Andrew Heath Executive Director PA Growing Greener Coalition

OVERVIEW ABOUT THE COALITION THE BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS THE BIG QUESTION WHAT IS NEXT? STATE BUDGET

Mission: To enhance the health and economic well-being of communities across the Commonwealth by advocating for funding to conserve, restore, and protect land, water and wildlife, to preserve farms and historic places, and to provide well- managed parks and recreational areas throughout the state

THE BIG PICTURE

FUNDING PROGRAMS Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund (Key ’93) Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund (ESF) Heritage Areas Program Marcellus Shale Legacy Fund (Act 13 of 2012) Oil and Gas Lease Fund (OGLF)

THE BIG PICTURE KEY ‘93 Established in % of the state’s realty transfer tax. DCNR receives 65% of the Keystone Fund and awards grants to project types including Community Recreation Grants for planning, development, and land acquisition; Rivers Conservation Plans and Projects; Land Trust Projects; and Rails- to-Trails Projects. PHMC receives a portion of the Keystone Fund and awards grants to support projects that identify, preserve, promote, and protect historic and archaeological resources in Pennsylvania for both the benefit of the public and community revitalization. ADMINISTRATORS: Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

AG PRESERVATION Established in Fifty-seven participating county programs receive state funds for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements. Counties participating in the program have appointed agricultural land preservation boards with a state board created to oversee this program. Farm owners apply to the county program. ADMINISTRATOR: Department of Agriculture In 1993, the easement purchase program was granted a dedicated funding source, 2% of cigarette tax revenue. In 2002, provisions changed, receives a flat amount of $20,485,000 annually. THE BIG PICTURE

GROWING GREENER (ESF) Established in 1999 – general fund commitment of $650 million. In 2002, dedicated source of funding found in ‘Tipping Fee’ In 2005, $625 million bond for Growing Greener II Program has provided funds to communities and non-profit organizations to help restore and protect local watersheds, clean up abandoned mines, preserve and acquire farmlands and open spaces, and lessen nonpoint source pollution from entering waterways. ADMINISTRATORS: Department of Agriculture, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority Also provides funds for maintaining our award- winning state park system, for heritage conservation, and for the development of multipurpose trails, greenways, and parks in our communities. THE BIG PICTURE

HERITAGE AREAS PROGRAM Established in 1989, the Heritage Areas Program is a smartly built, multifaceted regional strategy to conserve and enhance resources and promote its heritage for tourism development. ADMINISTRATOR: Department of Conservation and Natural Resources provides funding to the 12 state-designated, multi- county heritage area regions. The heritage areas pass a portion of these funds in the form of grants to communities, nonprofits and other organizations partnering within the heritage regions. Pennsylvania is home to 12 state-designated Heritage Areas. The program currently receives a general fund line-item appropriation in DCNR’s annual budget. THE BIG PICTURE

OIL & GAS LEASE FUND Established in Revenues are derived from rents and royalties from oil and gas leases of Commonwealth-owned land – Act 50 provides $50 million for an annual appropriation from the fund to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. ADMINISTRATOR: Department of Conservation and Natural Resources 2012 – Act 13 authorized annual transfers to the Marcellus Shale Legacy Fund to be passed on to the Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund ($35 million annually) and the Hazardous Site Cleanup Fund. THE BIG PICTURE

MARCELLUS SHALE LEGACY FUND Established through the enactment of Act 13 of Receipts deposited come from transfers from the Unconventional Gas Well Fund and the Oil and Gas Lease Fund. In 2013–2014, this fund dispersed more than $186 million, of which more than $56 million went toward environmental, conservation, and recreation projects with another $27.8 million being transferred to the Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund. ADMINISTRATOR: The Public Utility Commission provides for the transfers from this fund to the Commonwealth Financing Authority, county governments, and state agencies that administer the Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund. THE BIG PICTURE

(40%) Marcellus Shale Legacy Fund provides funding to the following environmental programs: 1.(20%) Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) 2.(10%) Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund Act 13 also authorizes annual transfers from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to the Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund 3.(25%) Water & Sewer Projects Split between PENNVEST and CFA H20 PA 4.(15%) County Conservation and Recreation Projects 5.(5%) Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund MARCELLUS SHALE LEGACY FUND THE BIG PICTURE

THE BIG QUESTION

15 THE BIG QUESTION Non-Profits & Local Governments Acid / Abandoned Mine Drainage Agriculture Preservation Community Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Greenways Habitat Restoration and Protection Historic Preservation and Heritage Area Conservation Land and Water Conservation Stormwater Management and Sewer Infrastructure Watershed Restoration Other Opportunities

16 WHAT IS NEXT?

STATE BUDGET

QUESTION & ANSWER

Andrew Heath Executive Director PA Growing Greener Coalition Work: Cell: P.O. Box 103 Elizabethtown, PA