Clean Air Council Applauds Governor Wolf for Vetoing SB 790

Harrisburg, PA (November 30, 2020) This is the last official day of the 2019-20 Pennsylvania legislative session.  Recently, as one of its final acts, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 790 (Scarnati-R-Cameron), a fundamental weakening of environmental rules and regulations specifically to benefit the conventional oil and gas industry.  This bill landed on Governor Wolf’s desk on November 18.  Last week, Governor Wolf stood up for Pennsylvanians and vetoed SB 790.

Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council, issued the following statement:

“I applaud Governor Wolf for protecting Pennsylvania’s air and water quality by vetoing the reckless and fundamentally flawed Senate Bill 790.  Although this veto happened the day before Thanksgiving, its significance should not be forgotten.  The governor said it best: ‘This legislation poses an unacceptable risk to the environment and the public health and safety of [Pennsylvanians].’  It would have resulted in an extensive rollback of safety standards and protections applicable to conventional oil and gas operators, weakening reporting requirements for oil and brine spills while shifting even more industrial costs and risks to Pennsylvania taxpayers.  As a new legislative session is set to begin, lawmakers must not waste any more time on policy efforts like SB 790.  They serve only as destructive handouts to the fossil fuel industry.”