An Act providing for registration of extraordinary water users; imposing a water resource fee; providing for reporting; establishing the Critical Water Planning Area Administration and Watershed Monitoring Fund; establishing the Water Use Fund; providing for duties of the Department of Environmental Protection and for submission of a question to the electorate authorizing incurring of indebtedness for water-related environmental initiatives; and establishing penalties.

PRINTER'S NO. 3737
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2682
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY OTTEN, PROBST, WAXMAN, HANBIDGE, HOWARD, RABB,
PASHINSKI, SHUSTERMAN, STEELE, CIRESI AND GILLEN,
JUNE 29, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE
PROTECTION, JUNE 30, 2026
AN ACT
Providing for registration of extraordinary water users;
imposing a water resource fee; providing for reporting;
establishing the Critical Water Planning Area Administration
and Watershed Monitoring Fund; establishing the Water Use
Fund; providing for duties of the Department of Environmental
Protection and for submission of a question to the electorate
authorizing incurring of indebtedness for water-related
environmental initiatives; and establishing penalties.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Preliminary Provisions
Section 101. Short title.
Section 102. Scope of act.
Section 103. Legislative findings and declarations.
Section 104. Definitions.
Chapter 2. Data Center Water Consumption Reporting Requirements
Section 201. Reporting requirements.
Section 202. Enforcement and penalties.
Chapter 3. Water Resource Protection
Section 301. Registration.
Section 302. Water resource fee.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Section 303. Distribution of water resource fees.
Section 304. Critical Water Planning Area Administration and
Watershed Monitoring Fund.
Section 305. Duties of department.
Section 306. Preconstruction notification.
Chapter 5. Watershed Protection Bonds
Section 501. Authorization to incur indebtedness.
Section 502. Certification.
Section 503. Question to electorate.
Section 504. Referendum procedure.
Section 505. Use of proceeds.
Chapter 7. Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 701. Regulations.
Section 702. Notice and report.
Section 703. Effective date.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
CHAPTER 1
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
Section 101. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Pennsylvania
Water Resource Act.
Section 102. Scope of act.
This act applies to extraordinary nonmunicipal water
withdrawals by for-profit businesses.
Section 103. Legislative findings and declarations.
The General Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) Section 27 of Article I of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania guarantees every Pennsylvanian the right to pure
water and designates the Commonwealth as trustee of public
20260HB2682PN3737 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
natural resources for the benefit of all people, including
generations yet to come.
(2) The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that this
obligation is self-executing, binds all branches of
government and requires that economic development not occur
at the cost of unreasonable degradation of the environment.
(3) Extraordinary commercial water users who consume
Pennsylvania's public water resources without contributing to
their protection impose costs on the Commonwealth's ability
to fulfill its constitutional trustee obligations.
(4) This act implements the Commonwealth's
constitutional duties by ensuring that those who derive
economic benefit from Pennsylvania's public water resources
contribute to their protection and restoration.
(5) Withdrawals from the waterways of this Commonwealth
for agricultural purposes would be more appropriately
considered by the General Assembly in the next review of the
State Water Plan developed under 27 Pa.C.S. § 3115 (relating
to development, adoption, amendment and periodic review of
State water plan) and are therefore not covered under the
provisions of this act.
Section 104. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Commission." The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
"Consume." Remove water from the waters of this Commonwealth
and not return the water to the natural source.
"Consumer Price Index." The Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and
20260HB2682PN3737 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Maryland area for the most recent 12-month period for which
figures have been officially reported by the United States
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Critical area resource plan." The term shall mean the same
as defined under 27 Pa.C.S. § 3102 (relating to definitions).
"Critical water planning area." The term shall mean the same
as defined under 27 Pa.C.S. § 3102.
"Customer assistance program." Any of the following:
(1) A plan or program sponsored by a public utility for
the purpose of providing universal service and energy
conservation, as defined under 66 Pa.C.S. §§ 2202 (relating
to definitions) and 2803 (relating to definitions).
(2) An assistance program offered by a public utility,
including a water distribution utility or wastewater utility,
in which customers make monthly payments based on household
income and household size and under which customers must
comply with responsibilities and restrictions to remain
eligible for the assistance program.
"Data center." A facility, campus of facilities or
interconnected array of facilities that may be composed of one
or more businesses, owners or tenants, that meet all of the
following:
(1) Are predominantly used to house working servers or
similar data storage systems.
(2) Have uninterruptible energy supply or generator
backup power, cooling systems, towers and other temperature
control infrastructure.
(3) Have a peak electric demand of 10 megawatts or
greater.
"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
20260HB2682PN3737 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
the Commonwealth.
"Electric distribution company." The term shall mean the
same as defined under 66 Pa.C.S. § 2803.
"Electric utility." A corporation, person, agency, authority
or other legal entity or instrumentality aligned with
distribution facilities for delivery of electric energy for use
primarily by the public.
"Electric utility generator." A generator:
(1) that is owned by an electric utility or a jointly
owned generator with the greatest share of the generator
being electric utility owned; or
(2) with two or more owners that have equal shares of
ownership in the generator if one of the owners is an
electric utility.
"Energy consumption." The total amount of electricity or
other forms of energy consumed by a data center, measured in
kilowatt-hours.
"Extraordinary water user." A person that withdraws more
than 10,000 gallons of water per day from the waters of this
Commonwealth for the purpose of for-profit business. The term
does not include a community water system or a noncommunity
water system regulated by the department under the act of May 1,
1984 (P.L.206, No.43), known as the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking
Water Act, that withdraws water from the waters of this
Commonwealth.
"Facility." One or more parcels of land located in this
Commonwealth and any structures and personal property contained
on the land.
"Fund." The Water Use Fund established in section 303(a).
"Groundwater or surface water source." A river, stream,
20260HB2682PN3737 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
brook, lake, body of water or aquifer located in this
Commonwealth.
"PENNVEST." The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment
Authority established under the act of March 1, 1988 (P.L.82,
No.16), known as the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment
Authority Act.
"Returned water." Water that has been placed back into the
waters of this Commonwealth, whether the water is diminished in
quality or not.
"Tier 2 extraordinary water user." An extraordinary water
user that withdraws more than 1,000,000 gallons of water per day
from the waters of this Commonwealth for the purpose of for-
profit business.
"Watershed." The Susquehanna, Ohio, Delaware, Potomac, Erie,
Genesee, Elk and Gunpowder watersheds.
"Water usage effectiveness." The ratio of water used by a
facility to the energy consumption of the equipment utilized by
that facility.
"Withdraw" or "withdrawal." The removal, diversion or taking
of water from a groundwater or surface water source.
CHAPTER 2
DATA CENTER WATER CONSUMPTION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Section 201. Reporting requirements.
(a) Annual report.--Each data center operating in this
Commonwealth shall submit an annual report to the department on
the facility's energy consumption and water consumption for the
preceding calendar year.
(b) Contents.--The report shall include the following:
(1) The name and address of the facility, including the
nature or purpose of the facility.
20260HB2682PN3737 - 6 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(2) Total energy consumption for the previous calendar
year, specified by month and the energy source consumed.
(3) The estimated average amount of energy usage per
hour during the data center's peak load, measured in
kilowatt-hours.
(4) Total water consumption for the previous calendar
year, with the maximum day demand, specified by month, water
source and whether the consumption was intended for cooling
or another application.
(5) Any measures undertaken in the previous calendar
year to improve energy or water efficiency and reduce energy
or water consumption.
(6) Any measures undertaken to protect the environment
and public from polluted water.
(7) Any measures undertaken to generate electricity on-
site or off-site to reduce carbon emissions or impacts on the
electric grid, including the specific energy source, and any
potential future measures to generate electricity or other
form of energy on-site or off-site.
(8) Any measures undertaken to recover waste heat to
power the data center or to recover waste heat for purposes
relating to general building heating, cooling systems or
coolant systems specifically for the capture of waste heat
from processors.
(9) An estimation of the projected total energy and
water demand for the following year, including a comparison
of the previous year's total energy and water consumption, if
applicable.
(10) Any other information required by the department.
(c) Submission.--By July 1, 2027, and each July 1
20260HB2682PN3737 - 7 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
thereafter, the annual report shall be submitted in a manner
determined by the department.
(d) Department duties.--The department, in consultation with
the commission, shall publish an annual report on the energy and
water consumption trends for data centers operating in this
Commonwealth, including environmental impacts and
recommendations to address identified issues. The report shall
be made available on the department's publicly accessible
Internet website and shall be submitted in paper form or
electronically to:
(1) The Governor.
(2) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate.
(3) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Energy Committee of the House of Representatives.
(4) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee of
the House of Representatives.
(5) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee of
the Senate.
(6) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee of
the House of Representatives.
(e) Data confidentiality.--
(1) For annual reports submitted under subsection (a),
the following apply:
(i) All information included in annual reports
submitted under this section shall be subject to public
disclosure unless the information is proprietary
20260HB2682PN3737 - 8 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
information. A data center that is required to submit a
report under this section may appeal to the department,
on a form and in a manner determined by the department,
that information included in annual reports that is
subject to public disclosure should be deemed proprietary
information.
(ii) In accordance with section 27 of Article I of
the Constitution of Pennsylvania establishing that water
withdrawn from the waterways of this Commonwealth is a
public good, data concerning the water consumption level
of a facility under this act shall not be considered
proprietary information.
(2) All aggregated and anonymized data shall be made
publicly available.
(f) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Proprietary information." Information included in a
facility's annual report that is determined by the department to
not be subject to public disclosure.
"Water consumption." The total amount of water consumed by a
data center, including water used for cooling, measured in
gallons.
Section 202. Enforcement and penalties.
(a) Violations.--A data center that fails to comply with the
reporting requirements under section 201 shall be subject to a
civil penalty of $10,000 per day until the report is submitted
to the department.
(b) False reporting penalties.--A data center that knowingly
submits inaccurate, false or materially misleading information
20260HB2682PN3737 - 9 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
in a report required under section 201 shall be subject to a
civil penalty of $25,000 per violation. Each calendar day on
which false or misleading information was operative in a
submitted report shall constitute a separate violation.
(c) Deposit of penalties collected.--Penalties collected
under this section shall be deposited into the low-income
electric customer assistance program account of the electric
distribution company for the service territory in which the data
center in violation is located.
(d) Audit authority.--The department may conduct periodic
audits of annual reports submitted under section 201 to verify
the accuracy of reported water and energy consumption data. The
department may require a data center to provide metering
records, utility invoices, third-party verification
documentation or any other records necessary to conduct an
audit. A data center shall retain each record necessary to
verify reported data for a period of five years from the date of
submission of each annual report.
(e) Third-party verification.--A tier 2 extraordinary water
user subject to the reporting requirements under section 201
shall obtain independent third-party verification of its
reported water consumption data beginning with the second annual
report required under this chapter. The third-party verifier
must be approved by the department and shall certify the
accuracy of reported consumption figures. The cost of third-
party verification shall be borne by the data center.
CHAPTER 3
WATER RESOURCE PROTECTION
Section 301. Registration.
(a) General rule.--An extraordinary water user may not
20260HB2682PN3737 - 10 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
withdraw water from a groundwater or surface water source for a
nonmunicipal purpose without filing a registration document with
the department.
(b) Registration document.--The registration document must
be submitted on a form prepared by the department and must
include the following information:
(1) The name and mailing address of the applicant.
(2) The name, if any, and location of the water source.
(3) The type of water source.
(4) The point in the water source from which the user
proposes to withdraw the water.
(5) The name, location and acreage of the lands or other
application for which the water is to be withdrawn.
(6) The location and description of the water well,
canal, tunnel or piping and other works or equipment through
which the water is to be withdrawn.
(7) The amount, in gallons, of water withdrawn on an
average day of operation during the preceding year and the
number of days during the preceding year when water was
withdrawn.
(8) The total amount, in gallons, of water estimated to
be withdrawn and the periods of time when the withdrawal is
scheduled during the current year.
(9) The location, means and expected condition of any
returned water.
(c) Data center reporting.--A data center that is subject to
the reporting requirements under section 201 shall meet the
registration requirements established under this section by
submitting a copy of the annual report provided under section
201 to the department.
20260HB2682PN3737 - 11 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(d) Critical water planning areas.--
(1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), the
department may not issue a new registration under this
section to any tier 2 extraordinary water user that is
proposing to locate in a critical water planning area.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to tier 2
extraordinary water users that demonstrate to the department
through a water quality assessment, on a form and in a manner
determined by the department, that the proposed withdrawal in
a critical water planning area will not cause unreasonable
degradation of the watershed consistent with the
Commonwealth's obligations under section 27 of Article I of
the Constitution of Pennsylvania.
Section 302. Water resource fee.
(a) Fee.--An extraordinary water user shall pay to the
Commonwealth the following fees:
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (4), for water
withdrawn and subsequently returned to the water source, a
water resource fee of $0.0001 per gallon for water
withdrawals greater than 10,000 gallons per day for
nonmunicipal purposes.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (4), for water
withdrawn and consumed, a water resource fee of $0.001 per
gallon for water consumption greater than 10,000 gallons per
day but less than 1,000,000 gallons per day for nonmunicipal
purposes.
(3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), for water
withdrawn and consumed, a water resource fee of $0.002 per
gallon for water consumption by a tier 2 extraordinary water
user for nonmunicipal purposes. Any tier 2 extraordinary
20260HB2682PN3737 - 12 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
water user that does not meet the water usage effectiveness
requirements established by the department under section 305
within three years of the initial operation of the user shall
pay an additional surcharge of $0.001 per gallon of consumed
water. The proceeds of this surcharge shall be deposited by
the department into the Critical Water Planning Area
Administration and Watershed Monitoring Fund.
(4) If the extraordinary water user is an electric
utility generator that withdraws or consumes water, a fee of
$1.00 per megawatt hour of electricity generated and sold.
(b) Water consumption calculation.--
(1) For purposes of calculating the fee under subsection
(a)(2) or (3), if the extraordinary water user:
(i) measures water use by meter, the difference
between the values of daily withdrawn water and daily
returned water shall be reported as the amount consumed;
or
(ii) does not measure metered, withdrawn and
returned water or, due to evaporation or method of use,
finds it impossible to accurately measure water consumed,
the amount consumed shall be based on the department's
consumptive use coefficients.
(2) The department shall determine which extraordinary
water users are subject to paragraph (1)(ii) and shall
develop coefficients for those extraordinary water users.
(c) Coordination with other fees.--The fees, if any, paid by
an extraordinary water user under the act of July 7, 1961
(P.L.518, No.268), known as the Delaware River Basin Compact,
and the act of July 17, 1968 (P.L.368, No.181), referred to as
the Susquehanna River Basin Compact Law, to the Delaware River
20260HB2682PN3737 - 13 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Basin Commission or the Susquehanna River Basin Commission shall
be subtracted from fees owed under this section.
(d) Data center reporting.--For a data center subject to the
reporting requirements under section 201, the water consumption
calculations used to determine fee payments under this section
shall be determined using the water consumption data included in
the data center's report submitted under section 201.
(e) Method of reporting.--The water consumption and return
levels for any extraordinary water user required to pay a water
resource fee under this section but that is not required to
submit a report under section 201 shall be calculated through
the registration and reporting requirements established under 27
Pa.C.S. § 3118 (relating to water use registration and
reporting).
(f) Rates.--The fee rates established under this section
shall be set by the General Assembly and may be adjusted by the
Environmental Quality Board by regulation solely to account for
changes in the Consumer Price Index. The Environmental Quality
Board may not modify fee thresholds, the distinction between
returned and consumed water or the allocation structure
established under section 303 by regulation.
Section 303. Distribution of water resource fees.
(a) Establishment of Water Use Fund.--The Water Use Fund is
established in the State Treasury. The money of the fund is
appropriated on a continuing basis to the departments, in the
amounts and for the purposes specified in subsection (b).
(b) Funding source and distribution.--The fees collected
under section 302 shall be paid into the fund. The money of the
fund shall be used annually as follows:
(1) The amount necessary to satisfy Pennsylvania's
20260HB2682PN3737 - 14 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
annual assessment obligations to the Delaware River Basin
Commission under the act of July 7, 1961 (P.L.518, No.268),
known as the Delaware River Basin Compact, and to the
Susquehanna River Basin Commission under the act of July 17,
1968 (P.L.368, No.181), referred to as the Susquehanna River
Basin Compact Law, shall be paid from the fund annually prior
to any other distribution under this subsection. Payment
shall be made within 60 days of each commission's adoption of
its current annual expense budget. The amounts required under
this paragraph shall be determined by the respective
commission's approved budget apportionment and shall not
require additional legislative action.
(2) The amount of $30,000,000 to the department for
water-related programs and activities, to be distributed to
the department as follows:
(i) No less than 17% of the amount distributed under
this paragraph shall be directed to the Low-Income Water
Customer Assistance Program accounts of community water
systems serving territories in which extraordinary water
users are registered, if any accounts have been
established, distributed proportionally by the number of
registered users in each service territory.
(ii) After distribution under subparagraph (i), the
remaining balance of the total amount shall be
distributed for general government operations.
(3) The amount of $25,000,000 to the Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources for water-related programs
and activities with any balance of that amount for general
government operations.
(4) The amount of $11,000,000 to the Department of
20260HB2682PN3737 - 15 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Agriculture for water-related programs and activities with
any balance of that amount for general government operations.
(5) The amount of $5,000,000 to the Pennsylvania Fish
and Boat Commission for water-related programs and activities
with any balance of that amount for general government
operations.
(6) The amount of $15,000,000 to the Critical Water
Planning Area Administration and Watershed Monitoring Fund.
(7) The amount of $10,000,000 to the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission, which shall establish and administer a
Water Ratepayer Relief Program. The program shall provide
credits or rebates to residential water customers in
municipalities where one or more tier 2 extraordinary water
users are registered under section 301. The commission shall
promulgate regulations establishing eligibility criteria,
credit amounts and distribution mechanisms for the program,
with priority given to low-income households. Credits shall
be applied directly to customer water bills if
administratively feasible.
(8) The balance of money in the fund to PENNVEST, which
shall distribute the remainder under section 505 or use the
balance to service the debt for any bonds issued under
Chapter 5.
(9) If the total fees collected under section 302 in a
fiscal year are insufficient to fund the full amounts
specified in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) after
satisfying the obligations under paragraph (1), the available
balance shall be distributed proportionally among the
recipients in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7)
based on each recipient's share of the total amount specified
20260HB2682PN3737 - 16 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
in the paragraphs. A recipient under paragraphs (2), (3),
(4), (5), (6) and (7) may not receive a distribution that
exceeds the recipient's specified amount in a year in which
collections exceed the aggregate of the amounts. Excess
collections above the aggregate of paragraphs (1), (2), (3),
(4), (5), (6) and (7) shall be transferred to PENNVEST under
paragraph (8).
Section 304. Critical Water Planning Area Administration and
Watershed Monitoring Fund.
The Critical Water Planning Area Administration and Watershed
Monitoring Fund is established in the State Treasury.
Section 305. Duties of department.
The department shall exercise powers granted to it by this
act and shall perform the duties imposed upon it by this act,
which shall include the following:
(1) Using money in the Critical Water Planning Area
Administration and Watershed Monitoring Fund for the
following purposes:
(i) Completing the critical water planning area
designation process required under 27 Pa.C.S. § 3112
(relating to plan contents).
(ii) Developing critical area resource plans for
designated critical water planning areas.
(iii) Installing and maintaining department
watershed monitoring stations in designated critical
water planning areas and surrounding areas.
(iv) Funding department staff responsible for
critical water planning area administration.
(2) Promulgating regulations to establish:
(i) Benchmarks for water usage effectiveness for
20260HB2682PN3737 - 17 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
tier 2 extraordinary water users.
(ii) Criteria and information that must be provided
in a water quality assessment by a tier 2 extraordinary
water user under section 301(d)(2). The department shall
make available on its publicly accessible Internet
website any form necessary to complete the water quality
assessment.
(iii) The manner and form through which a data
center may appeal the department's decision regarding
what information qualifies as proprietary information
under section 201(e)(1)(i).
(3) Publishing and annually updating the following
information on the department's publicly accessible Internet
website:
(i) The identity of each registered extraordinary
water user.
(ii) Each extraordinary water user's reported
withdrawal and consumption volume for each watershed.
(iii) The fees paid by each registered user under
section 302.
(iv) Distributions made from the Critical Water
Planning Area Administration and Watershed Monitoring
Fund to each watershed under section 505 in the year
preceding each publication and update of the information.
Section 306. Preconstruction notification.
In addition to any other requirements under Federal or State
law, a person who is developing a facility that is expected to
withdraw over 500,000 gallons of water per day shall notify the
department, the applicable river basin commission and any
municipality that would be affected by the facility of the
20260HB2682PN3737 - 18 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
planned construction and operation of the facility in a form and
manner prescribed by the department at least 180 days before the
facility begins withdrawals.
CHAPTER 5
WATERSHED PROTECTION BONDS
Section 501. Authorization to incur indebtedness.
Under the provisions of section 7(a)(3) of Article VIII of
the Constitution of Pennsylvania, PENNVEST may submit the
question of a bond issuance in the amount of up to
$5,000,000,000 for the protection of watersheds, water
resources, water environments, fresh water sources, the
furthering of water conservation and other water-related
environmental initiatives to the electors at the next election
in the year that PENNVEST decides to issue bonds.
Section 502. Certification.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall certify the question
under section 501 to the county board of elections.
Section 503. Question to electorate.
The question under section 501 shall be in the following
form:
Do you favor authorizing the Commonwealth to incur an
indebtedness of up to $ , to be repaid using
funds generated under the act of (P.L. , No. ),
known as the Pennsylvania Water Resource Act, for the
issuance of bonds for the maintenance and protection of
watersheds, water resources, the furthering of water
conservation and other water-related environmental
initiatives?
Section 504. Referendum procedure.
The referendum shall be conducted in accordance with the act
20260HB2682PN3737 - 19 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania
Election Code, except that:
(1) the requirements for advertising or notice related
to the question are waived;
(2) the requirements for a statement under section 201.1
of the Pennsylvania Election Code are waived; and
(3) the authority of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
to determine the form of the question is abrogated.
Section 505. Use of proceeds.
A bond issued under this chapter must be used and paid for
proportionally to the proceeds generated by the fees collected
from water users. Proceeds of borrowing authorized under this
chapter shall be used only for the following purposes and shall
be allocated to watersheds based on the percentage of fees
generated under section 302 in each watershed respectively:
(1) The maintenance and protection of:
(i) Watersheds.
(ii) Water resources.
(iii) Water environments.
(iv) Freshwater sources.
(2) The furthering of water conservation.
(3) Completion of critical water planning area
designations and critical area resource plan development.
(4) Installation of groundwater monitoring
infrastructure in areas of projected high data center
concentration.
(5) Grants and loans to municipalities and water
authorities for infrastructure upgrades required to serve
large industrial water users, conditioned on cost recovery
from the users.
20260HB2682PN3737 - 20 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(6) Watershed restoration in areas where documented
consumptive use has measurably reduced water availability.
CHAPTER 7
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Section 701. Regulations.
The department shall adopt and promulgate rules and
regulations as needed to administer and enforce this act.
Section 702. Notice and report.
(a) Publication.--The Secretary of Environmental Protection
shall, no later than 24 months after the effective date of this
subsection, transmit notice to the Legislative Reference Bureau
for publication in the next available issue of the Pennsylvania
Bulletin that the department has completed the critical water
planning area designation process provided under 27 Pa.C.S. §
3112 (relating to plan contents).
(b) Report.--No later than 12 months after the effective
date of this subsection, the Secretary of Environmental
Protection shall submit to the chair and minority chair of the
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate and
the chair and minority chair of the Environmental and Natural
Resource Protection Committee of the House of Representatives a
report detailing the progress made by the department in the
critical water planning area designation process provided under
27 Pa.C.S. § 3112 during the preceding 12 months.
Section 703. Effective date.
This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) Section 301(d) shall take effect upon publication of
the notice under section 702.
(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect in 60
days.
20260HB2682PN3737 - 21 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30