Philly.com reported Friday evening DEP Secretary John Quigley told a Villanova University law school symposium “years of relentless budget cuts” have left DEP ill-equipped for its role to monitor the tens of thousands of miles of natural gas pipelines to be build in Pennsylvania over the next decade.

Quigley said an estimated 2,000 major pipeline projects are in some stage of planning or construction in Pennsylvania.

He repeated what he has said before, that DEP has lost over 670 positions, about 20 percent of its staff, many of whom are permit writers or inspectors.

The symposium brought together panelists to talk about the 184 recommendation made in DEP’s recent Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force Report.

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DEP’s Quigley: Budget Cuts Hurt Effort To Monitor Pipelines

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4/18/2016