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This Pittsburgh slag pile has been redeveloped into a 238-acre park. |
Enacting a measure to put the $800 million Growing Greener II initiative on the spring ballot remains a top priority of the administration to enhance the economic and environmental health of Pennsylvania.
Governor Rendell reaffirmed his commitment to giving voters the chance to say “yes” or “no” to the wide-ranging initiative during his 2005-06 budget address. Growing Greener II stabilizes key environmental programs facing financial challenges and launches new efforts that are critical to improving quality of life while making the Commonwealth more attractive and competitive.
Under Governor Rendell’s plan, funds from the voter-approved bond issue would be distributed among three areas over four years: $330 million for parks, open space and farmland; $300 million for environmental cleanup; and $170 million to revitalize older communities.
Growing Greener II provides $100 million over four years to address the problems associated with abandoned mines. Pennsylvania suffers from the hazards of abandoned mines more than any other state. There are 8,529 acres of unreclaimed refuse piles with 258 million tons of waste coal.
The state has 2,000 abandoned and flooding mine pools that discharge polluted water from about 5,000 known points, threatening the health of rivers and streams. More than 4,000 miles of Pennsylvania’s streams are impaired by polluted mine drainage.
The Commonwealth has at least 10,000 chemical-contaminated sites in need of cleanup and redevelopment. The Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund is nearly bankrupt. Growing Greener II provides $40 million over four years to clean up brownfields, and the initiative also helps stabilize the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund with new fees on toxic emissions.