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PennFuture Moves Pennsylvania Forward
Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) is the Pennsylvania Affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. We are thrilled to highlight the work of PennFuture and the unique challenges and approaches they take to conservation, environmental protection, and natural resource restoration across Pennsylvania.
Climate change threatens Pennsylvanians
When Hurricane Debby’s remnants moved through the Mid-Atlantic in early August, it caused devastating floods. Pennsylvanians in Tioga County had to scramble for safety as flash floods brought chest-deep water in under six hours. Within a week more than 1,200 tons of debris and other materials were collected from Tioga County alone. The cost to rebuild that community and others will run in tens of millions of dollars. The toll on the lives of people of Tioga County cannot be measured.
Dangerous flooding is on the rise in Pennsylvania as climate change turns rain events more severe. Due in part to flash flooding, 3,828 miles of Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams do not meet water quality standards because of polluted urban stormwater runoff and storm sewers. The critical water infrastructure Pennsylvanians depend on for clean water is failing.
But we can do something about it. National Wildlife Federation’s Affiliate PennFuture is leading the way in Pennsylvania. The state’s watchdog and advocate, PennFuture, helps to ensure all people have pure water, clean air, and a preserved environment.
The PennFuture approach to conservation
Founded in 1998 to fight for the protection of public health and restore natural resources through the legal system of the commonwealth, PennFuture has provided millions of dollars in pro bono legal services while setting critical precedents and enforcing environmental laws. As the organization grew, they also became the leading voice for clean air and clean water in Pennsylvania and on Capitol Hill. PennFuture is at the forefront of the transition to a clean energy economy in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future
PennFuture’s success depends on informed and engaged community members. The organization gives people the tools to help make a difference in building healthy, sustainable communities. That’s why their team works every day, across the state to build public awareness about environmental issues, urgent threats, and the need to swiftly transition to a clean energy economy.
Through their leadership role in the Choose Clean Water Coalition and the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, and their annual “Clean Water Education Days,” PennFuture is making a difference for waterways across the state. One example is the passage of the Clean Streams Fund. Initially approved by the state legislature in 2022, this fund received a one-time allocation of $220 million through the American Rescue Plan Act.
It represents the first major funding initiative aimed at tackling the three primary sources of water pollution in the state: agricultural runoff, stormwater runoff, and acid mine drainage. In 2024, the Clean Streams Fund was further solidified by being incorporated into the regular budget, at an annual investment of $50 million.
Another recent success will help fix Pennsylvania’s ailing water infrastructure and can help mitigate flash flooding. PennFuture successfully advocated for the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The IRA looks to tackle the climate crisis while lowering energy costs for households and businesses, creating manufacturing jobs for Pennsylvania workers, and delivering a clean, secure, and healthy future for its children and grandchildren. The savings, jobs, and other benefits provided by this legislation will reach communities across Pennsylvania.
PennFuture highlighted the opportunity by hosting a celebratory 1-year anniversary party in West Philadelphia with Representative Dwight Evans, highlighting how the IRA investments are benefiting Pennsylvanians. Similarly, PennFuture’s press conference in Pittsburgh in November 2023, with its labor partners at IBEW Local 5, Representative Dan Miller, and PennFuture, showcased the union-built EV chargers in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.
Protecting people and wildlife from the impacts of development
Appropriate management of land use and development is vital to protecting the natural environment and community health. When a significant land development proposal comes to town—a massive distribution center, a sprawling resort, a shopping center—locals are left wondering how it will impact their neighborhoods and the environment, and if there is anything they can do.
On April 21, 2024, PennFuture’s Legal Team gave them a tool to help locals get involved in the process. They released a new guide to help Pennsylvania residents better understand and participate in local land use decision-making. This comprehensive guide provides valuable information on local land use decision-making bodies, the types of decisions made, the rules governing each decision, and tips for effective participation in the process.
The guide aims to empower Pennsylvanians with the knowledge and tools they need to engage in local land use decision-making and continues PennFuture’s efforts to protect local waterways and communities from the impacts of large logistics center developments.
From the Industrial Revolution to a modern, green economy
From Appalachia to the Poconos, PennFuture and its partners are actively engaged in multiple campaigns to support Pennsylvania’s local communities. They champion policies that end unproductive reliance on the declining fossil fuel industry and instead develop blueprints for long-term, equitable, environmentally safe and sustainable economic growth.
On June 20, 2024, PennFuture unveiled a report by their Policy Manager for Sustainable Economics, Donna Kohut, which recommends reforming the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to guide the state’s economy away from fossil fuels and toward clean, innovative industry while ensuring the well-being of vulnerable communities and workers.
The report recognizes the need for Pennsylvania’s economy to address both technological and environmental threats, challenges the notion that a healthy environment conflicts with a strong economy, and counters the belief that continued reliance on fossil fuels will lead to a stable and prosperous future for Pennsylvanians.
Clean air
Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County failed to attain state standards for ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Allegheny ranks among the worst two percent of counties in the United States for cancer risk caused by air pollution. School children across the county have asthma rates more than double the state average. Across the state, toxic air pollution puts vulnerable populations at risk. PennFuture is fighting back.
Two actions against dirty industry south of Pittsburgh helped ensure cleaner air for Pennsylvanians. PennFuture took legal action against U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works for violations of the Clean Air Act. In 2023, The Environmental Protection Agency sided with PennFuture and its partners by rejecting the Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality permit since it did not require monitoring and air testing as required by the Clean Air Act. In Elizabeth Township, PennFuture successfully challenged the weak pollution controls proposed in the Invenergy power plant.
In Clinton County, located further east in central Pennsylvania, PennFuture objected to the Bechtel Corporation permit because it allowed illegal levels of air pollution, ignored environmental justice concerns in the Renovo community and the health costs to society in issuing the permit, and for several other deficiencies spelled out in the Notice of Appeal.
As PennFuture celebrates its 25th anniversary, their work on behalf of Pennsylvanians shows in these and other significant victories for clean air, clean water, and renewable energy across Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania wildlife spotlight
We asked our Pennsylvania Affiliate their favorite wildlife in the commonwealth, here’s what they said:
Pennsylvania’s state amphibian, the eastern hellbender—sometimes called a “snot otter”—is a large, fully-aquatic amphibian with a flat head, wrinkled body, and paddle-shaped tail. Its body is usually dark gray or brown with irregular dark spots along the back. Reaching four to five pounds (1.8 to 2.3 kilograms), the hellbender is the largest salamander in North America by weight. Adults average 20 inches (50 centimeters) in length but can grow up to 29 inches (73 centimeters).
Hellbender populations have declined throughout most of the species’ historic range. The Ozark hellbender and the Missouri population of the eastern hellbender are federally endangered.
To find out more about the hellbender visit our website.
