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.
-- 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.
-- 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.
-- County ‘Stream Cleaning’ Permit: Senate Bill 690 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would authorize county conservation district 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.
-- 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.
The meeting will be held in Room 8E-A East Wing of the Capitol starting at 10:30 a.m. Click Here to watch online.
‘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.”
The Majority Chair of this Senate Committees decided to move ahead with legislation leftover from last session.
Confirmation Hearings?
As of this writing, the Committee has not scheduled a meeting to consider the nominations of Acting DEP Secretary Richard Negrin or Acting DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn.
The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee has not scheduled a meeting to consider the nomination of Acting Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.
Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-3280 or sending email to: gyaw@pasen.gov. Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-5709 or sending email to: senatorcomitta@pasenate.com.
Related Articles:
-- Gov. Shapiro Receives State Agency Reports On Permitting, Next Step Is To Set Money-Back Permit Review Times [PaEN]
-- 2 Senate Committees Meet May 8 To Run Bills To Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing, Waive Any Permitting Requirement, Add Cost, Time To Regulatory/Permitting Bureaucracy [PaEN]
[Posted: May 5, 2023] PA Environment Digest
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