Clean water is worth the cost

All state spending justly is under heavy scrutiny due to the government’s $3 billion accumulated deficit and the Legislature’s reluctance to increase revenue through anything other than gambling.

But legislators must be aware, as budget negotiations begin, that spending is not the only issue. The already has fallen behind in some of its responsibilities to the public due to budget reductions. One of the most important areas is high-quality water, which is guaranteed to Pennsylvanians by the state constitution.

Despite the constitutional requirement to protect water quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that Pennsylvania has not adequately enforced the Safe Drinking Water Act. The agency blamed inadequate staffing at the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Gov. Tom Wolf wants to borrow $15 million in each of the next three fiscal years to help fund local water quality projects, including erosion control and buffers between streams and farms to diminish fertilizer runoff.

The governor also would bolster the successful Growing Greener program by borrowing $52 million in each of the next three years for projects including stream clean-ups, mine land reclamation and local water treatment.

Improving water quality might seem expensive, but it’s a bargain compared with major pollution problems, as demonstrated by the multi-billion-dollar lead contamination case in Flint, Michigan. Lawmakers should agree to the funding needed to protect drinking water, which also would put them in compliance with their obligations under the state constitution.

— The (Hazleton) Standard-Speaker

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.