The JLCC Newsletter A Monthly Update from the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee AUGUST 2020 SPOTLIGHT ON PENNSYLVANIA: CHESTER COUNTY’S LONGWOOD GARDENS By Sakura Ung EDUCATION AND STEWARDSHIP Committee Project Manager Longwood Gardens is considered to be the area which help to keep the water ority to Longwood. The K-12 programs a top tourist destination in Southeast healthy and clean from excess nutrients offered at Longwood Gardens allows Pennsylvania and a haven for horticul- and pollutants. Longwood Gardens con- youth to explore nature and gain knowl- ture enthusiasts and citizens around the tains a living plant collection of more edge about native plants and flowers by world who have a passion for nature’s than 10,000 taxa. Some of the main col- touring the grounds with their schools, magnificent flora, fauna and landscapes. lections at the site include: Boxwood, attending summer camps, or visiting Located in Chester County, Pennsylva- Camellia, Chrysanthemum, Bonsai, or- through Scout programs. Recent high nia, Longwood Gardens was founded chid, fern, and water lily. Several formal school graduates also have the opportu- by Pierre S. du Pont in 1906. Prior to its outdoor gardens surround the property nity to attend the Professional Horticul- founding as a public garden, the proper- including the Main Fountain Garden, ture Program, which is a comprehensive ty was home to the native Lenni Lenape Flower Garden Walk and Student Exhibi- and rigorous 2-year program that focuses tribe and Quaker farmers. tion Garden. While visiting the property, on students studying horticulture in areas The estate property sits on 1,100 acres guests will walk by stunningly vibrant such as: Plant Health Care; Horticultural containing the Peirce-du Pont House and detailed fountains and ponds. Crop Production; and Plant Identification and a 4-acre conservatory that is pre- Providing educational opportunities to and Culture. sented in different themes for visitors engage citizens of all ages in the rich Longwood Gardens provides internships and to walk through and enjoy. Riparian history of the gardens and to learn more co-op programs for college and university buffers can also be seen throughout about horticulture and nature is a key pri- Continued on page 6 August 2020 IN THIS ISSUE Volume 21, Number 8 Spotlight on Pennsylvania . 1 State Government Update . 2 Research Briefs . 4 Spotlight on Pennsylvania Continued . 6 Did You Know? . 7 This Month in Conservation History . 7 Committee Throwback . 8 @PA_JLCC PA Joint Legislative Conservation Committee pa_jlcc Joint Legislative Conservation Committee 2 T HE J LCC N EWSLE tt ER State Government Update Environmental Memoranda, Bills, Votes and Acts Access the provided hyperlinks to see more information from the Pennsylvania General Assembly official webpage. Cosponsorship Memoranda Representative Sara Innamorato – August 13 Testing, Treating and Classifying Drilling Waste Requires oil and gas companies to test and treat waste prior to disposal in municipal landfills or wastewater treatment facilities under the PA Solid Waste Management Act. Also includes drilling waste in the definition of “hazardous waste” under the act. Legislation Representative Lee James House Bill 2219 – Adds a member of the Coal Refuse Reclamation to Energy Industry to the Mining Reclamation and Advisory Board. Referred to Senate Environmental Resources and Energy – August 10 Representative Daniel Miller House Bill 2712 – Amends the Oil and Gas Act to remove current exceptions for hiding chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. It would also require the disclosure of chemicals 14 days prior to use. Referred to House Environmental Resources and Energy – July 30 Representative Frank Burns House Bill 2715 – Requires construction or repair projects done by a private entity that receives taxpayer funding to use Ameri- can-made steel. Referred to House State Government – July 30 Representative Frank Burns House Bill 2716 – Requires any construction or repair of underground pipelines to use American-made steel. Referred to House Consumer Affairs – July 30 Representative Curt Sonney House Bill 2736 – Amends the PA Sewage Facilities Act to mandate DEP to construct, retain and make publicly available at least 10 established manners of conventional on-lot sewage systems. Referred to House Environmental Resources and Energy – July 30 Representative James Struzzi House Bill 2742 – Establishes the Office of Compliance Assistance and Pollution Prevention within the DEP to assist small and me- dium-sized businesses with environmental compliance. Referred to House Environmental Resources and Energy – August 6 Representative Chris Quinn House Bill 2778 – Encourages the growth of renewable energy by changing the AEPS Tier I goal to 18 percent by 2025. Of this, 3.75 percent would come from in-state grid-scale solar and 1.75 percent would come from in-state distributed solar. It would also limit the cost of Alternative Energy Credits. Referred to House Environmental Resources and Energy – August 13 Representative Steve McCarter House Bill 2795 – Mandates that public schools include a curriculum on climate change beginning in elementary school that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards. Referred to House Education – August 13 A UGUS T 2 0 2 0 3 State Government Update Environmental Memoranda, Bills, Votes and Acts Representative Parke Wentling House Bill 2797 – Maintains the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee. Referred to Environmental Resources and Energy – August 18 Representative Doyle Heffley Joint Legislative House Bill 2806 – Amends the Conservation and Natural Resources Act so that any fees collected by state parks will be used solely for the maintenance, operation or ad- Conservation ministration of the state park system. Specific state parks may impose fees or parking charges to provide for these purposes. Committee Referred to House Tourism and Recreational Development – August 21 Senator Jay Costa Contact Information Senate Bill 15 – Instructs the Environmental Quality Board to reduce carbon emissions from the electric power sector by at least 90 percent by 2040 by developing a carbon cap and invest program. Any revenue generated from this will be directed towards clean air promotion, mitigating utility bill impacts, increasing energy efficiency and assisting communities impacted by power plant or mine closures. Phone : Referred to Senate Environmental Resources and Energy – August 11 717.787.7570 Website : jcc .legis .state .pa .us Location: Room 408 Finance Building Harrisburg, PA 17120 Mailing Address: Joint Legislative Conservation Committee PA House of Representatives P.O. Box 202254 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2254 4 T HE J LCC N EWSLE tt ER Research Briefs The information or opinions expressed in the Research Brief articles do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee, nor those of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Fragmented A study published in the journal Nature control habitats. Not only the number of challenges this hypothesis, pulling data individuals, but less species were pres- Ecosystems Ineffective from 123 studies of habitat islands – from ent overall. In other words, less animals, for Biodiversity literal islands to the patches of trees re- insects and plants per acre - particularly maining between developments and larger animals. Coleen Engvall, Research Analyst farmland. Led by Doctor Jonathan Chase, The researchers note that using the most Policies and private efforts to conserve the team analyzed the evidence used in accurate models is important for form- biodiversity could change in the wake those studies to discover how local bio- ing impactful, cost-effective policy to of evidence that smaller ecosystems diversity fared in isolated habitats versus preserve biodiversity. Perhaps investing do not retain the same number of spe- biodiversity in areas of the same size that in the protection of large ecosystems is cies or individuals as land of the same are part of larger wild spaces. more beneficial than numerous small size which is part of a larger habitat. Their work pointed to the model known protected areas. However, some areas Conservation scientists have often oper- as ecosystem decay, which predicts that still showed unexpected levels of loss so ated under the assumption that habitat smaller ecosystems are more susceptible further research is needed to understand loss and biodiversity loss were propor- to further loss and decline. This hypoth- the complete picture. tional when trying to preserve popula- esis tries to explain why more species The full article can be accessed at: https:// tions in an ever-developing world. This leave or go locally extinct than current www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020- model is known as “passive sampling” models anticipate. 2531-2. and it informs much of the policy aimed In all the studies they examined, the at slowing the decline of biodiversity. number of plants, animals and insects was less in smaller fragments than the COVID-19’s Impact on proximately 8 million jobs set to be lost by summer. U .S . Travel Industry The report looks at the sectors forecast Tony Guerrieri, Executive Director to experience the highest losses in direct Tourism is a $45 billion industry in spending within the wider U.S. travel in- Pennsylvania. A total of 515,000 jobs dustry. The pandemic is going to have are supported by the state’s travel and the worst financial effect on the Food Ser- tourism industry. vices sector with a $128 billion decline in spending expected this year. Lodging/Ac- The U.S. Travel Association and Oxford commodation will lose $112 billion while Economics released a report highlighting Air Transportation will experience just un- COVID-19’s devastating impact on the der $100 billion in lost spending. American travel and tourism sector. The U.S. is projected to suffer a $519 billion de- The report predicts that once the situa- cline in direct travel spending translating tion has stabilized, expect a rapid recovery into $1.2 trillion in lost economic output.