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Republicans On Senate Environmental Committee Report Out Bills To Narrow Grounds For Appealing DEP Actions, Stream Cleaning, Take ‘Protection’ Out Of The Dept. Of Environmental Protection

On May 10, Republicans on the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee reported out legislation to narrow the grounds of appealing DEP actions, authorizing special “stream cleaning” permits and renaming DEP to the Department of Environmental Services.

Many of these proposals related to permit issues are five years old or older and no longer relate to updated permitting processes.

In March, DEP Acting Secretary Richard Negrin announced and is implementing a 10 Point Plan to speed permit reviews. Read more here.

The bills include--

-- Limiting Grounds Of Appeal Of DEP Actions: Senate Bill 198 (Bartolotta-R-Washington) which would create a new standard for the review for appeals of DEP permit actions before the Environmental Hearing Board by limiting parties appealing permit decisions-- a company or a citizens group-- to issues raised in and information contained in a record of decision of a permit prepared by DEP. This would prevent a citizens group or anyone else from raising issues DEP missed or misinterpreted. Read more here.

Before the vote, Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester), Minority Chair of the Committee, said, “I will be voting no on this bill. The Environmental Hearing Board plays a very important role in environmental regulations.

“This bill prevents new information from being raised in the appeals process for permits issued, information that may not have been available at the time of a decision that could or should cause it to be reconsidered.

“Limiting the scope of what can be considered on a permit appeal will not benefit the public nor improve the permitting process.

“DEP is opposed to this bill and the Shapiro administration and the acting secretary of DEP have expressed a willingness and a desire to work on improving that process.

“Let's work together with them to do just that. And again, I ask for a no vote.

“Thank you.”

The Committee reported out the bill by a party-line vote, Republicans supporting, and is now on the Senate Calendar for action..

-- Limiting Terms of Environmental Hearing Board Members: Senate Bill 199 (Bartolotta-R- Washington) requires members of the Board whose terms have expired to be reappointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.

DEP and the Shapiro Administration opposed the bill.

The Committee reported out the bill by a party-line vote, Republicans supporting, and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

-- 10-Year ‘Stream Cleaning’ Permit: Senate Bill 689 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would authorize DEP to issue a 10-year “stream cleaning” permits to local governments or PennDOT without need for further preapprovals for actions in the stream regardless if stream conditions changes within their jurisdictions.

Read more about DEP’s less complex program to authorize stream maintenance to avoid flooding.

DEP and the Shapiro Administration opposed the bill.

The Committee reported out the bill by a party-line vote, Republicans supporting, and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

-- County ‘Stream Cleaning’ Permit: Senate Bill 690 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would authorize county conservation districts to develop a complex and expensive program related to “reconstruction emergency permit authorizations” to conduct “stream cleaning” operations.

Read more about DEP’s less complex program to authorize stream maintenance to avoid flooding.

DEP is neutral on the bill because the prime sponsor worked with DEP on changes.

The Committee reported out the bill by a largely bipartisan vote, and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

-- Renaming DEP Dept. Of Environmental Services: Senate Bill 691 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would rename the Department of Environmental Protection to the Department of Environmental Services. The bill also opens up Act 18 of 1995 creating DEP and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to any and all amendments.

DEP and the Shapiro Administration opposed the bill.

Before the vote, Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester), Minority Chair of the Committee, said, “I will be voting no. Respectfully, the mission of the DEP is not the problem. The name of DEP is not the problem. Lack of adequate support and resources for DEP staffing and enforcement is the primary issue here. That should be our focus.

“This bill is not only unnecessary, but I believe that it's harmful. It would require significant costs to rebrand the department, consider all the documents, rules and regulations, policies, procedures, websites, et cetera, with numerous references that would have to change.

“Those funds would be much better spent on the department's work and mission, a key part of which is enforcement.

“I would also like to share Article 1 Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, known as the Environmental Rights Amendment. The people have a right to clean air or water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the environment.

“Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all people.

“This is a very important part of our Pennsylvania constitution. The word protect is not specifically used in this Environmental Rights Amendment, but the word conserve, if you look at the definition of the word conserve, it means to protect.

“So, our task and our responsibility is to conserve, protect, and maintain. This is integral to DEP's mission, and I am firmly opposed to this bill. I ask for a no vote.

“Thank you.”

Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair of the Committee, responded by saying, “I am totally surprised that one word has created so much interest.. I'm glad. Because I think it is absolutely necessary.”

When Sen. Yaw announced the bill, he said, “Rather than being a partner, DEP has become an enforcer and has compromised the open and working relationship it once had with the people it serves,” Yaw said. “Shifting the focus to ‘services’ will be a step forward in implementing a much-needed culture change at the Department.”

The Committee reported the bill by a party-line vote, Republicans supporting, and it is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Click Here to watch a video of the meeting.

‘I Want A Chance To Fix This First’

On March 22, Acting DEP Secretary Richard Negrin outlined a 10 Point Plan to improve permit reviews at DEP as part of his budget hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“I want a chance to fix this first [before considering options like third-party permit reviews]. I think it [the plan] makes sense,” said Acting Secretary Negrin.

“I've heard those nightmare stories. I think we talked about a permit that took four years, a permit that took seven years.

“That should never happen. That team should be able to dive in way before when we start to see delays and we're tracking, we're putting those numbers up to prevent that.

“If I don't have the resources to do some of that internally, then I think it's time to have a conversation about what's the best way to do that.

“I'm open to that conversation going forward, but I want a chance to fix this first.”