(Editor’s note: the following is a press release from the office of State Rep. Todd Stephens.)
Leading environmental groups joined Gov. Tom Wolf in supporting Rep. Todd Stephens’s (R-Montgomery) House Bill 1410, to fund infrastructure changes needed to remove polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from drinking water.
“I’m proud to have the support of Clean Water Action, Penn Environment and PennFuture for House Bill 1410, which would not only help all the residents impacted by the military base but help communities with similar problems across the Commonwealth,” said Stephens.
“House Bill 1410 is part of the answer to the big outstanding question of who will pay for cleanups and the effects the chemicals have had on Pennsylvanians,” Clean Water Action wrote in a letter to legislators. “It is also a part of a solution that will help ensure residents once again have access to their constitutional right to pure water.”
House Bill 1410 would redirect a portion of state tax revenue generated from the reuse of the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station and some land surrounding it to a newly created municipal authority, which would use the funds to eliminate the local surcharges ratepayers have been paying for clean water; to remediate water contamination caused by the military installation; and for infrastructure to encourage redevelopment of the closed military installation.
“It’s wrong for local ratepayers to pay for a problem caused by the federal government,” Stephens said. “House Bill 1410 will ensure payment for those costs and the cleanup efforts in other communities.
In addition, the legislation would direct PENNVEST to develop a program to address PFAS water contamination in communities across the Commonwealth. PENNVEST funds sewer, storm water and drinking water projects across Pennsylvania.
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