The Department of Environmental Protection Tuesday opened a new Our Common Wealth Blog to, as its description says, “provide citizen initiative tips, stories that foster a better understanding of how PA’s environmental regulations affect the daily lives of PA citizens, stories by and about our dedicated employees across the state and more.”

            In his opening post, Acting DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said, “As Rachel Carson famously wrote, “The real wealth of the nation lies in the resources of the earth – soil, water, forests, minerals and wildlife.” We at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) believe that philosophy. But we add another ingredient to her list of what makes a nation wealthy. That is its people.

“All the natural resources aren’t of value if they don’t also enable the citizens of this nation to live healthy and productive lives. It’s why DEP’s mission statement is a reflection of both resource and resident – “DEP’s mission is to protect Pennsylvania’s air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment.”

“Welcome to DEP’s blog, “Our Common Wealth.” Through this medium, we’ll bring you messages about the ways we work to achieve our mission. We hope you’ll find our entries useful about the many, many ways that our staff impact you throughout your day. I feel confident you don’t often (or even ever) think about our role in your life. But, actually, we do have stories about that to share with you.

“The stories will come from the amazing staff of DEP. The best way to give you a small sense of their commitment is to recreate a bit of the most recent Employee Recognition Awards. As I handed out the awards, I said, “For many of us, the job is a vocation. We want to get our decisions right. Every time. Because we care about the consequences. I like to say that the agency’s passion is its superpower.”

“A few of the award winners took the time to share their thoughts about working for DEP. [Click Here for the video.] The passion you see in our employees is truly what helps us achieve our mission. My colleagues at DEP invest every day in our mission. On behalf of all of them, we hope that you agree that it’s an investment in Pennsylvania’s future.

“Have an idea for a post? Email us at ra-epblog@pa.gov.”

For more information, visit DEP’s website, Click Here to sign up for DEP News, visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

[Posted: April 26, 2017]

5/1/2017