skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

State Must Spend to Meet Clean Water Goals

play audio
Play

Friday, January 22, 2016   

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The state on Thursday unveiled its new strategy for cleaning up polluted rivers and streams - but it's going to take money to implement.

Pennsylvania has fallen behind in its efforts to clean up some 19,000 miles of polluted waterways. The new plan establishes a number of immediate and long-term actions to get back on track.

Harry Campbell, state director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said the state acknowledges that its efforts to date have fallen short.

"So, we have a lot of catch-up to do," he said. "And in order to do that, we need to have the resources, both in personnel as well as in assistance for farmers and others to actually implement practices."

According to a Pennsylvania State University study, it will cost almost $380 million a year over the next decade to implement the agricultural practices needed to meet the pollution-reduction goals - and agriculture is key. A 2010 agreement with other states and the federal Environmental Protection Agency established benchmarks for reducing nitrogen pollution flowing into Chesapeake Bay. Campbell said those reductions are now off by 29 million pounds.

"Pennsylvania is responsible for 23 million pounds of that," he said, "of which 81 percent of that 23 million pounds comes from agriculture."

The state Department of Environmental Protection estimated that only 30 percent of farms in the state are in compliance with current state clean-water laws.

The EPA already has withheld $3 million for Pennsylvania's failure to meet clean-water commitments. Campbell said failure to implement the new plan would bring more sanctions.

"These are real consequences that will result in changes in regulatory schemes and how Pennsylvania can spend certain allocations, that will affect Pennsylvanian taxpayers and ratepayers," he said.

But if Pennsylvania's clean-water plans are fully implemented, he said, the value of natural benefits would increase by an estimated $6.2 billion annually.

More information is online at dep.pa.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021