May 18, 2011
Reading, May 18, 2011 – State Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks) today announced that she will be holding an open house at her district office this Thursday, May 19 from 2 to 7 p.m. The office is located at the Rockland Professional Center, 1940 North 13th Street, Suite 232, Reading, PA 19604.
“I am pleased to take this time to meet with my constituents from Berks County, who were so crucial to my election,” Senator Schwank said. “This open house will offer a great opportunity for the community to get acquainted with the services available to them at my district office and to discuss their issues and concerns. I look forward to meeting with you all.”
The senator and members of her staff will be on hand to go over the many services that are available to constituents. Some services include PennDOT assistance, birth and death certificates, assisting with and submitting forms and acting as liaison for individuals with state, local and federal issues.
Regular office hours will be Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The telephone number is 610-929-2151. The fax number is 610-929-2576.
Please visit www.senatorschwank.com for more information.
# # #
May 11, 2011
Harrisburg, May 10, 2011 – State Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks) today, welcomed Senate passage of a ban on the sale of bath salts being misused to mimic the effects of other illegal drugs.
“The Senate heard the urgent message that law enforcement and health officials have been sending us,” Senator Schwank said. “The speed with which this bill moved is amazing.”
Senator Schwank noted that one of her first acts after being sworn in to the Senate in April was to sign on as a co-sponsor to the proposal.
“By all accounts, these products are barely concealed behind a legitimate purpose, when the real reason people are buying them is to get high,” she said. “It is a high that evidently leads to very dangerous behavior. There is no way they should be sold over the counter as a general commercial product.”
The bill, SB 1006, was introduced on April 28. It will now go the House of Representatives for its approval.
# # #
May 6, 2011
Harrisburg, May 6, 2011 – Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) today welcomed the PA Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to return enforcement authority of Marcellus Shale drilling operations to DEP field investigators.
Schwank, Democratic chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, on April 11 called on Corbett to have the authority restored after DEP took the unheard of step of ordering that all enforcement efforts would need approval by the Secretary.
Schwank noted that proper enforcement is an economic concern as well as an environmental one because the drilling is taking place primarily in rural and agricultural areas, and agriculture is the state’s most important industry.
“Where’s the profit in opening the gates of the gas fields wide open if it weakens, maybe permanently, our largest industry?” Schwank questioned. “We have to develop and keep a sensible long view.”
Schwank said that the reversal, announced Thursday, can help ease doubts that such concerns are getting the backseat to industry interests and contributors to the governor.
“It’s a hopeful sign that the administration recognized a mistake and changed course,” Schwank said. “We can’t permit the protection of resources to be brushed aside in the rush to reach the natural gas in the Marcellus Shale.
“Even the perception that there is a lack of real and vigilant enforcement can lead to short-cuts and rounded corners, and there is no room to doubt that would be bad.”
Schwank noted that on Thursday she visited drilling operations in Bradford County, and was favorably impressed.
However, she said the number of violations and accidents in the industry’s brief history and the pressure to quickly bring more wells on line raise dark echoes of the state’s long history of industrial ravages on landscapes and waterways that cannot be ignored.
# # #
Editor’s Note: Senator Schwank’s Letter to Gov. Tom Corbett follows:
April 11, 2011
Honorable Thomas Corbett
Governor
The Capitol
Harrisburg, PA
Dear Governor Corbett:
I am writing to respectfully ask that you rescind the recent directive by Acting Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer that halts field regulatory enforcement of the natural gas industry in the Marcellus Shale region, and requires future enforcement proceedings to have his personal approval.
As you no doubt know, more than 1,400 Notices of Violations already have been issued against the industry. It goes without saying that this is a significant number in the short time for which the industry has been exploiting Marcellus Shale fields in the Commonwealth. As the industry continues to grow, and more and more drilling sites open in the Marcellus and other potential fields, the risk of increasing numbers of violations and harm will grow. Removing the authority of field officers handcuffs the wrong side and sends an unacceptable signal to drillers that they have a friend in Pennsylvania. Sadly, it tells communities and landowners that they are on their own.
The solution to allegations of enforcement inconsistency cannot be to turn the executive office of our environmental protection agency into a downfield blocker for industry violations, in the meantime dropping the ball on many other matters that require executive-level attention at DEP. This administration instead should do what any well-run business would do, and ensure that field personnel have proper training and supervision.
This move also deepens suspicion about the relationship between drilling interests and the administration, with implications about the impact of political donations and influence on public health and safety concerns that have not been seen since the days of the coal, rail and steel barons. Decades and billions of dollars in remediation efforts have not yet removed the deep scars that they left on our mountains and valleys.
We can have economic benefits and jobs without surrendering the people’s interests to multi-national corporations. The state Constitution that you swore earlier this year to uphold includes the provision that our natural resources are “the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” I urge you to honor those words as sincerely as any others you may hear.
Give the natural gas drilling industry the same type of regulatory enforcement that every other industry faces, and untie DEP’s hands.
Sincerely,
Senator Judith L. Schwank
Dem. chair, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
JLS:wc
CC: A/Secretary Krancer
May 6, 2011
Four Berks County local governments, including the Lyons Borough Municipal Authority, the City of Reading, Richmond Township, and Ruscombmanor Township, have been awarded state H2O Water and Sewer grants totaling $3.715 million by the Commonwealth Finance Authority, Senator Judith L. Schwank announced today.
According to Senator Schwank, the Lyons Borough Municipal Authority has been awarded a $1.715 million grant to support improvements and upgrades to the Authority’s wastewater treatment plant. Senator Schwank noted that the grant funding will help offset the $4 million upgrade cost of the Authority’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. In addition to allowing the authority to meet DEP plant discharge limits, the project will also accommodate the growth plans of East Penn Manufacturing, the authority’s largest customer and Berks County’s largest industrial employer. It is projected that the company will be able to add hundreds of good paying jobs when the treatment plant upgrade is complete.
Senator Schwank also noted that the City of Reading will receive a $1 million grant to support the Fritz Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project. Senator Schwank pointed out that the City received a $5 million state H20 grant in 2009 to support Phase I of the Fritz Island Plant upgrade.
In addition, Senator Schwank said that Richmond Township will receive a $500,000 grant to support the Virginville Sewer Project. She also noted that Ruscombmanor Township will receive $500,000 to support the Breezy Corners Sewer Project.
“This state grant funding will help local officials address critical infrastructure needs and environmental issues and promote economic growth,” said Senator Schwank. “With literally hundreds of grant applications totaling billions of dollars submitted for H20 grant funding and only $172 million available this round, competition for this state aid was fierce.”
“I strongly advocated for these Berks County projects and am pleased these were approved,” concluded Senator Schwank.
April 21, 2011
Harrisburg, April 21, 2011 – State Senator Judy Schwank announced today that an additional 158 acres of Berks County farmland will be preserved through the purchase of conservation easements valued at $394,000. The funding was approved today by the Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board.
“These funds are a significant lifeline to many family farms throughout Pennsylvania,” Schwank said. “By preserving this farmland, these families will be able to continue building on the success of their agriculture efforts.”
According to Senator Schwank, a Preservation Board member, the following farms will be preserved:
- Bethany Children’s Home in Heidelberg Township will have 113.5 acres of farmland preserved.
- Terry and Sue Kunkel in Albany Township will have 44.1 acres of farmland preserved.
Senator Schwank added that, in Berks County, 627 farms consisting of 63,716 acres have been preserved. Berks has preserved more acreage of farmland than any other county in the state program.
“There is a wide array of agricultural products being grown in Berks County and agribusiness is an economic and employment driver in the region,” Schwank said. “Conservation easements are investments that ensure that area farms continue to flourish.”
The Agricultural Land Preservation Board is intended to permanently preserve large clusters of viable agricultural lands by acquiring agricultural conservation easements (ACE).
An ACE prevents the development of the land for any purpose besides productive agriculture. Statewide 4,157 farms totaling 450,525 acres have been preserved since the program’s inception.
# # #
April 13, 2011
HARRISBURG, April 13, 2011 – State Senator Judy Schwank will serve as Democratic Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Democratic Leaders announced today.
Schwank, who was sworn in last week to complete the term of the late Senator Michael O’Pake, said the committee is an opportunity to continue to boost Pennsylvania’s largest industry.
“I am pleased to chair this very important committee,” Schwank said. “Agriculture is so very critical to Pennsylvania’s economy with approximately $6.1 billion in annual revenue. I will continue to foster initiatives that invest in agriculture and boost economic development and stability in Pennsylvania’s rural communities.”
Senator Schwank has a long history of agriculture experience. She received her B.S. and M.Ed. in agricultural education from Penn State University. Schwank then worked as a Berks County horticultural agent with the Penn State Cooperative Extension for 19 years, during which time she established the Master Gardener Program. In 1991, she became the first female director of the Berks County Cooperative Extension Program, a position she held until 1999. In January 2010, she was appointed Dean of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Delaware Valley College.
“In the midst of such financial difficulties, it is imperative that we continue to consider new and innovative ways to enhance agriculture in the state,” Schwank said. “It is also imperative that we continue to protect our food sources and our citizens with strict food inspection policies and regulations.”
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, (D-Allegheny), said Schwank brings a magnitude of knowledge and experience to the committee.
“Senator Schwank has had a long career in the agriculture industry which gives her a unique perspective into the needs of Pennsylvania,” Costa said. “Her leadership will help create new opportunities to boost agricultural economic development and ensure the protection of the health and safety of Pennsylvania citizens through smart food inspection policies.”
Schwank will also serve on the Senate Aging & Youth, Public Health & Welfare, Local Government and Intergovernmental Affairs committees.
“These diverse committee assignments will provide me added opportunities to assist the citizens of Berks County and throughout Pennsylvania,” Schwank said. “I am looking forward to the challenges of each committee.”
###
April 5, 2011
Harrisburg, April 5, 2011 – Calling job creation and educational opportunity fundamental needs that Pennsylvania must meet for its future success, Judy Schwank (D- Berks) was sworn into office today as state Senator for the 11th District.
“We know the serious challenges facing our region and Pennsylvania,” Schwank said. “Fortunately, people here also have the character not to be daunted by them, and to recognize that very real opportunities lie ahead for us as well.
“We have to be prepared for both. Tearing out a solid foundation is the wrong way to start putting your house in order.”
Senator Schwank, who will be the Democratic chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee, said she will use her experience as a leader in agriculture, government and the non-profit and academic realms to work with members on both sides of the aisle to recreate a Pennsylvania government that is leaner, more efficient and more effective.
After being sworn in by Rabbi Minna Bromberg of Kesher Zion Synagogue in Reading, in front of an audience that included more than 100 supporters who caravanned by car and bus to Harrisburg, Schwank said her predecessor, the late Senator Mike O’Pake, set the gold standard during nearly 40 years representing the district.
“It is both an honor and a humbling experience to succeed Mike,” Schwank said. “He always placed his trust in voters, and he always concerned himself with working productively in a bipartisan fashion. Those are priorities we shared and which I will follow.
“Berks County voters want their concerns to be heard and addressed in Harrisburg. They are not interested in petty political goals because their needs and dreams are real, not political.”
A resident of Fleetwood with her husband, Jim, Schwank said she also will focus on legislative and property tax reform.
Schwank won a special election on March 15 to serve the remainder of the four-year term of O’Pake, who died in December.
# # #
March 18, 2011
Yesterday, several Senate Democrats joined students from the state System of Higher Education who traveled by bus and by foot to rally at the Capitol against Governor Corbett’s proposed cuts to higher education. The 50 percent cut in state funding could mean layoffs, higher tuition, and fewer programs.
