A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday riovember 9, 1996
WARREN (Warren Co.)
Over 500 Pennsylvania State
Grange members set new policy
on important issues including the
proposal to deregulate electric
utilities, opposition to interstate
refuse, a hunting license increase,
the Northeast Dairy Compact and
Bell Atlantic’s decision to seek
telephone rate rebalancing
through the Public Utility Com
mission (PUC) during the 124th
annual convention here.
The convention ran Oct 27-31
in Warren County and was hosted
by Warren/Forest Pomona
Grange.
“As a grass-roots organization,
the policies determined here will
influence our legislative efforts on
Capitol Hill as we work on legisla
tion that will affect agriculture and
rural Pennsylvania,” Brenda
Shambaugh, Legislative Director,
said, “These issues are of greatest
concern to our membership and
the Pennsylvania State Grange
will see that these policies are ad
dressed at the state and federal
level.”
Deregulation of
Electric Utilities
The Pennsylvania State Grange
passed policy that seeks to restruc
ture electric utilities to benefit
consumers by increasing service
and options and lowering costs.
Restructuring will also create new
market options for electric energy
generated by agricultural enter
prises and other alternative energy
sources.
“We are in favor of this as long
as it can be done in a manner that
can ensure the reliability of our
electrical supply.” Shambaugh
said, “as well as the ability of the
suppliers to anticipate and respond
in a timely manner to projected in
creased in energy demands.”
The policy includes provisions
to ensure: all classes of consumers
benefit: 100 percent of stranded
costs must be recovered and
should be borne by those who
leave their current supplier (a.k.a.
“exit fees”): all consumers must
have access to electric service;
safety and reliability must not be
jeopardized; exclusive delivery
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Pennsylvania Grangers Set Policies
service must be maintained; co
operatives must be allowed to
compete; and cooperatives must
remain exempt from PUC regula
tion.
Interstate Refuse
The Grange strongly believes
that rural areas in Pennsylvania
are being adversely impacted from
the flow of interstate refuse due to
excessive traffic, environmental
degradation and lower land val
ues. The delegate body passed a
resolution that looks to implement
legislation permitting a munici
pality with a landfill or consider
ing a landfill to have the option of
restricting out-of-state trash.
“This resolution started out as a
local issue, but the implication of
out-of-state refuse flowing across
our borders is much broader than
that,” Shambaugh said. “The
membership sought to establish
policy that will hopefully lead to
legislation that will restrict this
practice.”
The Grange also reinforced its
position that encourages munici
palities to utilize source reduction,
resource recovery, composting,
developing alternative energy
sources, community planning and
recycling as methods to reduce de
pendency on landfills.
Hunting License Fees
For years farmers have faced fi
nancial difficulties due to deer
crop damage, Shambaugh said,
but without receiving any restitu
tion. Now, the Pennsylvania
Game Commission seeks an in
crease in license fees, despite hav
ing a balance of $4O million used
to collect interest for the agency.
The Grange believes farmers
should have access to the addi
tional funds that will be generated
by a potential increase in hunting
license fees.
“The delegate body passed poli
cy that supports a 20 percent
across-the-board increase in hunt
ing licenses, and that half the in
crease be used to fund a catas
trophic game crop damage loss
program,” Shambaugh said. “We
believe the crop loss program will
help lessen the financial burden
that farmers have had to bear for
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Northeast Dairy Compact
Since the U.S. passed the provi
sions of the Northeast Dairy Com
pact, the Pennsylvania State
Grange seeks immediate action by
the state legislature as soon as the
compact is approved by the New
York State Legislature.
“By pooling milk together col
lectively as a region, we’ll get bet
ter milk prices for our dairy farm
ers,” Shambaugh said. “The poli
cy asks our legislature to start
drafting legislation now so that it
can be considered upon approval
by New York, which is a stipula
tion in the compact.”
WARREN (Warren Co.)
The Pennsylvania State Grange is
asking the governor and members
of the state legislature to endorse a
judge’s recommendation to the
Public Utility Commission to re
ject Bell Atlantic’s proposal to re
balance telephone rates.
Delegates at the Pennsylvania
State Grange’s 124th annual con
vention here last week requested
that a letter be sent to state offi
cials asking them to back the rul
ing by Administrative Law Judge
Louis G. Cocheres.
The ruling advises the commis
sion to reject the telephone com
pany’s plan to raise rates in rural
sections of the state while lower
ing them in urban areas based on
the fact that Bell’s current rates
cover its costs.
The Grange, with over 32,000
members across the state, has poli
cy that opposes any attempt to re
balance telephone rates.
‘The judge concluded that Bell
Atlantic’s current residential rates
cover its costs,” Brenda Sham
baugh, PA State Grange legisla
tive director, said, “and further
stated that its proposal was an at
tempt to place the risks of compe
tition on those captive rate payers
rather than on its shareholders.”
The Grange has been extremely
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Telephone Rate Rebalancing
The Grange has been in a year
long battle with Bell Atlantic over
rebalancing telephone rates by
lowering them in urban sections of
the state while raising them in rur
al areas.
The delegate body drafted a re
solution that asks Governor Tom
Ridge and the legislature to back a
recent decision by an Administra
tive Law Judge (AU) against
Bell. ALJ decided bell’s rebalanc
ing petition to the PUC does not
have merit because their current
telephone rates cover their costs.
The PUC is expected to hand
down its decision on the petition
Grange Urges Rejection
Of Bell Atlantic’s Plan
active in voicing its concern with
the Bell proposal since the com
pany tiled its request on Jan. 10.
The Grange has testified at numer
ous public hearings in Harrisburg
and around the state and has writ
ten letters stating that the rate re
balance plan is in violation of the
PUC’s 1994 Bell order under
Chapter 30, which states that Bell
is required to adhere to a rate
freeze.
In addition, Shambaugh said re
structuring Bell’s local charges
means an increase for a segment
of their rurral clientele whose
rates are then not frozen.
Telephone rataes are projected
to rise as much as 21 percent in
some rural areas of the state if the
plan is approved, according to
published reports. A final decision
is expected from the PUC by Dec.
17.
As an advocate for rural Penn
sylvania, the Grange is a leading
Pennsylvania grange tyzvs
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in December.
“The judge concluded that Bell
Atlantic’s current residential rates
cover its costs,” Shambaugh said,
“and further stated that its propos
al was an attempt to place the risks
of competition on those captive
rate payers rather than on its
shareholders.”
The Pennsylvania State Grange
is an agricultural, rural and com
munity service organization dedi
cated to improving the lives of rur
al Pennsylvanians through legisla
tive action, community service
and member services. There are
over 31,000 members in 66 PA
counties.
force in agricultural and rural is
sues at the local, state and federal
levels. The Grange is also a com
munity service organization dedi
cated to improving the lives of
Pennsylvanians through legisla
tive action, offering member ser
vices and participating in com
munity affairs.
The Pennsylvania State Grange
is a grassroots organization which
receives its direction from its
members on a variety of issues.
Local Granges, numbering nearly
500 in Pennsylvania, discuss and
approve resolutions on issues such
as nutrient management, educa
tion, taxation, health care, trans
portation, agriculture and rural de
velopment at its annual state con
vention.
Once a resolution is approved
by the delegate body, it becomes
state Grange policy. If the resolu
tion is of national scope, then it is
sent to the National Grange con
vention in November.
♦ Compart last 2 months Milk Weights
♦ Lactation - to -Dale Milk
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Fax: 814-865-3924
Web Site: http://www.dhla.psu.edu
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