Andrew Heath
Executive Director
PA Growing Greener Coalition
OVERVIEW
 ABOUT THE COALITION
 THE BIG PICTURE
 THE BIG QUESTION
 WHAT IS NEXT?
 STATE BUDGET
 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
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 wellmanaged 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)
 Established in 1993.
 15% 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 Railsto-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
THE BIG PICTURE
KEY ‘93
 Established in 1988.
 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.
 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
THE BIG PICTURE
AG PRESERVATION
 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.
 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.
ADMINISTRATORS: Department of Agriculture, Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources, Department of
Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment
Authority
THE BIG PICTURE
GROWING GREENER (ESF)
 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.
 Pennsylvania is home to 12 state-designated Heritage Areas.
 The program currently receives a general fund line-item
appropriation in DCNR’s annual budget.
ADMINISTRATOR: Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources provides funding to the 12 state-designated, multicounty 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.
THE BIG PICTURE
HERITAGE AREAS PROGRAM
 Established in 1955.
 Revenues are derived from rents and royalties from oil and gas
leases of Commonwealth-owned land.
 2009 – Act 50 provides $50 million for an annual appropriation
from the fund to the 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.
ADMINISTRATOR: Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources
THE BIG PICTURE
OIL & GAS LEASE FUND
 Established through the enactment of Act 13 of 2012.
 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
MARCELLUS SHALE LEGACY FUND
 (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
THE BIG PICTURE
MARCELLUS SHALE LEGACY FUND
THE BIG QUESTION
 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
THE BIG QUESTION
Non-Profits & Local Governments
 Stormwater Management and Sewer Infrastructure
 Watershed Restoration
 Other Opportunities
15
WHAT IS NEXT?
16
STATE
BUDGET
QUESTION
&
ANSWER
Andrew Heath
Executive Director
PA Growing Greener Coalition
Work: 717.745.9304
Cell: 717.824.2281
P.O. Box 103
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
www.PaGrowingGreener.org