HB 574 — An Act amending the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, 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.

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
 1   Amending the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), entitled
 2      "An act providing for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites;
 3      providing further powers and duties of the Department of
 4      Environmental Resources and the Environmental Quality Board;
 5      providing for response and investigations for liability and
 6      cost recovery; establishing the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund;
 7      providing for certain fees and for enforcement, remedies and
 8      penalties; and repealing certain provisions relating to the
 9      rate of the capital stock franchise tax," in preliminary
10      provisions, further providing for definitions and providing
11      for disaster emergency declaration and for testing
12      requirement, duty to report and public access; in powers and
13      duties, further providing for powers and duties of
14      department; and, in liability and settlement procedures,
15      further providing for responsible person.
16      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
17   hereby enacts as follows:
18      Section 1.    The definition of "hazardous substance" in
19   section 103 of the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108),
20   known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, is amended and the
21   section is amended by adding definitions to read:
22   Section 103.    Definitions.
23      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
 1   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
 2   context clearly indicates otherwise:
 3      * * *
 4      "Hazardous substance."
 5          (1)     Any element, compound or material which is:
 6                (i)    Designated as a hazardous waste under the act of
 7          July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known as the Solid Waste
 8          Management Act, and the regulations promulgated thereto.
 9                (ii)    Defined or designated as a hazardous substance
10          pursuant to the Federal Superfund Act.
11                (iii)    Contaminated with a hazardous substance to the
12          degree that its release or threatened release poses a
13          substantial threat to the public health and safety or the
14          environment as determined by the department.
15                (iv)    Determined to be substantially harmful to
16          public health and safety or the environment based on a
17          standardized and uniformly applied department testing
18          procedure and listed in regulations proposed by the
19          department and promulgated by the Environmental Quality
20          Board.
21                (v)    A polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated substance,
22          including, but not limited to, perfluorooctane sulfonate,
23          perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid and
24          perfluorohexane sulfonic acid.
25          (1.1)    A chemical substance not included under paragraph
26      (1) that:
27                (i)    the department determines to be the equivalent
28          of a compound under paragraph (1) in accordance with
29          section 301(16.1); or
30                (ii)    is designated by executive order of the

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 1          Governor as a chemical substance or chemical compound
 2          that poses a threat to public health and safety or the
 3          environment.
 4          (2)   The term does not include petroleum or petroleum
 5      products, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, which
 6      are not otherwise specifically listed or designated as a
 7      hazardous substance under paragraph (1); natural gas, natural
 8      gas liquids, liquified natural gas or synthetic gas usable
 9      for fuel or mixtures of natural gas and synthetic gas usable
10      for fuel; or an element, substance, compound or mixture from
11      a coal mining operation under the jurisdiction of the
12      department or from a site eligible for funding under Title IV
13      of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
14      (Public Law 95-87, 30 U.S.C. § 1201 et seq.). The term shall
15      also not include the following wastes generated primarily
16      from the combustion of coal or other fossil fuels for the
17      production of electricity: slag waste; flue gas emission
18      control waste; and fly ash waste and bottom ash waste which
19      is disposed of or beneficially used in accordance with the
20      Solid Waste Management Act and the regulations promulgated
21      thereto or which has been disposed of under a valid permit
22      issued pursuant to any other environmental statute.
23      * * *
24      "Public water supplier."   The term shall have the meaning
25   given to "supplier of water" in section 3 of the act of May 1,
26   1984 (P.L.206, No.43), known as the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking
27   Water Act.
28      * * *
29      "Special drinking water resource-impacted community."   A
30   municipality whose surface or groundwater resources used for

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 1   public drinking water supply purposes have been impaired by
 2   emerging contaminants, methane or other gases or catastrophic
 3   releases of pollutants to the water resources for which
 4   treatment or alternative water supply development or procurement
 5   is required on an emergency basis to protect public health and
 6   safety.
 7      * * *
 8      Section 2.     The act is amended by adding sections to read:
 9   Section 105.     Disaster emergency declaration.
10      (a)    Authority.--The Governor shall have the authority in
11   accordance with 35 Pa.C.S. § 7301 (relating to general authority
12   of Governor) to declare a municipality a special drinking water
13   resource-impacted community based on the finding of one or more
14   of the following:
15             (1)   The discovery of a release or threatened release of
16      hazardous substances.
17             (2)   Polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated substances,
18      including, but not limited to, perfluorooctane sulfonate,
19      perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid and
20      perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, if one of them is present in
21      groundwater or surface water individually measured across a
22      12-month simple rolling average above 10 parts per trillion.
23             (3)   Other pollutants in the municipality's public water
24      supply system.
25      (b)    Special drinking water resource-impacted communities.--
26   The Governor may establish alternative or incident-specific
27   drinking water standards and cleanup standards for impaired
28   surface or groundwater resources in a special drinking water
29   resource-impacted community. Standards established under this
30   section shall take effect immediately upon establishment by the

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 1   Governor and remain in effect:
 2            (1)   for 24 months;
 3            (2)   until the Governor has rescinded or amended the
 4      standard;
 5            (3)   until the emergency condition and public health
 6      threat has been abated; or
 7            (4)   with respect to drinking water resources, until
 8      either a final rulemaking is published by the Environmental
 9      Quality Board establishing a maximum contaminant level for
10      the substance under the act of May 1, 1984 (P.L.206, No.43),
11      known as the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act, or a final
12      rulemaking is published by the Environmental Protection
13      Agency establishing a maximum contaminant level.
14      (c)   Grants.--A special drinking water resource-impacted
15   community shall be eligible to receive a PENNVEST grant under
16   the act of March 1, 1988 (P.L.82, No.16), known as the
17   Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority Act, of up to
18   $1,000,000 per impacted water supply source. The grants may be
19   used to provide treatment to impacted public water supplies,
20   extension of water lines, booster stations, pressure management
21   equipment, interconnection of private water users to public
22   water supply systems and analytical sampling and to procure
23   alternative water supply resources.
24   Section 106.     Testing requirement, duty to report and public
25                  access.
26      (a)   Testing.--A municipality has the authority, by
27   ordinance, to require a public water supplier to test for
28   polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated substances within the
29   municipal water supply.
30      (b)   Duty to report.--A public water supplier that meets

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 1   either of the following criteria shall report to the department
 2   both monthly averages and 12-month simple rolling averages of
 3   each polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated substance found within
 4   the public water supplier's water supply:
 5            (1)   The public water supplier serves a municipality that
 6      has been declared a special drinking water resource-impacted
 7      community under section 105.
 8            (2)   The public water supplier is required by municipal
 9      ordinance to test for polyfluoroalkyl or perfluorinated
10      substances within the municipal water supply.
11      (c)   Public information.--The department shall make the
12   information reported under subsection (b) available to the
13   public and post the information on the department's publicly
14   accessible Internet website.
15      Section 3.      Sections 301 and 701(b) of the act are amended by
16   adding paragraphs to read:
17   Section 301.      Powers and duties of department.
18      The department has the following powers and duties:
19            * * *
20            (16.1)    Within 12 months of the establishment of a
21      maximum contaminant level, health advisory level or
22      provisional health advisory level under the act of May 1,
23      1984 (P.L.206, No.43), known as the Pennsylvania Safe
24      Drinking Water Act, or a similar Federal law for any chemical
25      substance or chemical compound not included in the definition
26      of "hazardous substance," determine whether the chemical
27      compound or chemical substance should be designated by
28      regulation as a hazardous substance.
29            * * *
30   Section 701.      Responsible person.

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 1    * * *
 2    (b)   Exceptions.--
 3          * * *
 4          (6)   No municipality, municipal authority or other public
 5    water supplier shall be considered a responsible person under
 6    this act due to the presence of a polyfluoroalkyl substance
 7    or perfluorinated chemical in wastewater treatment plant
 8    sludge, water supply treatment residuals, spent filter media
 9    or similar facility operational, wastes where the presence of
10    the polyfluoroalkyl substance or perfluorinated chemical is
11    due to chemical characteristics of the entity's water supply
12    source or discharges into the wastewater treatment facility.
13    * * *
14    Section 4.    This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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