Good afternoon Supporter,

Clean water is an essential component of healthy and thriving communities around the world, and a constitutional right in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the promise of clean water does not exist for many of our residents. To that end, Pennsylvania has more than 85,000 miles of streams and rivers, 30 percent of which are impaired and polluted. 

The problem ahead of us is enormous but not insurmountable. That’s why PennFuture has been working this fall to raise awareness of important legislation in Harrisburg that could bring significant investments in clean water to Pennsylvania. 

The first bill is Senate Bill 832, which would create the Clean Stream Fund and fund it at $250 million from the American Rescue Plan. Half of that funding would go to the proposed Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) to provide funding and technical support to expand on-farm conservation practices throughout Pennsylvania, including high-priority areas such as the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. To highlight the importance of this bill, PennFuture and partners held a webinar with state Senator Gene Yaw on Nov. 22nd to talk about the importance of conservation to Pennsylvania. 

Click here now to watch our ACAP webinar!

The second bill is Senate Bill 525, which would reinvigorate, with an infusion of $500 million, a popular conservation program created under former Gov. Tom Ridge called Growing Greener. PennFuture and our partners held a second webinar on Dec. 1st, calling on state officials to spend American Rescue Plan funds on clean water initiatives in Pennsylvania. During the webinar, we were joined by prominent officials like Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn to highlight the importance of investing in Growing Greener for clean water projects. 
 
Click here now to watch our webinar with Sec. Dunn!  

The Growing Greener program and the Clean Streams Fund could both be game-changers for clean water in Pennsylvania. Specifically, the Growing Greener program provides critical support to community-driven work that improves and protects our cities and towns. Since 1999, Growing Greener has been a lifeline to conservation and clean water projects across the state. These investments bring lasting benefits to communities across Pennsylvania from clean water to open spaces to recreational pursuits for Pennsylvanians and tourists alike.

Growing Greener and the Clean Streams Fund are in the best interests of anyone who cherishes clean water and conservation. That’s why SB 832 and SB 525 are so important to the future of Pennsylvania. 

Do your part today and help us get these bills across the finish line! Click here to ask your elected officials to vote in favor of both Senate Bills 832 and 525 when they come up for a vote in Harrisburg.