Sep. 30, 2024
HARRISBURG – In the wake of major flood damage caused by Tropical Storm Debby, Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford) has introduced two measures aimed at boosting the funding and freedom necessary to better maintain creeks and streams to reduce flood risk.
“In the weeks since extraordinary flooding hit many communities in Tioga County and other nearby counties, the question I get over and over again is what are we going to do to stop this from happening again,” Owlett said. “I share people’s frustration with the red tape and limited resources that inhibit our ability to maintain creeks and streams. This absolutely must change so we can protect lives and livelihoods against future flood events here in our communities and across the Commonwealth.”
Owlett has introduced two bills aimed at achieving this goal.
House Bill 2602 would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to expand the work area associated with emergency permits for stream clearing activities awarded to a governmental entity like PennDOT or a municipality. Under current law, the permits only allow for clearing out the area 50 feet around a bridge. If a larger area needs clearing, as often happens, the work must stop and crews wait for extended approval from DEP, which sometimes never comes.
Owlett’s bill would change the emergency permit to allow for work within 250 feet of a bridge. This would not apply to routine stream maintenance, but only for emergency approvals when there has been a declared declaration of emergency at the county level.
Additionally, Owlett has introduced
House Bill 2603 to address the extremely limited funding for stream clearing work by requiring any lease and royalty payments made to the Commonwealth for oil and gas production under streambeds outside of state forests to be placed in restricted accounts that may be used only for proper maintenance of creeks and streams.
“While the Commonwealth puts up plenty of red tape when it comes to maintaining our creeks and streams, they do very little of the work themselves. It instead falls to local communities and landowners who have very limited resources to address the issue,” Owlett said. “This is especially egregious when you consider how the state is claiming ownership of waterways if they are considered ‘navigable,’ and then leasing oil and gas rights under the streambeds to make money.
“My bill basically says the state can’t have it both ways. If they are going to make money from oil and gas rights but not maintain the waterways on the surface, they can give us the money instead to do what we need to do to protect our citizens and our communities,” he added.
Under Owlett’s proposal, when the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) collects money from streambed leases and royalties that are located outside of state forests, the money would go to the county in which the lease is located for the county to fund stream maintenance work only.
The legislation would also require DCNR to retroactively pay the equivalent of how much money they have collected under existing leases since 2014 in each county to be put into these restricted accounts. This would give counties the ability to do some critical projects right away and ensure consistent funding in the future.
“My region has experienced extreme flooding twice in the last three years. It takes a financial toll and an emotional toll on residents, business owners, farmers and the volunteers who went so far above and beyond to help their neighbors not just on the day of the flood but for weeks after it,” Owlett said. “We cannot allow this to happen again.”
Owlett has also reintroduced a bill to allow local government organizations to apply for a permit for continuing maintenance for a period of at least 10 years for the streams within their jurisdiction. It would not require the local government to get pre-approval for maintenance projects.
Representative Clint Owlett
68th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Patricia Hippler
717.772.9846
phippler@pahousegop.com
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