HB 109 — An Act amending Title 27 (Environmental Resources) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for issuance of permits in environmental justice areas.

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO.

87 THEPRINTER'S GENERALNO. ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL Session of No.

1091281 2025THE INTRODUCEDGENERAL BYASSEMBLY VITALI,OF RABB,PENNSYLVANIA KENYATTA,HOUSE ISAACSON,BILL FREEMAN,Session HOHENSTEIN, HILL-EVANS, KHAN, PROBST, SANCHEZ, SAMUELSON AND HOWARD, JANUARY 14, 2025 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION, JANUARY 14, 2025 AN ACT Amending Title 27 (Environmental Resources) of theNo. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for issuance of permits in environmental justice areas.

109 2025 INTRODUCED BY VITALI, RABB, KENYATTA, ISAACSON, FREEMAN, HOHENSTEIN, HILL-EVANS, KHAN, PROBST, SANCHEZ, SAMUELSON, HOWARD, DALEY, SALISBURY, PIELLI, OTTEN, GREEN, WEBSTER, BENHAM, MADDEN, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, STEELE, SCOTT, TAKAC, KAZEEM, POWELL, KINKEAD, INGLIS, WAXMAN, O'MARA, RIVERA, BOROWSKI, HARKINS, SHUSTERMAN, MAYES, KRAJEWSKI AND A.

BROWN, JANUARY 14, 2025 AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, APRIL 7, 2025 AN ACT Amending Title 27 (Environmental Resources) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for issuance of permits in environmental justice areas.

"Cumulative environmental impacts." The totality of existing and imminent environmental AND PUBLIC HEALTH impacts and OF <-- pollution in a defined geographic area, to INCLUDING POLLUTION <-- 20250HB0109PN1281 - 2 - OF land, waters of this Commonwealth or ambient air, and <-- regardless of whether the pollution has been authorized under the laws of this Commonwealth.

20250HB0109PN0087 - 2 - "Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth.

(2) Air permits for any new major source of hazardous <-- air pollutants or criteria pollutants.

(4)(2) WasteAIR permitsPERMITS involvingFOR aANY combinedMAJOR monthlySTATIONARY volumeSOURCE inOF excessANY: of 25 tons, or any major modification of waste permits, including changes that result in an increase in capacity or a facility expansion, for landfills, commercial hazardous waste treatment facilities, storage or disposal facilities and other disposal facilities, including a landfill that accepts ash, construction or demolition debris, medical waste or solid waste, transfer stations, recycling centers, commercial incinerators and other waste processing facilities.

(5)<-- Mining(I) permitsVOLATILE forORGANIC bituminousCOMPOUND; and anthracite underground mines, bituminous and anthracite surface mines, 20250HB0109PN0087 - 3 - 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 biosolids for reclamation.

(6)(II) AnPOLLUTANT individualREGULATED permitUNDER for42 aU.S.C. land application of biosolids.

(7)§ Concentrated7411 animal(RELATING feedingTO operationsSTANDARDS thatOF arePERFORMANCE newFOR orNEW expandedSTATIONARY operationsSOURCES) ofOR greater7412 than(RELATING 1,000TO animalHAZARDOUS equivalentAIR units,POLLUTANTS); concentrated animal operation of greater than 300 animal equivalent units in a special protection watershed or a concentrated animal operation with direct discharge to surface waters.

(8)OR An(III) electricPOLLUTANT generatingFOR facilityWHICH withA aNATIONAL capacityPRIMARY ofAMBIENT moreAIR thanQUALITY 10STANDARD megawatts.HAS BEEN PROMULGATED.

(9)(4) A(3) sewageWaste permits involving a combined monthly <-- 20250HB0109PN1281 - 3 - volume in excess of 25 tons, or any major modification of waste permits, including changes that result in an increase in capacity or a facility expansion, for landfills, commercial hazardous waste treatment plantfacilities, withstorage or disposal facilities and other disposal facilities, including a capacitylandfill ofthat moreaccepts thanash, 50,000,000construction gallonsor perdemolition day.debris, medical waste or solid waste, transfer stations, recycling centers, commercial incinerators and other waste processing facilities.

(10)(5) Underground(4) injectionMining controlpermits wellsfor associatedbituminous withand oilanthracite <-- underground mines, bituminous and gasanthracite development.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 biosolids for reclamation.

(11)(6) Other(5) facilitiesAn asindividual designatedpermit byfor thea Environmentalland Qualityapplication Boardof through<-- regulationsbiosolids. under this chapter.

(7) (6) Concentrated animal feeding operations that are <-- new or expanded operations of greater than 1,000 animal equivalent units, concentrated animal operation of greater than 300 animal equivalent units in a special protection watershed or a concentrated animal operation with direct discharge to surface waters.

(8) (7) An electric generating facility with a capacity <-- of more than 10 NINE megawatts.

<-- (9) (8) A sewage treatment plant with a capacity of more <-- than 50,000,000 gallons per day.

(10) (9) Underground injection control wells associated <-- with oil and gas development.

20250HB0109PN1281 - 4 - (11) (10) Other facilities as designated by the <-- Environmental Quality Board through regulations under this chapter.

20250HB0109PN0087 - 4 - (b) Designation.--No later than 120 days after the effective date of this section, the department shall designate and make publicly available environmental justice areas in this Commonwealth.

(1) The permit applicant shall prepare and submit with the application for facility permit or other authorization, a cumulative environmental impact report assessing the environmental impact of the proposed new facility or expansion of an existing facility, together with the cumulative impacts on the environmental justice area, and the 20250HB0109PN1281 - 5 - adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided or mitigated should the permit be granted.

20250HB0109PN0087 - 5 - (ii) At least 14 days prior to the date set for the hearing, a copy of the public notice shall be sent to the clerk of the municipality in which the environmental justice area is located.

20250HB0109PN1281 - 6 - (b) Decision by department.--The department may not issue a decision on the permit application until at least 60 days after a public hearing.

(d) Publication.--The applicant shall provide copies of applications for a permit for a facility located in whole or in part in an environmental justice area to the clerk of the municipality in which the environmental justice area is located, who may recommend to the department conditions upon, revisions 20250HB0109PN0087 - 6 - to or disapproval of the permit only if specific cause is identified.

20250HB0109PN1281 - 7 - (b) Publication of permits.--In addition to publication requirements under law and regulation, the department shall publish all permits granted under this chapter, along with any guidance documents, on its publicly accessible Internet website.

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