PRINTER'S NO. 578
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.574
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY ISAACSON, FREEMAN, GREEN, HADDOCK, HILL-EVANS,
HOHENSTEIN, HOWARD, MAYES, OTTEN, PIELLI, SANCHEZ, STEELE,
WAXMAN AND CIRESI, FEBRUARY 12, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE
PROTECTION, FEBRUARY 12, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), entitled
"An act providing for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites;
providing further powers and duties of the Department of
Environmental Resources and the Environmental Quality Board;
providing for response and investigations for liability and
cost recovery; establishing the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund;
providing for certain fees and for enforcement, remedies and
penalties; and repealing certain provisions relating to the
rate of the capital stock franchise tax," in preliminary
provisions, further providing for definitions and providing
for disaster emergency declaration and for testing
requirement, duty to report and public access; in powers and
duties, further providing for powers and duties of
department; and, in liability and settlement procedures,
further providing for responsible person.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The definition of "hazardous substance" in
section 103 of the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108),
known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, is amended and the
section is amended by adding definitions to read:
Section 103. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
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23 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
* * *
"Hazardous substance."
(1) Any element, compound or material which is:
(i) Designated as a hazardous waste under the act of
July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste
Management Act, and the regulations promulgated thereto.
(ii) Defined or designated as a hazardous substance
pursuant to the Federal Superfund Act.
(iii) Contaminated with a hazardous substance to the
degree that its release or threatened release poses a
substantial threat to the public health and safety or the
environment as determined by the department.
(iv) Determined to be substantially harmful to
public health and safety or the environment based on a
standardized and uniformly applied department testing
procedure and listed in regulations proposed by the
department and promulgated by the Environmental Quality
Board.
(v) A polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated substance,
including, but not limited to, perfluorooctane sulfonate,
perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid and
perfluorohexane sulfonic acid.
(1.1) A chemical substance not included under paragraph
(1) that:
(i) the department determines to be the equivalent
of a compound under paragraph (1) in accordance with
section 301(16.1); or
(ii) is designated by executive order of the
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30 Governor as a chemical substance or chemical compound
that poses a threat to public health and safety or the
environment.
(2) The term does not include petroleum or petroleum
products, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, which
are not otherwise specifically listed or designated as a
hazardous substance under paragraph (1); natural gas, natural
gas liquids, liquified natural gas or synthetic gas usable
for fuel or mixtures of natural gas and synthetic gas usable
for fuel; or an element, substance, compound or mixture from
a coal mining operation under the jurisdiction of the
department or from a site eligible for funding under Title IV
of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
(Public Law 95-87, 30 U.S.C. § 1201 et seq.). The term shall
also not include the following wastes generated primarily
from the combustion of coal or other fossil fuels for the
production of electricity: slag waste; flue gas emission
control waste; and fly ash waste and bottom ash waste which
is disposed of or beneficially used in accordance with the
Solid Waste Management Act and the regulations promulgated
thereto or which has been disposed of under a valid permit
issued pursuant to any other environmental statute.
* * *
"Public water supplier." The term shall have the meaning
given to "supplier of water" in section 3 of the act of May 1,
1984 (P.L.206, No.43), known as the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking
Water Act.
* * *
"Special drinking water resource-impacted community." A
municipality whose surface or groundwater resources used for
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30 public drinking water supply purposes have been impaired by
emerging contaminants, methane or other gases or catastrophic
releases of pollutants to the water resources for which
treatment or alternative water supply development or procurement
is required on an emergency basis to protect public health and
safety.
* * *
Section 2. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
Section 105. Disaster emergency declaration.
(a) Authority.--The Governor shall have the authority in
accordance with 35 Pa.C.S. § 7301 (relating to general authority
of Governor) to declare a municipality a special drinking water
resource-impacted community based on the finding of one or more
of the following:
(1) The discovery of a release or threatened release of
hazardous substances.
(2) Polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated substances,
including, but not limited to, perfluorooctane sulfonate,
perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid and
perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, if one of them is present in
groundwater or surface water individually measured across a
12-month simple rolling average above 10 parts per trillion.
(3) Other pollutants in the municipality's public water
supply system.
(b) Special drinking water resource-impacted communities.--
The Governor may establish alternative or incident-specific
drinking water standards and cleanup standards for impaired
surface or groundwater resources in a special drinking water
resource-impacted community. Standards established under this
section shall take effect immediately upon establishment by the
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30 Governor and remain in effect:
(1) for 24 months;
(2) until the Governor has rescinded or amended the
standard;
(3) until the emergency condition and public health
threat has been abated; or
(4) with respect to drinking water resources, until
either a final rulemaking is published by the Environmental
Quality Board establishing a maximum contaminant level for
the substance under the act of May 1, 1984 (P.L.206, No.43),
known as the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act, or a final
rulemaking is published by the Environmental Protection
Agency establishing a maximum contaminant level.
(c) Grants.--A special drinking water resource-impacted
community shall be eligible to receive a PENNVEST grant under
the act of March 1, 1988 (P.L.82, No.16), known as the
Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority Act, of up to
$1,000,000 per impacted water supply source. The grants may be
used to provide treatment to impacted public water supplies,
extension of water lines, booster stations, pressure management
equipment, interconnection of private water users to public
water supply systems and analytical sampling and to procure
alternative water supply resources.
Section 106. Testing requirement, duty to report and public
access.
(a) Testing.--A municipality has the authority, by
ordinance, to require a public water supplier to test for
polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated substances within the
municipal water supply.
(b) Duty to report.--A public water supplier that meets
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30 either of the following criteria shall report to the department
both monthly averages and 12-month simple rolling averages of
each polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated substance found within
the public water supplier's water supply:
(1) The public water supplier serves a municipality that
has been declared a special drinking water resource-impacted
community under section 105.
(2) The public water supplier is required by municipal
ordinance to test for polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated
substances within the municipal water supply.
(c) Public information.--The department shall make the
information reported under subsection (b) available to the
public and post the information on the department's publicly
accessible Internet website.
Section 3. Sections 301 and 701(b) of the act are amended by
adding paragraphs to read:
Section 301. Powers and duties of department.
The department has the following powers and duties:
* * *
(16.1) Within 12 months of the establishment of a
maximum contaminant level, health advisory level or
provisional health advisory level under the act of May 1,
1984 (P.L.206, No.43), known as the Pennsylvania Safe
Drinking Water Act, or a similar Federal law for any chemical
substance or chemical compound not included in the definition
of "hazardous substance," determine whether the chemical
compound or chemical substance should be designated by
regulation as a hazardous substance.
* * *
Section 701. Responsible person.
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(b) Exceptions.--
* * *
(6) No municipality, municipal authority or other public
water supplier shall be considered a responsible person under
this act due to the presence of a polyfluoroalkyl substance
or perfluorinated chemical in wastewater treatment plant
sludge, water supply treatment residuals, spent filter media
or similar facility operational, wastes where the presence of
the polyfluoroalkyl substance or perfluorinated chemical is
due to chemical characteristics of the entity's water supply
source or discharges into the wastewater treatment facility.
* * *
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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