16851_Authority_Aug_2023

26 The Authority | AUGUST 2023 Other Bills SB 633 (Senator Jarrett Coleman – Bucks, Lehigh) Creating the Regulatory Sandbox Program and establishes the Regulatory Relief Office, an advisory committee, and other powers and duties. Regu- latory sandboxes enable in a real-life environment the testing of innovative technologies, products, services or approaches, which are not fully com- pliant with the existing legal and regulatory framework. They are oper- ated for a limited time and in a limited part of a sector or area and protect public health and safety with the po- tential to improve market conditions. SB 691 (Senator Gene Yaw – Bradford, Lycoming, Sulli- van, Tioga, and Union) Amends the Conservation and Natural Resources Act in renaming Depart- ment of Environmental Protection to the Department of Environmental Services. It will have no effect on the jurisdiction or enforcement obliga- tions of the department. SB 734 (Senator Tracy Pennycuick – Berks and Montgomery) Establishes an electronic waste recycling program to enhance and restruc- ture the current electronic waste recycling system. It also establishes the Pennsylvania E-Waste Steering Committee, which will be comprised of 13 environmental advocates and experts appointed by various state legislative leaders. SB 767 (Senator Lisa Boscola – Le- high and Northhampton) Amends the Human Ser- vices Code by establishing a permanent Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) in the Commonwealth. The American Rescue Plan funded the original federal LIHWAP program to support low-income households dur- ing the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pennsylvania received approximately $43 million. The federal LIHWAP was not reauthorized and the program essentially ended in October 2022. Other states have not exhaust- ed the federal funding, and, if funding is still available, Pennsylvania would be eligible to receive unused funds provided a program is in place. HB 652 (Representative Donna Bullock – Philadelphia) Amends Title 27 (Envi- ronmental Resources) which prevents DEP from granting permits for a new facility of expansion of an existing facility without specific actions taken by the permit applicant if located in whole or in part in a burdened community and provides for a public hearing and issuance of a decision from DEP 60 days after the public hearing. The proposed facilities or expansions of facilities would be required to have a report assessing the environmental impact, including cumulative impacts, on a burdened community. Facility is defined as the site of any department-regulated activity that may lead to significant public concern due to potential impacts on human health and the environment. The term includes, but shall not be limited to, sites that involve the following: 1. National Pollutant Discharge Elimi- nation System (NPDES) Permits at industrial wastewater facilities that discharge at or above 50,000 gallons per day. 2. Air permits for any new major source of hazardous air pollutants or criteria pollutants. 3. Air permits for any major modifi- cation of a major source that are subject to Prevention of Significant Deterioration or Nonattainment New Source Review. 4. Waste permits involving a com- bined monthly volume in excess of 25 tons, or any major modifi- cation of waste permits, including changes that result in an increase in capacity or a facility expansion, for landfills, commercial hazard- ous waste treatment facilities, storage or disposal facilities and other disposal facilities, includ- ing, but not limited to, a landfill that accepts ash, construction or demolition debris, medical waste or solid waste, transfer stations, recycling centers, commercial incinerators and other waste pro- cessing facilities. 5. Mining permits for bituminous and anthracite underground mines, bituminous and anthracite surface mines, large industrial mineral surface and underground mines, coal refuse disposal, coal refuse reprocessing, large coal preparation facility or any revision of permits under this paragraph that involve additional acreage for mineral removal or use of biosol- ids for reclamation. 6. An individual permit for a land application of biosolids. 7. Concentrated animal feeding op- erations that are new or expanded operations of greater than 1,000 Animal Equivalent Units (AEUs), Concentrated Animal Operation of greater than 300 AEUs in a Special Protection Watershed or a Con- centrated Animal Operation with direct discharge to surface waters. 8. An electric generating facility with a capacity of more than 10megawatts. 9. A sewage treatment plant with a capacity of more than 50,000,000 gallons per day. 10. Underground injection control wells associated with oil and gas development. 11. Other facilities as designated by the Environmental Quality Board through regulations under this chapter. Continued on page 59.