On April 13, 2017, SB 624 was introduced to the Pennsylvania Senate. According to the Center for Coalfield Justice (CCJ), “SB 624 attempts to exempt predicted damage to streams from the Clean Streams Law for underground coal mine companies, creating an unconstitutional special rule for them.”
This bill would also alter the role the PA Department of Environmental Protection (the Department) plays in protecting streams and waterways:
Currently, the Department is obligated to protect a stream’s aquatic life uses and the community’s ability to use and enjoy the stream from predicted harm. SB 624 seeks to limit the Department’s authority in the longwall mining context to evaluating post-mining stream mitigation plans when total flow loss is predicted by the applicant. Under SB 624, the Department’s primary and almost exclusive obligation would be to require operators to mitigate predicted harm after it occurs rather than preventing the predicted harm from occurring in the first place.
CCJ, along with Sierra Club, will be holding a lobby day in Harrisburg on Tuesday, May 23. Transportation will be made available from Pittsburgh. For more information, or to RSVP, click here. To remind your Senator about the importance of abundant clean water, click here.
We appreciate all the time and effort you give toward this very important issue!