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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. John Hornaman |
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Hornaman votes to protect the environment
Joins with House to enable hazardous sites cleanup funding
HARRISBURG, Dec. 12 – State Rep. John Hornaman, D-Erie, announced that the House has passed legislation that would provide dedicated funding to clean up hazardous waste sites in Pennsylvania.
Hornaman joined other House members Tuesday in voting to consider a Senate measure that would enable the Department of Environmental Protection to keep the cleanup program working beyond this year and save the jobs of 146 DEP employees.
“The decision to vote on and pass the Senate bill allows us to addresses a serious environmental problem that affects people all across the Commonwealth and could have had a huge impact on our ability to clean up these hazardous sites, “ Hornaman said. “A funding plan needed to be put in place before the end of the year, and this week’s bipartisan action now makes that possible. I look forward to the governor signing the bill into law.”
Hornaman noted that had the legislature not acted, the state’s Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund would have dried up on Jan. 1, jeopardizing the cleanup of more than 100 hazardous sites across the state. Under S.B. 1100, HSCA would be kept solvent through June 2008 using surplus funds from each of the four legislative caucuses and $40 million annually from the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax.
The bill will now go to the governor’s desk for his signature.
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CONTACT: Gabrielle A. Prutisto |