Sen. Erickson's bill would provide important option for local governments
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PennFuture today praised the Pennsylvania Senate for passing Senator Ted Erickson's Senate Bill (SB) 351 as a wise move forward in giving local governments another tool to address flooding and improve stormwater management through the creation of municipal stormwater authorities.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130211/DC57616LOGO)
"SB 351, which was passed by a vote of 49-1, creates an important option for local governments to help reduce the costs of managing stormwater pollution across Pennsylvania by eliminating the need to build some costly infrastructure projects such as sewage treatment plants," said George Jugovic, president and chief executive officer of PennFuture.
"The bill passed by the Senate will allow municipalities to create stormwater authorities, which many municipalities are reluctant to create without express legislative authorization," continued Jugovic. "Stormwater authorities will allow multiple communities to work with one another to address stormwater issues on a watershed basis and would provide municipalities with potential sources of funding for stormwater planning and projects.
"With Senate passage of SB 351, PennFuture congratulates Senator Erickson for his leadership and looks forward to working with the House to pass this important legislation," said Steve Stroman, policy director for PennFuture. "House Local Government Committee Chair Kate Harper, R-Montgomery, has sponsored identical legislation in the form of HB 821, so we are hopeful that SB 351 will receive favorable consideration when the bill is referred to her committee."
PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization, founded in 1998, with staff in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Wilkes-Barre. PennFuture's activities include litigating cases before regulatory bodies and in local, state, and federal courts; advocating and advancing legislative action on a state and federal level; public education; and assisting citizens in public advocacy.
The Philadelphia Inquirer called PennFuture the "state's leading environmental advocacy organization;" the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named the organization "one of the 10 most influential groups on the issue of natural gas drilling;" and StateImpact Pennsylvania, an online collaboration of NPR stations across the state, called PennFuture "the commonwealth's main environmental advocate."
Contact: Elaine Labalme
[email protected]
(412) 996-4112
SOURCE Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture)
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article