Growing Greener means good things for Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is a beautiful place to live, work and raise a family. Growing up and living here has been a blessing.

Our state is home to more miles of streams and rivers than any state other than Alaska. Many of these waterways are the source of our drinking water and all are critical to the health of our communities and our economy.

Along with our parks, trails and other natural resources, our waterways provide recreational opportunities for families throughout the state and attract millions of visitors to the Commonwealth each year.

However, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, more than 19,000 miles of the state’s waterways are currently impaired and cannot sustain aquatic life; are not safe for drinking or recreational use; and cannot support agriculture and other industries.

In other words – no fishing, no swimming, no boating, and no water for the locally grown fruits and vegetables we all enjoy.

Established in 1999, the state’s Growing Greener program has funded hundreds of local parks and trail projects, conserved more than 80,000 acres of threatened open space, and restored hundreds of miles of streams and waterways.

The program has also protected more than 78,000 acres of farmland, restored more than 1,600 acres of abandoned mine land, and helped reduce flooding and water pollution through 400 watershed protection projects and more than 100 drinking and wastewater treatment improvements.

But despite the program’s proven record of success, there is much more work that needs to be done.

The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition has identified the need for more than $315 million in annual investments to protect Pennsylvania’s water, land, forests and other natural resources, stimulate economic growth in local communities and improve the quality of life for all Pennsylvanians.

Now, a bipartisan group of Senators being led by Sens. Tom Killion, R-9, of Middletown, Chuck McIllhenny, R-Bucks, and Richard Alloway, R-York, are sponsoring legislation that establishes a framework for a Growing Greener III program..

Funding for the program has been cut by 75 percent since the mid-2000s and is at an all-time low.

As article 1, section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution reads: “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all of the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

Further, investments in Growing Greener are investments in our local and state economies, supporting thousands upon thousands of jobs, including those associated with two of Pennsylvania’s top industries, agriculture and tourism.

In fact, one in seven Pennsylvania jobs are related to agriculture, and recreation – like camping, kayaking and cycling – accounts for $6.4 billion of tourism spending. Additionally, every $1 invested in our state parks generates $12 in economic benefits for the surrounding community, and every 10 percent increase in tree cover reduces water treatment costs by 20 percent.

As budget negotiations continue in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition urges the Governor and Legislature to work to together to identify a sustainable funding source for Growing Greener.

Pennsylvania needs to be doing more to keep our water clean, protect our natural resources, and revitalize our communities – not less.