Session Daze - December 11, 2009

A gathering solution for stormwater?
Sprawl, inadequate policies, lack of effective legal and financial tools for local governments, and changing climate patterns all add up to extraordinary problems with stormwater and flooding in Pennsylvania. On Tuesday House Local Government Chair Robert Freeman (D-Northampton) will ask his committee to approve House Bill 1390, comprehensive stormwater management legislation.

HB 1390 requires local governments to address existing stormwater problems and to plan to avoid new problems. It also allows local governments to form stormwater authorities, which will give them the right to charge fees to those who are causing the problems. In Philadelphia, PennFuture advocated for and defended a similar program, which we believe will lead to better stormwater management practices across the city.

PennFuture supports HB 1390 and urges committee members to support the bill on Tuesday.

Help protect Pennsylvania's water from drilling
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed new regulations for industrial wastewater that is high in TDS, which stands for total dissolved solids (or totally disgusting stuff).

DEP needs the new regulations to ensure that wastewater generated at Marcellus Shale gas drilling sites does not damage streams and rivers. Marcellus wastewater contains high levels of TDS in the form of salts and can be two to four times saltier than seawater. High TDS levels can harm aquatic life, ruin the taste of drinking water and render river water unfit for industrial users.

Please voice your support for these important new regulations that limit the volume of TDS that new sources of pollution can discharge into our rivers and streams. Next week the Environmental Quality Board is holding public meetings in Cranberry (Butler County), Ebensburg, Williamsport and Allentown to receive comments on the TDS proposal. Citizens can also send written comments on the proposed rule to:

Environmental Quality Board
P.O. Box 8477
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8477
regcomments@state.pa.us

Have your eggs solar side up with PennFuture
PennFuture is hosting a series of Clean Energy Breakfasts around the state starting in January. At the breakfasts, PennFuture staff members, elected officials and energy entrepreneurs explain the benefits of the Green Jobs/Clean Energy Bills (House Bill 80 and Senate Bill 92), that promote growth in the clean energy sector of our economy. Business leaders will discuss how the bills, an expansion of our successful 2004 renewable energy standard, will help to significantly grow the clean energy sector, create green jobs and attract new investment into the Commonwealth.

There are six clean energy breakfasts scheduled so far, and more are in the pipeline. Space is limited and preregistration is required. The schedule and locations include:

  • January 13 - Media -featuring Senator Edwin Erickson (R-Delaware), sponsor of SB 92, and Representative Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), sponsor of HB 80
  • January 14 - Allentown
  • January 15 - Wilkes-Barre
  • January 19 - Camp Hill (near Harrisburg)
  • January 20 - Pittsburgh
  • January 21 - Erie

    Yo, can do! And bottles too
    Philadelphia's recycling rate used to be in the dumps, and the dumps were costing the city lots of green for landfill tipping fees. Since Mayor Michael Nutter (D) took office, the city's diversion rate (the percentage of waste materials diverted from traditional disposal such as landfilling or incineration to be recycled, composted, or re-used) has risen from 7 to 12.4 percent. Part of the city's success has come from implementing recommendations from the Next Great City coalition, including starting weekly recycling.

    Now Philadelphia is launching the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards in partnership with RecycleBank, which rewards residents with coupons or gift cards if their neighborhood recycling rates are high. In turn, RecycleBank is paid a portion of the landfill fees that are avoided. The program will roll out in February in North Philadelphia and will be citywide by the end of July, thanks in part to a federal grant used for up-front equipment purchases. Residents will be able to earn up to $240 per year in savings. Nutter hopes that program can boost recycling rates to 20 percent by 2011 and 25 percent by 2015.

    Shopping in your pj's? Do it for PennFuture
    Aficionados of Session Daze already know they can search the Web and raise money in the process for PennFuture by using the Good Search toolbar. Now, that same toolbar can help you finish your holiday shopping and help PennFuture even more. Just download the toolbar or go to the Good Search website, pick Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future as your charity and then click on Good Shop. You'll be able to reach your favorite stores and still make the same great deals you were planning on. With no extra cost to you, Good Shop donates money to PennFuture every time you buy something.

    So don't worry about parking or having to get dressed to shop - go to Good Search!

    Podcast of the Week: Because we absolutely positively must get there from here
    This week's podcast was recorded at November's Urban Sustainability Forum in Philadelphia. With the federal transportation funding bills now making their way through Congress, it is vital that Pennsylvania's cities, towns, and regions look beyond what has always been done, and actually examine what their community needs to succeed now and in the future.

    This podcast is just what the transportation doctor ordered! PennFuture's Philadelphia Outreach Coordinator, Rachel Vassar, interviews two great experts, James Corless, director of Transportation for America and Byron Comati, director of Strategic Planning and Analysis for SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority), which serves Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. Together these experts make a thoughtful and compelling case for all communities to seriously consider how transportation choices can help or harm their region.

    PennFuture works every day to make a difference for Pennsylvania's environment and economy. Isn't it time to join us and make a difference yourself? Go to our secure website to join PennFuture, and make sure you sign up for our publications. And remember, you can make sure you don't miss any podcasts by subscribing to them through iTunes.