A legislative action list

With the year scarcely begun, it will be a couple of weeks before most governing bodies shift into gear. The time can profitably be used to identify a few key legislative areas that could use some nudging by the voting public over the coming year. We’d like to name a few that will have obvious impacts in our area that our readers might like to get involved in.

At the county level, one issue that cries out for attention is Sullivan County’s new solid waste disposal user fee. We are pleased that the Sullivan County Legislature adopted a fee structure that maintains some incentive for residents to curb waste generation, splitting fees between a flat portion and a tipping fee that varies with the quantity of waste disposed of. But the details of the way in which the flat fee is apportioned seem peculiar at best.

For instance, the difference between the waste generated by residents of a trailer and someone living in a house scarcely justifies the difference between $84.95 a year and the single-digit range that would, in many cases, result from the proposed blanket charge for homes in trailer parks. And if the goal, as one legislator seemed to imply, is to protect seniors, a special rate for all seniors would accomplish that more effectively and fairly. We also think that the $350 for “low-volume” businesses seems disproportionately high, when many small office-based businesses produce virtually nothing but recyclable waste, mostly paper.

It is too late to adjust such inequities for the current year, but the introduction of legislation modifying the fee structure for next year is eminently possible, and worth pressing for.

At the state level, one bill to be aware of is Pennsylvania’s Family and Business Health Security Act (SB400 in the senate, HB1660 in the house). It’s a big improvement on the fiasco in Washington, DC, a messy corporate giveaway that funnels billions of dollars from the pockets of consumers to health insurers without providing coverage that is either affordable or complete. The Pennsylvania legislation would provide health care—not health insurance, but actual health care—to all Pennsylvanians. Private medical providers would stay the same, but the state would take over as the payer of bills. Co-pays and deductibles would be eliminated, made possible by the elimination of paperwork and other middleman costs of the for-profit industry. Details were discussed in hearings held in December, which may be found at senatordonwhite.com/banking.htm.

If you are concerned about the impact of natural gas drilling on the environment and human health, keep your eye on the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC Act). It was introduced in the U.S. House by Maurice Hinchey, the New York Congressman whose district includes Sullivan County, and by New York Senator Chuck Schumer and Pennsylvania Bob Casey in the U.S. Senate. The act would remove hydraulic fracturing’s current exemption from the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists say that exemption prevents them from adequately investigating reports of pollution from fracking and determining their truth; surely this is information that people on all sides of the gas drilling issue would like to have.

Related to the same issue, there is another federal law headed for review this year: the Toxic Chemicals Reform Act of 1976. As reported in the Washington Post of January 4, although the act requires manufacturers to report to the EPA any new chemicals they intend to sell, the EPA must keep the chemical secret if the manufacturer claims that disclosure “could harm their bottom line.”

It is this law that has enabled companies to hide the contents of fracking fluid (though some drilling companies in our area have made limited voluntary disclosures). It is also this law that led to an incident reported by Newsweek in 2008, in which doctors treating a nurse who had fallen seriously ill after being exposed to fracking fluid were unable to obtain a complete list of its components from the manufacturer ( newsweek.com/id/154394 ). Current EPA head Lisa Jackson has said that she believes the law is in need of reform, and it is expected that a new law to change the 1976 act will be introduced early this year.

This is only a small sample of the legislation likely to come up on the local, state and federal levels in the coming year that will have a significant impact on our lives. But if you would like to make a New Year’s resolution to start having a bigger impact on how you are governed, they might make a good place to begin.

Also in this issue:

• Property Owners Association comments on dSGEIS

Dr. Punnybone

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