Environmental Resources & Energy 2017-2018
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee met on Tuesday, September 25, 2018, and took action as follows:
Reported Out as Committed:
SR 214 (Greenleaf) – Urges Pennsylvanian natural gas producers to export natural gas to European countries in an effort to curtail the natural gas monopoly that Russia has on the region. The resolution was reported out unanimously.
HB 2154 (Causer) – Establishes the Conventional Oil and Gas Act, re-enacting the Oil and Gas Act of 1984 with changes and additional provisions. The bill was reported out on a party-line vote of 8-4.
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee met on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, and took action as follows:
Reported Out as Committed:
SB 1189 (Baker) The legislation designates the ban on hydraulic fracturing—proposed in September of 2017—constitutes a taking of property by the Commission. Therefore, landowners in the impacted counties must be compensated by the Commission. The bill was reported by a 9-3 vote.
HB 927 (Rader) The legislation amends the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 to exempt certain municipalities from leaf collection. The bill was reported out by a 9-3 vote.
SR 326 (Vogel) The resolution urges Congress to adopt the National Park Service’s recommendations to extend the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail to include additional sites along the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s Eastern Legacy. The bill was reported out unanimously.
SR 375 (Bartolotta) The resolution urges Congress to enact legislation that advances the development of an Appalachian storage hub for petrochemicals. The bill was reported out unanimously.
Reported Out as Amended:
SB 917 (Dinniman) The legislation amends the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act of 1988 to include mushroom compost. The bill was reported out unanimously.
SR 373 (Rafferty) The resolution establishes a bipartisan and bicameral legislative Commission to Study Pipeline Construction and Operations. The bill was reported out by an 8-4 vote.
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee met on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, and took action as follows:
Reported Out as Amended:
HB 544 (Moul) The bill amends the Recreation Use of Land and Water Act to include improvements made to land and water. Sen. Yaw offered amendment A06212, which clarifies the definition of “land” and removes language in the definition of “recreational purpose.” The amendment was approved (unanimous) and the bill was reported as amended (unanimous).
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee met on Tuesday, January 30, 2018, and took action as follows:
Reported Out as Committed:
SR 104 (Bartolotta) The resolution urges the Governor to end the moratorium on new natural gas drilling in state forests. The bill was reported out by an 8-4 vote.
SR 226 (Yudichak) The resolution directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LB&FC) to conduct a comprehensive performance review of certain permitting programs under the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and to provide a report to the Senate within one year. The bill was reported out unanimously.
HB 1341 (Pyle) The bill amends the Bituminous Coal Mine Safety Act to add “emergency medical responders” and “advanced emergency medical technicians” to the list of individuals that satisfy emergency medical personnel requirements at mines. The bill was reported out unanimously.
HB 1486 (Zimmerman) The bill exempts agricultural “high tunnels” from the requirements of the Storm Water Management Act. The bill was reported out by an 11-1 vote.
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee met on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, and took action as follows:
Reported Out as Amended:
SB 799 (Alloway) The bill seeks to establish a nutrient credit purchasing program under the State Conservation Commission. Municipalities and stormwater authorities may participate in the program. The bill was reported out by 10 – 2 vote.
SR 168 (Langerholc) The bill requires the Joint State Government Commission (JSGC) to establish an advisory committee to conduct an analysis of the impacts of removing each participating 3rd to 5th class county from the emissions testing program and to report its findings and recommendations to the Senate within one year. The bill was reported out unanimously.
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee met on Monday, June 19, 2017 and took action as follows:
Please be advised that the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held a voting meeting off the floor today to consider four bills. All bills were reported out unanimously.
SB 334 (Fontana) – Allows municipalities and municipal authorities to use public funds to repair or replace private sewer laterals, if the project will benefit the public system or public health or prevent damage to public property.
SB 639 (Fontana) — Allows municipalities, municipal authorities, and other governmental entities to use PennVEST funding for projects that repair or replace private sewer and drinking water laterals, if the project will benefit the public system.
SB 692 (Blake) – Increases the cap on fees that municipalities may charge for site inspections of permit-exempt septic systems, from $25 to $100.
SB 290 (Metzger) – Extends the June 30, 2017, sunsets for two environmental cleanup programs administered by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP): (1) the Underground Storage Tank Environmental Cleanup Program and (2) the Underground Storage Tank Pollution Prevention Program. Fills a vacancy on the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Board within the Department of Insurance and transfers appointment authority for four board appointments from the governor to the four legislative caucuses.
A02007 (Yudichak) – Revises environmental cleanup program funding allocations to reflect current use. Increases the maximum reimbursement that DEP may receive for overall storage tank program costs (permitting, enforcement, and other regulatory activities), from $3 million to $7 million. Approved unanimously.
The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee met on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 and took action as follows:
Reported Out as Committed:
SB 138 (Yaw) The bill amends the Oil and Gas Lease Act to generally provide for the payment of royalties within 90 days after production, to authorize inspection of records to ensure proper payment, and to ensure coverage for joint ventures.
SB 139 (Yaw) The bill creates the “Natural Gas Lease Anti-Retaliation Act” to prohibit retaliation by an oil and gas company against a landowner/lessor who, in good faith, seeks verification of the accuracy of royalty payments.
Senator John Yudichak
Chair