House committee advances bill to expand Pennsylvania agriculture oversight for mushroom and composting operations
Summary
Representative Sappy introduced HB2034 to give the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture new oversight and enforcement authority over mushroom and composting operations after residents reported swarms of flies and odor and air-quality concerns; the committee voted to report the bill to the House floor.
Representative Sappy introduced House Bill 2034 to the House Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee to expand the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s best management practices to cover the mushroom and composting industries. Sappy said the legislation would give the department greater oversight and enforcement authority for indoor agriculture and help address quality-of-life and air-quality complaints from residents living near operations in southern Chester County.
“My goal here is to help the department gain more oversight and enforcement in indoor agriculture and to nurture a better relationship between the mushroom and composting industries and Pennsylvanians living in close proximity to these operations,” Representative Sappy said.
Sappy cited several problems motivating the bill: repeated local complaints about swarms of phorid/drain flies that leave growing houses during the end of growth cycles; the 2012 EPA ban on diazinon that reduced available chemical controls; recent quarantine orders in two townships in 2025 that required growers to steam growing rooms; and episodes of elevated hydrogen sulfide (H2S) that residents say have harmed air quality and corroded metal on homes and vehicles. She said some smaller growers have lacked equipment or resources to use heat-steaming after harvest, and that Penn State and private-sector researchers are testing non-toxic methods such as treated netting and biological controls.
Sappy said the mushroom and composting industries are important to the state’s economy—she cited an industry figure of about $1 billion—and emphasized that the bill is intended to protect both residents and the industry by providing PDA with tools to enforce best practices and support compliant operators.
Committee members largely praised the proposal and offered to work on technical amendments. Representative Lawrence said the issue “merits attention” and pledged to support refining the bill; Chairman Mao also voiced support and said he would help advance the measure to the House floor with corrections.
After brief discussion, the committee recorded two negative votes and then voted to report HB2034 out of committee to the House, advancing it to the next stage of consideration.
