State senators push for increased clean water funding

State Sens. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie), Scott Martin (R-Lancaster), and Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) recently advocated for an increase in Pennsylvania’s allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to create a clean water initiative.

ARPA is a federal stimulus payment used to make new investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure or mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents, businesses, and government operations.

The senators’ plan would take $250 million of the $7 billion Pennsylvania received to establish a state Clean Streams Fund that would protect and restore streams and rivers to stimulate economic growth.

“By restoring these waters, we will reduce the cost of drinking water treatment and invest in our top two industries – tourism and agriculture – by helping farms improve soil health and increasing recreational opportunities throughout the commonwealth,” Yaw said.

End-of-pipe sources of pollution are regulated differently from nonpoint sources. End-of-pipe sources include wastewater treatment plants. Nonpoint sources diffuse throughout the landscape.

Abandoned mine drainage and agriculture contribute 70 percent of the known sources of pollution.

Laughlin serves as chairman of the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee. Yaw, chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee chairman, and Martin are Chesapeake Bay Commission members.