|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
State
Rep. Ken Smith |
|
Smith votes to fund hazardous-sites cleanups
HARRISBURG, Dec. 12 – State Rep. Ken Smith, D-Lackawanna, voted today for legislation that would provide $18 million to keep the state’s Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund operating. The House passed the bill, sending it to the governor for his expected signature.
Smith said the fund has been without a dedicated funding source since 2002 and would have run out of money by Dec. 31, requiring the compromise plan that was negotiated between lawmakers from both parties. The fund pays for emergency environmental cleanups and remediation and redevelopment of former industrial sites.
Under the bill passed today, $10 million will be put into HSCF from General Assembly accounts and $8 million will be shifted from the General Fund. After that, $40 million per year will be provided from the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax, which is scheduled to be phased out in 2011. House Democrats had sought a more permanent solution but compromised with the Senate to keep the cleanup fund operating.
“God forbid there had been an accident with an oil or chemical spill on the interstate and no money left in the fund to clean it up. Toxic waste can sit in the water table and then we all know what the consequences of that are,” Smith said.
“We need to protect our families, friends and our neighbors from the dangers of hazardous waste throughout Pennsylvania.”
###rrc/2007/agh
l:\print\releases\hazardouswaste.112
|
CONTACT: Roseann R. Cadau |
Attention Radio News Directors: an actuality from Rep. Smith is available by calling 1-800-452-3001. Enter PA112 (7-2-112) and the pound sign (#) at the menu prompt to get today’s sound. You can also download the sound in .mp3 format by visiting www.pahouse.com/mediacenter.