Amendments to the Clean and Green Act

While the Clean and Green Act should establish legitimate restrictions in the use of land receiving preferential tax assessment under the Act, the Act’s current restrictions unreasonably deter sensible use of clean and green land for needed energy development.  An owner of clean and green land is severely hampered in using any portion of his or her land for gas or oil exploration or for wind-powered electrical generation because of the Act’s imposition of an excessive level of rollback tax penalties.  Under the Act’s current provisions, rollback taxes are disproportionately imposed on the entire portion of the owner’s property, even though very little of the land may be physically impacted by a gas well or a wind-powered energy generation system.  Additionally, the Act does not expressly authorize the use of clean and green land to develop alternative energy generation systems whose energy will be primarily, but not entirely used to meet the farmer’s or landowner’s energy needs.

Farm Bureau believes the Clean and Green Act should be amended to better facilitate the development of energy on clean and green land.  Farmers who use clean and green land to develop alternative energy systems to meet the farm’s energy needs should not lose clean and green status or be subject to rollback taxes on the land so used, even where a minor portion of excess energy is marketed commercially.  And the Act should provide a more proportionate level of rollback taxes and more equitable timeframe in which rollback taxes are imposed when clean and green land is used for gas and oil development and wind energy development.

Legislation contained in Printer’s Number 1624 of Senate Bill 298, which was drafted with the assistance of the major stakeholder interests, will provide the clarity, balance and fairness that should be given in the responsible use of clean and green land for energy development.

Legislation has been proposed, in the form of House Bill 1823, which would mandate clean and green landowners to continuously verify that a current conservation plan has been drawn up for the land and the landowner is managing the land in accordance with that plan, under penalties of immediate loss of clean and green status and assessment of rollback taxes on the entire portion of the landowner’s enrolled land.  We believe these measures are extreme and are coming at a time when many farmers are already heavily burdened by environmental regulation and the Commonwealth has seriously failed to provide adequate financial assistance to farmers in meeting their compliance burdens.

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau urges support for the legislative amendments to the Clean and Green Act contained in Printer’s Number 1624 of Senate Bill 298.  Additionally, Farm Bureau urges your opposition to the inclusion of the provisions of House Bill 1823 in any Clean and Green Act legislation to be enacted by the General Assembly.