WASHINGTON, DC, February 23, 2009 (ENS) – The National Governors Association 2009 Winter Meeting wrapped up today with a session on best practices from around the world for financing infrastructure repairs and upgrades. The governors charted what they called “an action-based roadmap” for the chairman’s initiative Strengthening Our Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future.

Each year, the chair alternates between a Democrat and a Republican, and each year, the chairman chooses an initiative to focus the governors’ efforts.

This year the NGA Chair is Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, who is highlighting the role states can play in managing existing infrastructure and developing new infrastructure in ways that enhance economic and environmental prosperity.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell opens a infrastructure discussion at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. Feburary 22, 2009 (Photo courtesy NGA)

“A growing pattern of underinvestment and uncoordinated planning has led to a range of concerns that are felt across the country, including widespread congestion, unsafe bridges, inadequate water supply and an electricity grid that is increasingly pressed beyond its ability,” said Governor Rendell today. “To ensure our nation’s ability to compete in an evolving global economy and respond to crucial energy and environmental challenges, we must not only maintain our infrastructure system but also enhance and improve it.”

In January, the American Society of Civil Engineers reported that $2.2 trillion in repairs and upgrades is needed over the next five years just to bring the nation’s infrastructure up to “adequate.” The ASCE’s 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure assigned an overall grade of D to the nation as well as individual grades in 15 infrastructure categories, none higher than C+.

“From roads, rails and bridges to the electrical grid, water treatment plants, broadband networks, schools and hospitals, infrastructure makes modern life as we know it possible,” said NGA Vice Chair Vermont Governor Jim Douglas. “Governors recognize that it is critical to our economic growth, global competitiveness and quality of life that we work collectively to find ways of improving and modernizing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.”

Governor Rendell’s focus on infrastructure took shape in January 2008 when he formed a new coalition called “Building America’s Future,” to rally support for a renewed federal commitment to funding America’s infrastructure needs with state partners.

Coalition co-founders California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to work with then presidential candidates and the platform committees of the national political parties “to ensure that the next president understands the enormity of the infrastructure crisis and is committed to increasing federal funding.”

They were successful in that President Barack Obama has made infrastructure funding a pillar of his newly enacted stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Less than a week after it became law, the package is already generating infrastructure jobs.

New York Governor David Paterson today announced the first transportation projects eligible for federal funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be put to bid as early as March 5, creating thousands of jobs in Upstate New York, an area where unemployment is a constant problem.

These projects include the replacement and repair of bridges in Steuben, Onondaga, Oneida and Herkimer counties, and will be fully funded through the federal legislation.

“Clearly, there is a serious need in New York for federal infrastructure funding, and the projects announced today represent just a small number of the opportunities that will be funded with economic recovery dollars,” said Governor Paterson. “This will be an open process with significant local input, and will create jobs across the state at a time when New York is facing widespread unemployment.”

During their closing session today, the assembled governors heard Denmark’s Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard’s insights into the Danish experience with integrating rail into its transportation system.

She provided advice on balancing urban and rural concerns, ways to utilize new pricing and financing mechanisms and strategies to integrate new technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the NGA meeting (Photo courtesy NGA)

On Saturday, Governor Schwarzenegger and Governor Paterson co-chaired a bi-partisan meeting with 10 other governors and President Barack Obama’s top energy and environment cabinet officials to discuss a state-federal partnership on clean energy and climate change issues.

“States have been leading the way on clean energy and climate change, and we are thrilled to now have a willing partner in the White House to promote these policies on a national stage,” Governor Schwarzenegger said after the meeting, which was held in response to a January 29 letter of request from the governors for a meeting with the Obama team.

“California has been focusing on green jobs, alternative fuels, renewable energy, and reducing the urgent threat of global warming while at the same time benefiting our economy, and we hope that our efforts will now act as a model for change at the federal level,” he said.

During the meeting, governors discussed a variety of initiatives their states are undertaking to accelerate renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They stressed the importance of coordinating their actions with the Obama administration to leverage each others’ efforts.

Several governors noted the unique complexity of clean energy and climate challenge issues will require action at the local, state and federal level.

Governor Jim Douglas, vice chair of the NGA (Photo courtesy NGA)

Governors Charlie Crist of Florida, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Jim Douglas of Vermont, Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Chris Gregoire of Washington, Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Bill Ritter of Colorado, and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas attended the meeting.

They conferred with Carol Browner, assistant to the President for energy and climate change; Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior; Dr. Steven Chu, secretary of energy; and Lisa Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Enironmental Protection Agency.

“Today’s meeting was the first step in creating a close and lasting partnership with President Obama and his administration on climate change, said Governor Schwarzenegger. “I look forward to working hand-in-hand with our federal partners to realize the ambitious clean energy and climate change goals I know we share, and that I know will provide a boost to our nation’s economy.”

On Sunday night, the President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted their first state dinner – a reception for the nation’s governors in the State Dining Room.

As their meeting closed today, the National Governors Association issued a bi-partisan statement expressing their belief that the country will emerge stronger than ever from the current economic downturn.

“We are unified in our unwavering belief that the United States’ economy is resilient and the true strength of our nation remains the ingenuity, perseverance and hard work of the American people,” the governors said.

“We have been through tough economic times in the past and have always emerged a stronger nation with a more vibrant economy. Our country’s ability to persevere is not in question – we know better days lie ahead. Working together we can speed recovery, provide new opportunities and ensure a prosperous future.”

Click here [www.nga.org] to read a new report on infrastructure from the NGA’s Best Practices Office, “An Infrastructure Vision for the 21st Century” by Darren Springer and Greg Dierkers.

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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, January 6, 2009 (ENS) – Pennsylvania has signed a letter of agreement with 10 other eastern states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels and other sources by developing a regional low carbon fuel standard.

Vehicles using low carbon transport fuels include cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells; electric cars such as plug-in hybrids; cars fueled with ethanol, especially cellulosic ethanol made from non-food plant materials; and cars fueled with biodiesel.

“This partnership will work closely on a standard for the entire region,” said Governor Ed Rendell on Monday, announcing the agreement. “In conjunction with Pennsylvania’s energy policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase clean energy development, this work done by this partnership will ultimately grow our economy and protect our planet by fostering a cleaner environment.”

The other states in on the agreement are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The 11 states already are partners in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI, the first mandatory, market-based effort in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The push towards a regional low carbon fuel standard started in June 2008 when Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick sent a letter to the governors of all 10 RGGI states inviting them to cooperate on a standard that would apply to the entire region. Massachusetts committed to developing a low carbon fuel standard for the state last April.

“The response to Governor Patrick’s call for a regional low carbon fuel standard by our neighbor states has been tremendous,” said Massachusetts Energy Secretary Ian Bowles.

“Working together, the 11 states from Maine to Delaware will cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, spur the development of clean energy technologies like advanced biofuels and electric cars, and reduce our dependence on petroleum,” said Bowles.

Ron Yerxa, center, and wife Annette Ballester get a lesson from Tim Cunningham, Honda fuel cell vehicle program consultant, on how to refuel
their new hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle, July 2008 in West Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy Honda)

“After power generation, transportation is the next logical target for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and a low carbon fuel standard gives us a market-based mechanism to get the environmental results we need,” said Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Laurie Burt.

The 11 states will collaborate with the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, which has been studying a low carbon fuel standard for the region. The eastern states also have agreed to work cooperatively with other states and the federal government, and to influence the design of any federal standard or other proposed fuel policy.

In January 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger established the world’s first low carbon fuel standard by Executive Order.

“I applaud these 11 Eastern states for recognizing the power of California’s groundbreaking low carbon fuel standard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and oil dependency while rewarding innovation and expanding consumer choice,” Schwarzenegger said Monday.

“Like California, these other states are leading the way in recognizing that we must take action now to fight global warming, and I look forward to working together to find additional solutions like the LCFS that both protect our environment and grow our economy at the same time.”

Once the low carbon fuel standard is developed for the eastern region, governors from participating states will have the opportunity to consider implementation.

Fuels that may reduce greenhouse gas emissions include advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, which have lower lifecycle carbon emissions and may be less likely to cause indirect effects from crop diversion and land use changes than biofuels on the market today such as ethanol made from corn.

Many of the 11 states in the partnership have set individual policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Pennsylvania enacted the Climate Change Act last year, establishing an advisory committee to create a report on potential climate change impacts and economic opportunities for the commonwealth.

The committee also will write an action plan for cost-effective strategies to reduce or offset the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and help the Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, compile an annual inventory of the sources and amounts of greenhouse gas emissions generated within the state.

DEP Acting Secretary John Hanger said, “By implementing the Climate Change Act, investing in alternative energy, and generating more of our energy needs from clean energy sources, Pennsylvania can reduce the air pollution emissions that lead to climate change.”

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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, September 17, 2008 (ENS) – Pennsylvania is making $1 million in grant funding available for manufacturers to buy equipment that increases use of recycled content in finished products. Grants of up to $500,000 are available to buy machinery or equipment that will increase consumption of recyclable materials recovered in Pennsylvania.

Another $950,000 will be available to help expand and develop markets for recovered materials, and stimulate demand for products with recycled content through the Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center.

Announcing the new funding, Governor Ed Rendell said that strategic investments to increase the use of recyclable materials will help manufacturers manage energy costs, reduce pollution and bolster local recycling collection programs.

“Recycled materials is an important resource for Pennsylvania’s manufacturers. They can cut soaring energy costs by incorporating recyclable materials that require less energy to process than virgin raw materials,” said the governor.

“Diverting these valuable materials from landfills also protects our environment by preserving natural resources, reducing pollution from the processing of virgin materials and conserving landfill space,” he said.

“These initiatives to increase demand for recycled materials also benefit Pennsylvania’s municipal recycling programs, which collect bottles, cans, papers and other materials from homes and businesses,” said Acting Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger.

“Increasing demand for these commodities means local governments can benefit from higher prices for the materials they collect,” he said. “By diverting more materials from landfills, local governments and businesses also can save on their waste disposal costs.”

The Recycling Markets Center has been expanding its scope of services to increase the demand for recycled commodities. By supporting research into innovative uses for priority materials such as organic wastes, hard-to-recycle plastics, glass and tires, the center is developing new markets for recyclable materials.

The center is increasing its business assistance programs, shortening the time it takes to market new products or processes that use recycled commodities and developing markets for recovered construction materials in certified green buildings.

The Recycling Markets Center has launched new programs to help manufacturers that use recycled materials to document their reduced carbon emissions and earn tradable carbon credits through the Chicago Climate Exchange, CCX.

In August, the Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center became the first recycled markets development organization to join CCX, the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding integrated greenhouse gas emissions reduction market.

As a member, the center will annually inventory and report its indirect emissions to CCX to verify and audit. Reporting requirements include vehicle use, air travel, as well as business operations.

Once the verification process is complete and total emissions are confirmed, the center is required to purchase and retire CCX Carbon Financial Instrument contracts through the CCX trading platform to fully offset the indirect emissions it produces.

To scope recycled materials processes for carbon emission reduction opportunities, the center has partnered with Environmental Credit Corporation of, State College, Pennsylvania.

Environmental Credit Corporation President, Scott Subler, said, “RMC is taking a leadership role in introducing Pennsylvania recyclers to rapidly developing opportunities in the carbon market. We’re excited to be working with them on this important issue.”

Pennsylvania’s recycling and reuse industry leads northeastern states in employment, payroll and sales numbers, according to state figures.

More than 3,200 recycling and reuse businesses and organizations make more than $18.4 billion in gross annual sales and pay $305 million in taxes.

Recycling and reuse industries in Pennsylvania employ more than 81,000 people at an annual payroll of approximately $2.9 billion.

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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, July 18, 2008 (ENS) – Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed two pieces of legislation last week that will help spur the development of homegrown biofuels in Pennsylvania and establish new requirements that every gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel contain a percentage of ethanol and biodiesel.

“Pennsylvanians are struggling with higher fuels costs,” said Governor Rendell. “Record-high fuel prices are straining family budgets and pinching the bottom lines of our businesses. We need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and keep our energy dollars in Pennsylvania, to invest in our economy and create jobs.”

The biofuel percentages established under the new law will go into effect once in-state production reaches certain levels.

The requirements include what the governor believes to be the nation’s first state-specific mandate for cellulosic ethanol, which is made from non-food plant materials.

“Pennsylvania can be to cellulosic ethanol what corn-based ethanol was to Iowa and the Midwest,” said Rendell. “Pennsylvania has an abundant supply of cellulosic ethanol feedstocks, including switchgrass, woodchips, municipal waste and agricultural waste. This alternative fuel law ensures that Pennsylvania farmers and businesses will fully realize the benefits of these resources.”

Tractors that run on biodiesel at the
Pennsylvania Farm Show, January
2008. (Photo credit unknown)

Environmentalists were pleased with the new measures. “We must begin to move away from our ‘addiction to oil,’ as President George W. Bush characterized our energy problem,” said Jan Jarrett, vice president of PennFuture. “With oil prices over $140 a barrel and diesel over $4.60 a gallon, these bills will start us on the road to recovery.”

“These policies will bring some relief to Pennsylvania’s hard-pressed families and businesses, bringing heating oil and gasoline and diesel costs down,” said Jarrett. “And it will also help Pennsylvania farmers who grow soybeans and other crops for biodiesel production, offering them a chance to compete both in and out of state.”

The use of renewable fuels results in a reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to the petroleum fuel that is displaced.

Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by about 50 percent, while cellulosic ethanol could reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 86 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Biodiesel reduces many types of air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, air toxics, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, below levels emitted by petroleum diesel.

Pennsylvania’s biodiesel manufacturers will benefit from new investments, which will help spur production, the governor said.

Pennsylvania will invest $5.3 million in its in-state biodiesel producers annually through June 30, 2011. These companies will be able to take advantage of a 75 cents per gallon subsidy that will be capped at $1.9 million per year per producer.

Under the new measure, as much as one billion gallons of biofuels will be added to the state’s fuel supply. All diesel fuel sold at retail must contain:

* 2 percent biodiesel, once in-state production reaches 40 million gallons

* 5 percent biodiesel, once in-state production reaches 100 million gallons

* 10 percent biodiesel, once in-state production reaches 200 million gallons

* 20 percent biodiesel, once in-state production reaches 400 million gallons

All gasoline sold at retail must contain 10 percent ethanol, once in-state cellulosic ethanol production reaches 350 million gallons.

Pennsylvania already has an in-state biodiesel production capacity of about 60 million gallons per year, and the state’s first large-scale ethanol plant – a 100 million gallon per year operation – is under construction in Clearfield County.

The developers of the Clearfield County plant – BioEnergy International and Lukoil Americas – have also committed to developing a pilot scale cellulosic ethanol plant. Another cellulosic demonstration facility is planned for Madison, Westmoreland County.

These projects, and similar ones expected to follow, will inject hundreds of millions of dollars into Pennsylvania’s economy in the coming years and create thousands of jobs.

“Each year, America incurs nearly $400 billion in additional debt to finance our appetite for oil,” said the governor. “Here in Pennsylvania, we spend approximately $30 billion to purchase liquid fuels from beyond our border. It’s time we keep more of that money here at home and invest in our biofuel manufacturers, communities and transportation industry.”

In a recent study commissioned by PennFuture, the global expert services company LECG LLC examined the benefits of offsetting 900 million gallons of petroleum-based transportation fuel with renewable and coal-derived fuels by 2017, as originally called for in the governor’s plan.

The study concluded that the plan would add nearly $1.5 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy, create as many as 25,775 new jobs in all sectors of the Pennsylvania economy and put an additional $6.6 billion into the pockets of Pennsylvanians over the next decade.

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PHILADELPHIA, Pennesylvania, July 15, 2008 (ENS) – Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell Monday took the reins of the National Governors Association and announced that the organization’s annual Chair’s Initiative, chosen each year by the incoming leader, will focus on strengthening infrastructure investment.

“It is an honor to serve as NGA’s chair,” Governor Rendell said during the association’s Centennial meeting. “Out-going chair, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, deserves a tremendous amount of credit for moving America closer to clean energy. Just last week I signed legislation to invest more than $650 million in Pennsylvania’s alternative energy sector. Tim’s leadership has inspired every governor in the nation and once again states are taking the lead on this critical issue.”

Governor Ed Rendell receives the NGA
gavel from Governor Tim Pawlenty.
(Photo courtesy NGA)

“Over the past year, the nation’s attention has becoming increasingly focused on the growing energy challenges that face us,” said Governor Pawlenty. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished as part of the Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative, but our work is just beginning. It will take continued effort and renewed dedication to ensure that our country has an energy future that is safe, secure and clean.”

At the opening plenary session, the NGA announced a new state-industry partnership between the Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative and General Motors Corporation to help states increase availability of E-85 fueling stations. E-85 is an alternative fuel consisting of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

Under the partnership, states will develop a strategy for installing E-85 pumps in key locations. GM will provide technical assistance to states in developing these strategies and will leverage their relationships with the automobile and ethanol industries to help states implement their strategies.

“There is no silver bullet available to solve this nation’s energy challenges,” said Rendell. “This will be an all-hands-on-deck, all-technologies-available effort.”

“Another significant challenge facing our nation is the rebuilding of its infrastructure,” said Rendell, who made a pledge in January with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to form a non-partisan national coalition that will lobby for federal investment in America’s decaying infrastructure.

“America’s infrastructure urgently needs attention,” said Rendell. “From outmoded ports to crumbling bridges to underinvestment in public transit, we must begin a new era of investment in the systems that support our prosperity and our quality of life.”

“If America is to continue competing in the global economic marketplace, we need an efficient and sound infrastructure. For the past two decades, state and local governments have been picking up more of the tab for infrastructure repair, but we can’t keep it up,” said Rendell.

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates national infrastructure needs of more than $1.6 trillion dollars over the next five years.

“Infrastructure funding – making sure our roads, bridges, schools, airports, trains, ports, and water systems are safe – is an issue about which I am very passionate,” said Governor Rendell. “It started when I was mayor of Philadelphia and continues today because I see that our nation’s aging infrastructure is hurting our economic stability and hampering future growth.”

“Businesses and communities can’t survive if they can’t get their products to market, educate their students and access safe water supplies,” he said.

“State and local governments now fund 75 percent of all infrastructure work. We will need the federal government to step up significantly if we are to fully meet this challenge. I will continue to work with my fellow governors to give these issues the attention they deserve,” said Rendell.

As NGA chairman, Governor Rendell will work with other states to design and implement strategies for smarter, more cost-effective infrastructure investment at the state level.

In addition, states will be challenged in the coming years to align their infrastructure investments with the new realities of climate change, and Governor Rendell will work with states to design strategies to accomplish this.

The National Governors Association is celebrating its 100th anniversary during 2008.

U.S. Route 6 through Iowa was broken up
by the June floods. (Photo by Dave
Darby, Iowa US Route 6 Tourist Assn.)

In May of 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt hosted the first meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House to discuss conserving America’s natural resources. The meeting was attended by the president, vice president, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices and 39 governors. Following this inaugural meeting, governors decided to form a bipartisan association through which they could come together to discuss mutual concerns and act collectively.

As part of the centennial celebration, NGA partnered with the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and the University of Pennsylvania Press to publish two books: “A Legacy of Leadership: Governors and American History” and “A Legacy of Innovation: Governors and Public Policy.” These books – authored by journalists, academics and historians – highlight gubernatorial achievements and specific public policy initiatives through the decades.

In addition, Governor Pawlenty released four publications to help ensure the work of the Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative continues.

The first, “Opportunities for States in Clean Energy Research, Development & Demonstration,” outlines state roles in this area and is intended to guide states in the crucial decisions they must make about clean energy in the years ahead.

The second, “A Governor’s Guide to Clean Power Generation and Energy Efficiency ,” offers guidance for states to engage in enhanced electricity planning efforts and policies that can drive greater investment in and adoption of efficiency and cleaner power sources.

A third, “Clean and Secure State Energy Actions — 2008,” catalogs what all 55 states and territories are doing to advance a cleaner, more secure energy future, highlighting existing policy models other states can replicate.

Finally, a new Issue Brief, “Greening State Government: �Lead by Example’ Initiatives,” examines current efforts across a range of state government operations to increase energy efficiency and support the use of clean and renewable energy.

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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, July 3, 2008 (ENS) – Global warming legislation will be enacted for the first time in Pennsylvania when Governor Ed Rendell signs the Pennsylvania Climate Change Act as he is expected to do. The measure was overwhelmingly approved today by both houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

A coal-rich state, Pennsylvania emits one percent of the world’s greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, more than the emissions of 105 developing countries combined.

While Pennsylvania is a big contributor to global warming, the legislation passed today creates opportunities for the state to be part of the solution.

The measure will require Pennsylvania to conduct an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and set up a registry for business and industry where they can track their emissions and get credit for pollution reductions.

The bill provides for an stakeholder advisory group for the state Department of Environmental Protection and requires the DEP to develop a state plan to reduce emissions.

“This will be a good planning tool for Pennsylvania to help with coordination of the various measures the state has implemented and those it should implement to combat climate change in the future,” said state Representative Greg Vitali, a Democrat from Delaware County who introduced the measure in the House.

In the Senate, the bill was sponsored by state Senator Ted Erickson, a Republican whose district includes part of Delaware County, which is located just west of Philadelphia
Pennsylvania’s Montour coal-fired power plant (Photo courtesy Mark Morey)

Vitali said, “Climate change is the most important environmental problem we’re dealing with in Pennsylvania – we produce a full one percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emission. I applaud Senator Erickson, and thank everyone for the work they’ve done to keep this issue alive in both chambers over the years.”

Vitali said initial language for global warming legislation was drafted nearly a decade ago by Don Brown, currently an associate professor of environmental ethics and program director for ethical dimensions of climate change at Penn State University. He is the former senior counsel for sustainable development at DEP, and has worked for both the state and federal governments on environmental issues.

“Don Brown came up with the initial idea of this legislation, drafted the language for the original bill, and his knowledge and counsel have been invaluable to this process and the issue of global warming,” Vitali said.

“Senator Erickson’s bill is a good bill that incorporates those same principles. I think this is a historic moment in our state’s history – a time that will prove to be a turning point in our endeavors to curb global warming as a state.”

Environmentalists are pleased with the bill. Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, known as PennFuture, praised the legislators on both sides of the aisle who moved the bill forward.

“This bipartisan outpouring of support shows the seriousness of our climate problem, and the determination of our elected officials to face it squarely,” said Jan Jarrett, PennFuture’s vice president.

“They understand that global warming poses a threat to our economy and our future if we don’t take action,” said Jarrett, “and they also understand that solving the problem will help grow the green economy and create new jobs.”

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council today praised passage of the Climate Change Act. “This legislation will help Pennsylvania address both the significant challenges and the potential opportunities associated with climate change,” said John Walliser, the Council’s vice president for legal and governmental affairs. “Climate change will affect our economy, environment, and our quality of life.”

“Both Senator Erickson and Representative Vitali took the lead on the need to fully evaluate what climate change will mean to Pennsylvania for the foreseeable future,” said Walliser. “Thanks to their cooperation on seeing this legislation through, Pennsylvania now stands ready to meet this challenge head-on and even find opportunities for further economic development.”

The General Assembly is considering legislation that would encourage the use of biofuels, promote the development of renewable energy sources, and set energy conservation standards for new buildings.

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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, May 26, 2008 (ENS) – Water quality improvements in Pennsylvania will be funded by a $42.4 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the state of Pennsylvania.

Announcing the grant on Thursday, Donald Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region, said, “EPA is committed to helping communities get safe, clean water.”

Nonpoint source and estuary projects include construction of structures to prevent and control erosion, ponds to control stormwater runoff, equipment and structures used for animal waste and agricultural best management practices.

“These grants are important in maintaining public health, protecting and restoring water quality by combating water pollution and focusing our efforts to protect the water we drink, swim and play in,” he said.

Stormwater runs off a street on the Penn State
University campus, carrying debris.
(Photo courtesy Penn State)

The funding has been awarded to Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, Pennvest, to further capitalize its Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which provides low interest loans for the construction of water treatment facilities, nonpoint source and estuary projects and other water quality management activities.

Projects supported by this fund protect and improve water quality in Pennsylvania’s rivers, lakes and streams for drinking, recreation and natural habitat. Eligible projects include upgrades to wastewater treatment facilities and collection systems.

For instance, in April Governor Ed Rendell announced a $5.3 million loan and a $750,000 grant to Irwin Borough in Westmoreland County to install four miles of sanitary sewers and more than a mile of new storm sewers.

The new pipes will eliminate the borough’s existing combined sewer system that overflows during wet weather and discharges untreated wastewater into Tinkers Run and Brush Creek, already classed as impaired waterways.

Two separate pipe discharges carrying mine waste pollute Brush Creek and its tributary, Tinkers Run. They turn all of Tinkers Run and much of Brush Creek red for a long distance. They are the largest mine discharges in Westmoreland County, with an average flow of over 7,700 gallons per minute.

Also in April, Freeland Borough in Luzerne County received a $651,000 loan to install piping, manholes and other improvements that will eliminate stormwater ponding and residential flooding throughout the eastern and western sections of the borough.

Pennvest approves funding roughly once every six months. The October 2007 awards approved by Pennvest range from a $727,000 loan to construct new stormwater management facilities for a community in Luzerne County to a $10.3 million loan and grant combination that will eliminate the contamination of a river in Fayette County caused by malfunctioning on-lot septic systems.

The largest loan in the May 2006 awards went to Clearfield Borough, which received an $11 million loan to install almost eight miles of new sewer mains and collection lines in sections of the borough where stormwater flowed into the sanitary sewer system and caused the discharge of untreated sewage into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.

Also in May 2006, Northampton County Industrial Development Authority, which received $7.5 million to remediate a site formerly used by a steel manufacturer where runoff from the site was contaminating local water resources.

Over the past 20 years, Pennsylvania has received over $1 billion from the EPA to capitalize the fund. As recipients repay their loans, the funds are available for new clean water projects in Pennsylvania.

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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, May 5, 2008 (ENS) – The Philadelphia Phillies have signed up to buy 20 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy to serve the ball club’s 43,500-seat Citizens Bank Park. With this purchase the team has become the largest green power purchaser in major league baseball.

The Phillies’ purchase of 20 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy certificates will offset the carbon footprint created by the organization’s utility power usage at Citizens Bank Park for one year.

The Phillies’ purchase also is estimated to avoid the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 2,800 vehicles each year.

“EPA applauds the Philadelphia Phillies for playing ball and protecting our environment by purchasing green power,” said EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. “By being the first major league baseball team to join the Green Power Partnership, the Phillies have hit a grand slam for the environment.”

EPA Regional Administrator Donald Welsh joined Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and representatives from the Phillies, Major League Baseball, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Pennsylvania’s Department of Energy for the announcement last week.

“When Phillies fans think of green and Citizens Bank Park, they’re just not going to be thinking about the grass on the field or the Phanatic,” said Governor Rendell.

Phillies players and fans at Citizens
Bank Park (Photo by Darrins)

“By choosing to meet its energy needs through clean, renewable energy, the Phillies organization is making a commitment to improving the quality of the air we breathe, to protecting our climate, and spurring the development of additional green energy sources,” the governor said.

Other green initiatives are happening throughout the ballpark. Global Spectrum, Aramark and the Phillies have been recycling frying oil to be used as biodiesel fuel. The partners are recycling glass, plastic and cardboard generated from game day operations; and using carry out trays that are 100 percent post consumer fiber. And fans buying food at the ballpark are eating locally grown produce and organic foods.

They are using environmentally friendly cleaning products and a bio-enzyme to remove grease trapped in kitchen drain pipes.

The ballpark is conserving energy with the building management system and light control system. The facility is converting to lighting that uses light emitting diodes, LEDs, which take 80 percent less power and last years longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

The ballpark also is re-using rain water run-off for landscaping and field irrigation.

Among the organizations in EPA’s Green Power Partnership, the Phillies are the third largest green power purchaser in Philadelphia and seventh largest in Pennsylvania.

Buying green power is an effective way for an organization to reduce its environmental footprint. Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to traditional power generation. It also does not produce a net-increase of greenhouse gas emissions.

Now Johnson says the EPA is looking to other professional sports teams to “step up to the plate,” buy green power, and help reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use.

The Green Power Partnership includes a wide variety of organizations from Fortune 500 companies, to small and medium businesses, to government institutions, colleges and universities.

Pennsylvania is the only state on the EPA’s Green Power Partner list, ranking 19th nationally.

The commonwealth purchases nearly 30 percent of the electricity it takes to power state operations from clean and renewable sources. Under a contract with Community Energy Inc., the state purchases nearly 280,000 megawatt hours a year from renewable wind and hydroelectric sources.

But only the 157,200 megawatt hours of wind power purchased by the commonwealth qualify for the EPA’s Green Power Partner list.

Overall, more than 950 Green Power Partners are buying over 14 billion kWh of green power annually – the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly 1.5 million average American homes for one year.

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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, February 28, 2008 (ENS) – By executive order, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has established a high-level task force that will evaluate what is needed to ensure Pennsylvania maintains a sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure in view of continued budget cuts from the federal government in recent years.

A federal Clean Water Needs Survey found that Pennsylvania is facing nearly $11 billion in unmet drinking water infrastructure needs and at least $7.2 billion in unmet wastewater infrastructure needs.

“Our water and wastewater infrastructure is aging,” said Governor Rendell. “Pennsylvania is facing nearly $20 billion in unmet water-related infrastructure needs, and that doesn’t even take into account ongoing capital costs and expenses associated with operations and maintenance responsibilities.”

“We need to begin developing a comprehensive plan now that supports a sustainable network of systems to protect public health, and ensure citizens and businesses don’t lose out on the quality and dependable services they have come to expect,” said the governor.

The infrastructure initiative follows on Governor Rendell’s pledge last month with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to lobby for the funding to upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure.

The Sustainable Water Infrastructure Task Force is to consider new funding options and non-structural alternatives to capital upgrades, such as nutrient credit trading, water re-use and conservation.

It is responsible for developing a report by October 1 that provides recommendations and financing options to support water-related services in the governor’s fiscal year 2009-10 budget proposal.

Members of the task force are to include representatives of the administration, General Assembly, academia, and the state’s Office of Consumer Advocate, as well as local government and municipal associations.

“Shrinking support from the federal government means the financial burden associated with the needed work is increasingly falling on states and local municipalities,” said the governor. “The commonwealth alone has suffered a 50 percent cut in the federal funds we had received previously to support water infrastructure. Without that needed support, our economy, environment and quality of life will suffer.”

The governor pointed to continued cuts in the federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund, one of the state’s most important tools for funding water infrastructure improvements.

Pennsylvania’s share of the state revolving fund program has been cut by about half in the past three years, down $30 million to $27 million, while President George W. Bush’s upcoming fiscal year budget proposal calls for another $330 million in cuts to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, largely aimed at wastewater projects.

The president requested only $555 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund in FY 2009, which would be the lowest level of funding for the program in its history if enacted.

“While I’ve called on Congress to restore these valuable funds, we must take steps to ensure we have reliable systems in place that deliver dependable services,” said Governor Rendell.

“The high-level task force I’m establishing through this executive order will focus on finding solutions to Pennsylvania’s drinking water and wastewater system needs,” he said, “either through new funding sources or cost-effective, non-structural alternatives.

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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, February 23, 2008 (ENS) – The state Senate Republican Policy Committee this week held a hearing on the cost of cleaning up Pennsylvania’s waterways to meet federal Clean Water Act nutrient reduction requirements for the Chesapeake Bay.

The lawmakers noted their disappointment with Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, for not including funding for the initiative in his proposed budget. But the state’s top environmental official blamed Bush administration budget cuts for the funding shortfall.

The 184 wastewater treatment plants in the Chesapeake Bay drainage area are facing a 2010 court-ordered deadline to upgrade their facilities to meet the federal requirements. In addition, farming operations, developers and municipalities with stormwater issues are also facing new, tougher standards.

Waste water treatment
center in Pennslyvannia

The hearing was held at the request of Senator Patricia Vance, the prime sponsor of Senate Resolution 224 which passed the Senate last week directing the Joint Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to develop a cost estimate for implementing the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy.

Jon Capacasa, director of the Water Protection Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, told the panel, “Failure to remove the impairment by 2010 means EPA will develop and enforce a Total Maximum Daily Load, TMDL, allocation which will address any shortfall, including measures for point sources if the state designed program is not successful.”

A TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive in one day and still meet federal water quality standards.

If EPA is forced to adopt a TMDL the agency could impose a state-of-the art cleanup technology requirement on the wastewater plants that would impose even heavier burdens on ratepayers.

John Brosious of the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association, said the estimated cost of complying with the cleanup requirements for the wastewater treatment plants is now over $1.2 billion, significantly higher than the $190 million initial estimate by Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, and more than the $620 million estimate developed by a DEP workgroup last year.

“The federal requirements that are driving Pennsylvania’s obligations are very real and very specific,” Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty reminded the senators. “Pennsylvania must achieve the mandatory nutrient reductions for point sources and nonpoint sources alike, while providing new compliance flexibility.”

“Although there is no doubt that meeting those federal requirements will be a challenge to Pennsylvania, it is also the case that our compliance plan is fair to all sources of bay pollution,” McGinty said. “This strategy was formulated after more than 100 stakeholder meetings across the state, and included specific initiatives to address reductions from point sources and non-point sources in proportion to their relative contributions to the nutrient pollution of the bay.”

Capacasa said the U.S. EPA “applauds the extensive work already accomplished by the Pennsylvania DEP working closely with various municipal organizations to consider the burden on users and to identify several creative options to minimize the user burden.”

McGinty said cutbacks in federal funding for infrastructure have hampered efforts by the state to provide funding needed to implement the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy.

“Recent steep cuts by Congress and the Bush administration to the federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which has been a significant part of our water quality improvement efforts for two decades, erode our ability to tackle these serious environmental and economic infrastructure challenges facing all of our communities, as well as the Chesapeake Bay.”

“Pennsylvania’s share of the state revolving fund program has been cut by nearly half in the past three years, down $30 million to $27 million, while the president’s fiscal year 2009 budget calls for another $330 million in cuts to EPA, largely aimed at wastewater projects,” McGinty said.

“The president’s FY 2009 budget requested only $555 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which would be the lowest level of funding for the program in its history if enacted,” she said.

Secretary McGinty said DEP is working to make the cost of compliance cheaper for wastewater treatment plants by implementing the Nutrient Credit Trading Program which now has more than 476,000 pounds of approved nitrogen credits available for purchase.

In October the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority authorized the investment of up to $50 million in federal funds to help jumpstart the nutrient trading program.

McGinty told the panel that Governor Rendell will form a Sustainable Water Infrastructure Task Force soon by executive order that will make recommendations for infrastructure funding across the state in time to be included in his 2009-10 budget request.

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LOS ANGELES, California, January 22, 2008 (ENS) – California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican; Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell, a Democrat; and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an Independent, stood beneath a Los Angeles highway interchange on Saturday to announce the formation of a non-partisan national coalition that will lobby for federal investment in America’s decaying infrastructure.

The need amounts to at least $1.6 trillion dollars over the next five years, they said, a need too great for any one level of government to handle alone.

“So we all got together and we decided that we should form a partnership, that we’d form a coalition,” Schwarzenegger said. “You have an Independent here, you have a Democrat here, a Republican. I mean, how much better can you get? And we are soul mates. We totally believe that we must rebuild America.”

In the short term, the coalition will work with presidential candidates and the platform committees of the national political parties to ensure that the next president understands the enormity of the infrastructure crisis and is committed to increasing federal funding, the three officials said.

From left: Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Governor
Ed Rendell, Mayor Michael
Bloomberg announce the
Building America’s Future
coalition. (Photo courtesy
Office of Governor
Schwarzenegger)

“This coalition is going to demand that the presidential nominees tell us what their position on infrastructure is, talk to us about what their goals and dreams are for building a better American infrastructure,” said Governor Rendell.

“In July of this year I take over as the chair of the National Governors Association,” said the Pennsylvania governor, “and with Governor Schwarzenegger’s help, we the governors are going to focus attention like a laser on infrastructure.”

The new coalition, called Building America’s Future, will be not-for-profit organization made up of elected and executive officials serving at the state and local levels of government.

“Our coalition is going to be made up of literally hundreds of local and state government officials and leaders,” Governor Rendell said. “It’s going to include private sector associations and individuals, and it is going to go everywhere to beat the drum for infrastructure for America’s future.”

“We have an infrastructure crisis,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Nonstop television showed us in New Orleans when the levees broke, and Minneapolis when the bridge collapsed. But the governors and the mayors of this country every day see at an operational level bridges that are rusting away, and tracks that can’t carry high speed trains, and power transmission lines that can’t keep up with demand, and airports that need new runways, and water lines that need backup systems, and sewage plants that leak into the rivers and the oceans.”

“If we continue to ignore these problems we are going to suffer more collapses, more human tragedies, and more economic pain, and that’s just in the short term,” Bloomberg said. “Over the long run we really are going to risk losing our place as the world’s leading super power.”

“China, Japan, India, Dubai, Malaysia, Europe, all of them are investing in modern infrastructure at higher rates that we are here in the United States,” the mayor said. “But Congress is setting back and resting on its accomplishments of past generations, our parents’ generation. And they can only go on this way for so long before the rest of the world starts to pass us by. And we are here to say we cannot let that happen. We cannot hand our children a country that is crumbling from neglect.”

“America needs $1.6 trillion worth of infrastructure over the next five years, yet federal investment has been cut in half as a percent of gross domestic product since 1987,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This is disastrous because without adequate infrastructure to quickly and safely move goods and people our economy and our traffic will stop dead in its tracks.”

Cars and roadway litter the
river where the I-35 bridge
collapsed in Minneapolis.
August 5, 2007. (Photo by
Todd Swain courtesy FEMA)

The problem has two parts, Bloomberg said, “we under-invest in infrastructure, and we invest badly. And both problems spring from the same source; short-term political calculations.”

But in his view, the timing of the new coalition’s push for funding “couldn’t be better” because “there’s a lot of talk in Washington about putting together an economic stimulus package.”

“Democrats can say that investing in infrastructure is in the great tradition of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Republicans can say it’s in the great tradition of Dwight D. Eisenhower. I think it is in the great tradition of America, and if both parties want to take credit for it, I think that’s great. Let’s just get the job done,” said the mayor.

Governor Rendell said he and the other other two founding members are good people to lead the coalition “is not just, as Governor Schwarzenegger said, that we represent parts of the political spectrum, but each and every one of us has made a significant commitment in our own jurisdiction to rebuilding our infrastructure.”

“In the past 20 years, state and local governments have been forced to pay more and more of the cost for infrastructure repairs and expansion,” said the Pennyslvania governor. “Three-quarters of our nation’s infrastructure spending is by state and local governments. In the past five years Pennsylvania has increased state funding for bridge repairs by 300 percent, yet the number of structurally deficient bridges has increased. Our country can’t do it without federal leadership.”

One organization has already offered its support to the fledgling coalition. The Rockefeller Foundation has committed funding for staffing and resources.

“For almost a century, the Rockefeller Foundation has supported breakthrough solutions to society’s most pressing problems, and one of the most urgent challenges today is our aging and inadequate transportation infrastructure,” said Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin, who joined the Mayor and the two governors under the L.A. highway interchange.

“A few years ago, the Rockefeller Foundation funded the hurricane recovery planning process in New Orleans, and so we saw deeply and personally what happens when infrastructure and transportation fail. Lives are lost, vast amounts of property are damaged, elected officials are held in account. All of this was after the fact,” Rodin said.

“We’ve seen now the need for robust advanced planning, and much more focused attention on investments and infrastructure and transportation,” she said. “We can no longer rely on FEMA and the federal government to solve our infrastructure disasters after the fact.

“First, it is very clear that our aging and insufficient infrastructure makes us frighteningly vulnerable to natural and to manmade disasters,” said Rodin. “We can do better; we must do better.”

“Second, as the governors and mayor articulated, continuing environmental degradation and climate change are inextricably linked with the choices we make, not just about the roads we build or the railways we need, but about land use and zoning and housing,” she said.

The bottom line, said Governor Schwarzenegger, is that we cannot wait for people to die in floods and bridge collapses before we get the message.

“I think we got the message,” he said, “that we must rebuild America, we must invest in America, and that is the bottom line.”

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