DEP Cancels Oct. 7 Air Quality Advisory Committee Meeting Due To Budget Impasse

Late Friday afternoon, the Department of Environmental Protection canceled the October 7 meeting of the Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee “due to the budget impasse.”

The Committee agenda included several items, including--

-- Update On Federal Ozone Air Quality Standards;

-- Overview of EPA Final Clean Power Climate Plan;

-- Update On Smartway Transportation Partnership;

-- EPA Proposed Oil and Gas Methane Emission Rule;

-- Proposed Emission Guidance, Compliance Times For Landfills;

-- EPA’s Data Requirements For 1-Hour SO2 Standard; and

-- Report On State Implementation Plan Revisions/Rulemakings.

It was not immediately clear whether other upcoming agency meetings will be affected by the cut back in expenses due to the budget impasse.

Late Thursday, Gov. Wolf imposed a hiring freeze on state agencies, with the only exceptions being those positions providing direct care to patients, residents and clients; those directly engaged in law enforcement, public safety and corrections; or revenue-generating and revenue-collecting positions.

The directive also said agencies should not continue or add retired or temporary workers to their payroll unless it is absolutely essential to their operations.

Wolf also imposed new limits on travel-- in-state and out-of-state-- and continued a ban on purchasing items not critical to state agency operations.

DEP has not yet canceled the October 5 listening session on EPA’s Clean Power Plan or other upcoming advisory committee meetings.  Click Here for a list of upcoming events.