On February 4, Republicans on the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee reported out a concurrent resolution disapproving of the final EQB Triennial Water Quality Standards and Stream Redesignation Regulation.

The final Triennial Water Quality Regulation was approved Friday by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission by a 4 to 1 vote.

Majority Committee Chair Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) said his reason for disapproving the regulation was the failure of DEP to fill out the Regulatory Analysis Form that accompanies the regulation completely.

At issue, the Republicans said, was that DEP did not identify the types and numbers of entities affected by the regulation.

DEP said on the Regulatory Analysis Form, in part,  “Persons with existing or proposing new or expanded activities or projects which result in discharges to waters of the Commonwealth will be required to implement treatment of effluent or best management practices (BMPs) and the appropriate protections to meet the water quality standards established by this regulation.

“However, it is not possible to identify the total number of persons, businesses, and organizations that will be affected by the regulation, or the potential associated costs. It is not possible to predict the future business decisions of existing or potentially new entities that choose to conduct activities that will be affected by these regulations.

“Therefore, it is not possible or practicable to quantify the technology needs and BMP costs that may be associated with these future activities.

“This rulemaking does, however, establish a clear and appropriate set of goals, objectives, and targets to which these persons, businesses, and organizations can plan and design towards.

[Put another way, DEP cannot reasonably anticipate which entities might apply for permits in the decades after a stream is reclassified.]  (Questions 15-19, Regulatory Analysis Form.)

The full House and Senate now have 30 calendar days or ten legislative days to pass the concurrent resolution and present it to the Governor for his action.

Since the House and Senate will be going on break for budget hearings until March 16, the ten legislative days is longer and the resolution could be considered when they return.

The text of the concurrent resolution was not made available to Committee members before the meeting, but was available at the meeting, Rep. Metcalfe said in his announcement of the meeting made only on the Floor of the House this afternoon.

Background

DEP is required to review, revise and update, as needed, at least once every three years, water quality criteria and standards to reflect the latest scientific information and new federal guidelines for criteria development, and other implementation guidance.

The EQB adopted the Triennial regulation for comment in April of 2017 and held four public hearings on the proposal.  It was adopted as a final rule in November, 2019.

Among other issues, the regulation deals with setting standards for ammonia and bacteria, makes changes to stream designations for a variety of streams and providing for exceptions for fishable and swimmable waters.

On January 22, Republicans on the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted to send a letter to the IRRC recommending they disapprove the regulation.  Click Here for more.

The recommendation was based on comments presented to the Committee by the American Forest and Paper Association and the Monroe County Clean Streams Coalition, a group of business landowners who have been challenging stream redesignations in the Pocono Region. Click Here for more.

The IRRC received comments from four parties on the regulation, the two business groups, the House Committee and PennFuture, who supported the regulation.

A copy of the regulation, supporting documents and DEP’s presentation to the EQB can be found on the Environmental Quality Board 2019 meetings webpage for November.

The Committee meeting will be held at the end of House session today in Room 205 of the Ryan Building.  Click Here to see if live video of the meeting is available.

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-783-1707 or sending email to: dmetcalf@pahousegop.com. Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7647 or sending email to: gvitali@pahouse.net.

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Related Article - Triennial Reg:

Independent Regulatory Review Commission Approves Final Triennial Water Quality Standards, Stream Designation Regulation

Related Article - Regulations:

Analysis: What If The Senate And House Had To Adopt Laws Like DEP Adopts Regulations?

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[Posted: February 4, 2020]

2/10/2020