David Hess (PA), former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for the creation of Growing Greener. The program promises $650 million over five years for open space and farmland preservation, watershed restoration, cleaning up from abandoned mines and mine lands, plugging abandoned oil and gas wells, and upgrading sewer and water systems. David was the primary architect behind Growing Greener, has been its most vocal advocate and has inspired local action in Pennsylvania’s rivers and their watersheds.