvements to the bay calling for
23 initiatives that will further address restoring vital habitats,
24 water quality and developing sound land use practices that will
25 maintain reduced pollutant loadings for the bay; and
26 WHEREAS, The Department of Environmental Protection has
27 released "Pennsylvania's Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy" in
28 response to these initiatives that calls for the reductions of
29 nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment entering the Susquehanna and
30 Potomac River basins and eventually, the Chesapeake Bay; and
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1 WHEREAS, These pollutants come from agricultural sources,
2 storm water runoff, wastewater treatment plants, septic systems,
3 forested lands and atmospheric deposition; and
4 WHEREAS, The strategy envisions that major stakeholders,
5 including the agricultural community, local government,
6 individual homeowners, businesses and land developers, will need
7 to contribute more than $8 billion to achieve this pollutant
8 reduction effort by the year 2010; and
9 WHEREAS, The costs associated with corrective actions are not
10 commensurate with available financial resources from the
11 Federal, State or local governments and may require a
12 disproportionate financial burden being placed upon individual
13 citizens, businesses and farmers through increased rates, taxes,
14 fees or new practices; and
15 WHEREAS, Through the course of testimony during public
16 meetings on the strategy in both the Senate and the House of
17 Representatives, a number of issues were raised regarding:
18 (1) the participation of major stakeholders in
19 developing the strategy;
20 (2) whether the chosen activities and expenditures
21 outlined in the strategy represent the best investment of
22 public and private moneys to accomplish overall nutrient
23 reduction goals;
24 (3) the lack of any legislative or regulatory initiative
25 to provide a review and oversight process that ensures
26 adequate public review and comment; and
27 (4) consideration of alternative approaches;
28 and
29 WHEREAS, These public meetings further highlighted the fact
30 that the key elements necessary to facilitate implementation of
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1 the strategy in the form of a workable nutrient trading program
2 and a watershed permitting process are not yet fully developed
3 and deployed; and
4 WHEREAS, The Senate support efforts directed to the
5 environmental improvement of the Chesapeake Bay and its
6 surrounding watershed provided those efforts can be clearly
7 demonstrated to yield the environmental benefits sought for the
8 financial resources expended without creating a disproportionate
9 financial burden on the taxpayers of this Commonwealth or
10 sacrificing important and needed economic development projects
11 to move forward; therefore be it
12 RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Department of
13 Environmental Protection to place a moratorium on all actions
14 required of affected entities relating to implementation of the
15 Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay tributary strategy for a period of
16 nine months from the date of the adoption of this Resolution;
17 and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That during this period the Department of
19 Environmental Protection be directed to:
20 (1) implement a formal strategy stakeholder process to
21 obtain further input from major stakeholders, the general
22 public and the General Assembly;
23 (2) determine the specific costs associated with
24 implementing various nutrient reduction strategies and their
25 effects upon the various sectors responsible for implementing
26 these strategies;
27 (3) determine the specific environmental benefits
28 associated with each nutrient reduction strategy and the
29 overall effect that these programs will have on improving the
30 water quality of the bay, its tributaries and downstream
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1 waters;
2 (4) explore alternatives to the strategy as initially
3 proposed in December 2004; and
4 (5) fully identify whether there are sufficient
5 financial resources to adequately and uniformly implement the
6 possible nutrient reduction strategies that may be needed;
7 and be it further
8 RESOLVED, That the Department of Environmental Protection be
9 directed to report to the Senate the results of the actions
10 taken by the department as directed by this Resolution through a
11 comprehensive revision of the strategy dated December 2004 that
12 shall include a public participation process that ensures full
13 engagement of all impacted stakeholders and the General
14 Assembly.
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