Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

HARRISBURG – Citing the inefficient and cumbersome process communities must endure when trying to remove potential flood hazards from small streams, Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) has introduced legislation to force the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to streamline its process. “Stream obstructions, such as gravel bars, are serious flood hazards and can threaten the lives and property of people living nearby,” Causer said. “This is a serious problem, and we need a clear, efficient and effective process to deal with it – now.” During state House budget hearings earlier this year, Causer and several other lawmakers questioned DEP Secretary Michael Krancer extensively about the issue of gravel bars and the difficulty communities and property owners have when trying to address the hazard they create. Causer cited a situation in Emporium, Cameron County, where officials have been working for more than five years to gain approval to remove a gravel bar. The situation is st...

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry today held a public hearing to review Phase II of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Watershed Implementation Plans and their impact on rural communities. Among the hearing panelists were Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary, Michael Krancer, and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President, Carl Shaffer. The implementation of the TMDL is complex and far-reaching, affecting communities in six states and the District of Columbia. States are now in the second phase of a three-part process to limit discharge into the Bay and several of them have raised concerns about the cost and the regulatory burden they face in meeting the new limits. Witnesses testified that the process is being driven by flawed scientific modeling, arbitrary deadlines from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) instead of economic a...