Clean soil is essential for protecting Pennsylvania’s groundwater, public and animal health, agriculture productivity, and residential/commercial areas from contaminated risks. Contaminated soil exposes humans and animals to harmful chemicals such as PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), also known as forever chemicals, due to their resistance to breakdown in the environment and human bodies. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that nearly every single American has been exposed to PFAS and have it in their bloodstreams, leading to increased cancer risks, cholesterol levels, induced hypertension during pregnancy, and decreases in birth weight for newborns. A Penn State University research study found that more than 600 farms utilize practices which inherently introduce PFAS into the soil.

Under Article 1 Section 27 of Pennsylvania’s State Constitution, public natural resources are deemed “common property of all the people, including generations yet to come,” thus requiring the Commonwealth to preserve, protect, and maintain resources, “for the benefit of the people of Pennsylvania.” From this Article Pennsylvanians have earned the right to pure water and clean air but have yet to receive their right to clean soil.

In the near future, I will be introducing legislation that will protect and provide Pennsylvanians with their constitutional right to clean soil.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this important resolution.