The Joint Legislative Budget & Finance Committee is scheduled to meet on June 19 to release an independent performance evaluations of DEP’s Chapter 102 and 105 Permit Programs required by Senate Resolution 226 (Yudichak-D-Luzerne).
These two DEP permit programs account for about 6,000 of the 30,000 permit applications DEP reviews every year and are critical to any land development project undertaken in the Commonwealth.
“Democrats and Republicans, as well as business leaders and environmental groups, can all agree that DEP’s permitting must improve if we are to continue creating jobs and protecting the environment,” said Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne), Minority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and prime sponsor of the Resolution. “With DEP staffing levels at historic lows and turnaround times frustratingly long, Senate Resolution 226 will provide us the necessary baseline data to improve the efficiency of DEP’s environmental permitting process.”
“Independently evaluated baseline data is the critical element that is currently missing and we must add it to the conversation about environmental permitting reform,” said Sen. Yudichak. “The report required by Senate Resolution 226 will provide an analysis of statewide permitting programs to help us identify needed improvements that balance and safeguard environmental protection with economic development and job creation activities.”
The meeting will be held in Room 8E-B East Wing starting at 9:30.
Sen. Bob Mensch (R-Montgomery) serves as Chair of the Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-3110 or send email to: bmensch@pasen.gov.
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