The Department of Environmental Protection notified the Citizens Advisory Council Tuesday it is in the process of updating the agency’s public participation policy on permit reviews.  Glenn Rider, Director of the Bureau of Conservation and Restoration, also provided an update on office’s priorities for the coming year.

Council Chair John Walliser expressed concern that there will be at least 9 vacancies or members with expired terms on the 18 member Council by the end of the year including: 6 appointments by the Governor, 3 appointments each by the Senate President Pro Tem and House Speaker.

Walliser said he would be working with the appointing authorities to fill the vacancies.  Current members may serve until a replacement is appointed.

Participation Policy

DEP’s public participation policy on permit guides when and how the public is involved in decision-making in the agency on individual permit applications.

It addresses how and when public comment periods are held, when public information meetings and hearings are encouraged, how access to permit files is managed and requires the agency to respond to public comments.

The Council, as the primary body in DEP charged by statute to oversee public participation issues in the department, strongly requested DEP to make the Council its first stop for input in developing the new policy before it is published for public comment.

DEP said they hope to have the new policy ready for comment by the end of the year.

Watershed Restoration Priorities

Glenn Rider told the Council the Bureau of Conservation and Restoration has six priorities in the coming year based on an action plan finalized in August--

-- Better managing its funding streams (Growing Greener, EPA Section 319, federal OSM Set-Aside, Chesapeake Bay) to maximize their impact in restoration of officially designated impaired streams and rivers in the state.

-- Finalize the guidelines for the use of federal OSM set-aside funding to reclaim abandoned mine lands and treat mine discharges.

-- Identify and complete maintenance, repairs and upgrades to DEP’s own mine drainage treatment facilities.

-- Finalize and issue a revised CAFO permit for animal feeding operations.

-- Increase efforts to achieve agricultural sector compliance with nutrient reduction requirements through education, site visits and farm inspections.

-- Develop and implement a process to report significant improvements to streams and lakes and to inform the public of those successes.

In response to a question, Rider said details on how funding generated by the Act 13 Marcellus Shale drilling law for watershed restoration administered by the Commonwealth Financing Agency would be handled have not yet been finalized.

Rider also said the next round of Growing Greener Grant requests will allow for funding abandoned mine drainage treatment projects.

The Bureau was formed last year as part of DEP’s reorganization and includes parts of the old bureaus of Watershed Management and Abandoned Mine Reclamation.

Specifically, the Bureau is responsible for programs like: non-point source management, Crop Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), conservation districts, agricultural pollution reduction, Chesapeake Bay, abandoned mine drainage treatment and operation and maintenance, use of AMD water for hydraulic fracturing and the Schuylkill River Dams Program.

For more information, visit the Bureau webpage.

Other Actions

In other business--

Clean Air Report: The Council approved its formal 5-Year Report On CAC Activities Under the Air Pollution Control Act as required by statute.

Longwall Mining: Steve Kunz of the Citizens Coal Council provided the Council with a presentation on concerns his group has about the adequacy of the analysis DEP has and is now doing to determine the impacts of longwall coal mining on property and streams and rivers under Act 54.

DEP recently contracted with the University of Pittsburgh to complete the fourth in the series the reports required by Act 54 to analyze longwall mining’s impacts.  The reports are required to be done every five years.

Council members agreed to put together a set of questions members would like to see DEP answer about the contents of the next Act 54 report.  Council already provided the agency with comments on the Act 54 report covering 2003-2008.

Kunz’s presentation will be posted on the CAC meetings webpage.  Visit DEP’s Act 54 webpage for copies of past Act 54 reports.

Drilling Water Testing: During its open public comments period, the Council heard comments by Donita Hoke, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania on drilling water testing issues and about a recent permit decision on a natural gas pipeline in Chester County.  The comments will be posted on the CAC meetings webpage.

Brine Water Reuse: DEP announced it would be withdrawing proposed revisions to General Permit WMGR064 published on September 17, 2011 (PA Bulletin page 5000) which would have allowed the use of natural gas well brines in certain circumstances for dust suppressant and as a stabilizer for unpaved secondary roads.

The General Permit remains in effect to allow the beneficial use of brines for roadway anti-icing purposes in certain circumstances.  The permit does not authorize the beneficial use of any fluids from unconventional wells (Marcellus) for these purposes.

A formal notice of this withdrawal was published in the November 24 PA Bulletin (PA Bulletin page 7203).

2013 Meetings

The Council released its meeting schedule for 2013: January 15, February 19, March 19, April 16, May 22, June 18, July 16, September 17, October 15 and November 19.

For more information, visit the DEP CAC webpage.

11/26/2012