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Agencies - 27 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6105

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     § 6105.  Agencies.
        (a)  The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.--
            (1)  The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
        shall utilize money it receives from the fund for the
        following purposes:
                (i)  To rehabilitate, repair and develop State park
            and State forest lands and facilities and the acquisition
            of interior lands within State parks and State forests.
                (ii)  To provide grants to a county or other
            municipality, council of governments, conservation
            districts and authorized organizations for the purpose of
            planning, education, acquisition, development,
            rehabilitation and repair of greenways, recreational
            trails, open space, natural areas, river corridors,
            watersheds, community and heritage parks and recreation
            facilities; community conservation and beautification
            projects; forest conservation; and other conservation
            purposes. Grants under this paragraph may not be used by
            an authorized organization for land acquisition unless
            the authorized organization obtains the approval of all
            counties in which the land is situated. Grant moneys may
            also be used for the acquisition of farmland for the
            purposes set forth in this paragraph.
                (iii)  To provide grants to a county or other
            municipality and authorized organizations for the purpose
            of research, planning, inventories and technical
            assistance intended to protect and conserve the
            biological diversity of this Commonwealth.
            (2)  The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
        may require matching funds as a condition of the award of a
        grant under this subsection.
        (b)  The Department of Environmental Protection.--
            (1)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall
        utilize money it receives from the fund for the following
        purposes:
                (i)  To implement acid mine drainage abatement and
            cleanup efforts and plug abandoned and orphan oil and gas
            wells.
                (ii)  To provide funding for technical assistance and
            financial incentives to facilitate remining.
                (iii)  To provide grants to a county or other
            municipality, council of governments, county conservation
            districts, watershed organizations and other authorized
            organizations for acid mine drainage abatement, mine
            cleanup efforts and well plugging.
                (iv)  To provide grants and technical assistance to a
            county or other municipality, council of governments,
            county conservation districts, watershed organizations
            and other authorized organizations to plan and implement
            local watershed-based conservation efforts.
                (v)  To improve water-quality-impaired watersheds,
            including those polluted by past mining activities,
            agricultural and urban runoff, atmospheric deposition,
            on-lot sewage systems and earthmoving activities.
                (vi)  (Deleted by amendment).
                (vii)  For watershed protection.
            (2)  County conservation districts may further distribute
        grants received under this section to watershed organizations
        and other authorized organizations to assist in the
        implementation of this chapter.
            (3)  The Department of Environmental Protection may
        require matching funds as a condition of the award of a grant
        under this subsection.
            (4)  For the period commencing with the effective date of
        this chapter and ending June 30, 2004, the Department of
        Environmental Protection may utilize up to 10% of the money
        allocated annually to it under section 6104(d) (relating to
        fund) to provide grants for safe drinking water projects and
        wastewater treatment projects. Grants under this paragraph
        shall be made for the same purposes and shall be subject to
        the same limitations as grants authorized in section 6110.
        (c)  Department of Agriculture.--Funds allocated to the
     Department of Agriculture under this chapter shall be deposited
     in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Fund and are
     subject to the provisions of the act of June 30, 1981 (P.L.128,
     No.43), known as the Agricultural Area Security Law.
        (d)  The authority.--The authority shall utilize money it
     receives from the fund to provide financial assistance in the
     form of grants and matching grants for storm water, water and
     sewer infrastructure projects, including construction or
     rehabilitation of collection and conveyance systems. The
     authority shall develop criteria to be used to award grants
     under this subsection. The criteria and proposed changes thereto
     shall be submitted to the Environmental Resources and Energy
     Committee of the Senate and the Environmental Resources and
     Energy Committee of the House of Representatives for review and
     comment. The committees shall have 60 days to submit comments to
     the authority. Criteria shall be reviewed by the authority and
     the committees at least once every three years.
        (e)  Administrative expense limitation.--The departments and
     the authority may not expend more than 2.5% of the moneys
     received from the fund on administrative expenses. The
     Department of Environmental Protection may not expend more than
     an aggregate of 2.5% of the moneys received from the fund and
     the moneys directed to the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund pursuant
     to section 6104(d)(4) and (5) on administrative expenses. Grant
     recipients that receive moneys from the fund for the purposes
     set forth in this section may not expend more than 5% of the
     moneys received from the fund on administrative expenses.
        (f)  Expenditure limitation.--No moneys made available
     through the fund shall be used for any purpose which, directly
     or indirectly, precludes access to or use of any forested land
     for the practice of sustainable forestry and commercial
     production of timber or other forest products. This subsection
     shall not apply to funds used by the Department of Conservation
     and Natural Resources, counties or municipalities for the
     purchase or improvement of park land to be used for public
     recreation.
        (g)  Regulations.--The departments and the authority may
     promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of
     this chapter.
     (July 13, 2005, P.L.213, No.45, eff. imd.)

        2005 Amendment.  Act 45 amended subsecs. (a), (b) and (e).
        References in Text.  Section 6110, referred to in subsec.
     (b)(4), was deleted by amendment.
        Cross References.  Section 6105 is referred to in section
     6108 of this title.

Last modified: November 27, 2007