Funding Is Contained in the FY08 Consolidated Appropriations Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Arlen Specter, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, and Bob Casey, the junior Senator from Pennsylvania, announced today the Senate has approved funding for several Pennsylvania energy and water projects. The projects are contained in the Fiscal Year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Bill.
“I am pleased my colleagues have recognized the importance of these projects throughout Pennsylvania,” Senator Specter said. “This federal funding is crucial to maintaining and building the infrastructures that are vital to the local economies and safety of our communities.”
“I am grateful that my colleagues approved funding for these important projects throughout the Commonwealth,” said Senator Casey. “This money will go a long way to help build and maintain infrastructures, create energy development and help with flood control.”
The bill will now be sent back to the House for approval and must be signed into law by the President of the United States before funding is final.
Pennsylvania energy and water projects in the bill include:
*House Members that also supported a project are indicated in parentheses
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$69.175 million for the Locks and Dams 2, 3, and 4, Monongahela River in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties for rehabilitation of locks that are nearly a centuryold and structurally unstable. (Tim Murphy, Mike Doyle)
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$42.312 million for the Emsworth Locks and Dam on the Ohio River in Allegheny County for rehabilitation of the Emsworth Locks and Dam. (Jason Altmire, Mike Doyle)
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$18.507 million for the Philadelphia to the Sea maintenance dredging project on the Delaware River in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties. The dredging project will maintain commercial and military vessels’ access to Delaware River ports.
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$2.46 million for the Upper Ohio River Navigation Study at Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery Locks and Dams in Allegheny, Beaver and Washington Counties to study the condition of the Upper Ohio River Locks and Dams and recommend future alternatives to repair or replace them. (Mike Doyle)
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$2.34 million for the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project in Philadelphia County to deepen the existing 40 foot channel to 45 feet in order to enhance the efficient movement of vessels through the ports along the Delaware River.
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$1.096 million for the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising project in Luzerne County for flood control projects on the Susquehanna River, including modifications to the dam at Toby Creek, mitigating adverse impacts of the project in downstream communities and supporting project-related riverfront development activities in Wilkes-Barre. (Paul Kanjorski)
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$1.494 million for the Philadelphia to Trenton maintenance dredging project on the Delaware River in Philadelphia and Bucks Counties for maintenance of a channel that provides commercial and military vessels’ access to Delaware River ports.
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$3.218 million for the Lackawanna River Flood Control Project in Lackawanna County to support construction of a flood protection project for the City of Scranton. (Paul Kanjorski)
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$1.402 million for the Schuylkill River maintenance dredging project in Philadelphia County to maintain navigational channel depths on the Schuylkill River. (Robert Brady)
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$672,000 for sand replenishment at Presque Isle Peninsula in Erie County for beach maintenance, periodic repair and replenishment of beach sand. (Phil English)
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$197,000 for the Bloomsburg Local Flood Protection Project in Columbia County to execute a flood control project in the town of Bloomsburg, which is subject to severe flooding from both the Susquehanna River and Fishing Creek. (Paul Kanjorski)
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$285,000 for the Delaware River Watershed Flood Management Plan to perform a flood analysis model for the Delaware River Basin, develop a watershed flood management plan, evaluate and enhance the existing flood warning system and provide short-term technical advice and assistance to local governments. The basin has experienced three significant and damaging floods in the past two years, and the study represents the first step in addressing the problem. (Charlie Dent, Patrick Murphy)
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$172,000 for the Lehigh River Releases at Francis E. Walter Dam on the Lehigh River to determine how to manage the flow releases at the dam to develop coldwater fisheries, while still maintaining the authorized flood control purpose of the dam. (Charlie Dent)
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$149.9 million for the National Energy Technology Lab in Allegheny County for operations and research of more than 700 research projects in all 50 States and 16 foreign countries, most involving the development of advanced coal, oil, and natural gas technologies.
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$3.94 million to Penn State University in Centre County for research and development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells to work with a variety of alternative and renewable fuel sources to enhance distributed energy generation. This work will be done in cooperation with Siemens Power Generation and the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Allegheny County.
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$984,000 to Air Products in Lehigh County for research and development of Ion Transport Membrane Reaction-Driven Ceramic Membrane Systems which can be integrated into coal gasification systems to produce clean electrical power. (Charlie Dent)
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$4.92 million to NuVision Engineering in Allegheny County to provide technology to support the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States Department of Energy and the United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry for cleanup in the energy and environmental arena, such as waste management, decommissioning, renewable energy, energy efficiency and remote handling. (Mike Doyle)
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$738,000 to Independence Biofuels in Dauphin County for a Biodiesel Injection Blending Facilities Project to develop, construct and operate biodiesel injection blending facilities across Pennsylvania that will increase the use of this clean, domestically produced, renewable fuel for vehicles and home heating. (Charlie Dent)
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$590,400 for Norfolk Southern in Blair County for Ultra Low Emissions Locomotive (ULEL) project to develop a more powerful ULEL to reduce emissions and help localities meet EPA clean air standards. (Bill Shuster)
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