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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Jim Wansacz |
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Wansacz: compromise plan will protect jobs and
clean up hazardous sites
OLD FORGE, Dec. 14 – State Rep. Jim Wansacz said a compromise plan to fund the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund won approval in the state House this week. The measure would protect nearly 150 jobs and ensure that the program, which responds to environmental threats, continues.
Wansacz, D-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Susquehanna/Wyoming, who was a leader in efforts to reach a deal, said HSCF was slated to run out of funding on Jan. 1, so immediate action was essential.
Senate Bill 1100 would secure funds for the program through 2011. The legislation would provide funding from legislative leaders’ accounts and then from the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax in the future.
“The Department of Environmental Protection would have had no option besides furloughing 146 employees had an agreement not been reached,” Wansacz said. “Not to mention the potentially disastrous environmental impact on the more than 100 hazardous sites across the state.”
Wansacz said HSCF protects and revitalizes Pennsylvania communities by cleaning up toxic waste sites and other environmental public health hazards.
The bill is now on its way to the governor’s desk for his signature.
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CONTACT: Nicole Reigelman |