Fund for toxic cleanups
It would have been an absolute shame had Gov. Rendell's budget deal
with the General Assembly required stealing money from parks and
libraries to fund cleanups of hazardous waste sites.
But it almost happened.
Which raises this question for Rendell and state lawmakers: Would you
really close the local library and padlock the public park in order to
fund a cleanup of the town dump?
Balancing competing but worthwhile government needs is always a
challenge. This year, though, a land-preservation fund, which also
provides library spending, nearly was crippled by a plan in the
Republican-controlled Senate to shift more than $40 million.
Senators were trying to address a pressing need. By fall, the state's
Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act fund will run out of money. But to rescue
HSCA, the Senate proposed raiding the state's Keystone Recreation, Park
and Conservation Fund's $86 million budget.
The irony of such a transfer is as obvious as an oil spill. As David
Masur of PennEnvironment noted, "We shouldn't be telling Pennsylvanians
that they need to choose between open-space protection and cleaning up
toxic pollution."
Why do it, then? The far better alternative would be to dedicate
funding for cleanup efforts, which are vital to communities still
suffering the effects of pollution from the state's industrial past.
In fact, Rendell and House Democrats proposed a $2.25-per-ton hike in
municipal waste-tipping fees. That didn't fly in the tax-averse Senate
and, truth to tell, neither the governor nor Democratic House leaders
pushed hard enough on the tipping fee increase to make it happen.
So now it's time to do it right.
Thanks to a bipartisan push in the House, with vocal support from
lawmakers such as Rep. Kate Harper (R., Montgomery), the Keystone
funding was preserved in the budget deal. That leaves HSCA still
hurting.
Resolving this issue should be part of the special legislative session
on energy planned for the fall. Just as with the hazardous cleanup
fund, the energy conversation, ultimately, is about safeguarding the
environment.
Ideally, the cleanups should be funded from a dedicated source that
produces at least $30 million a year. The tipping fee is tailor-made
for the job.
