Acting DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo Tuesday told DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council the agency was adding another set of meetings and hearings, now totalling seven, during the upcoming comment period on the proposed Chapter 78 drilling regulation to provide more opportunities for public comment.

He said hearings will be held in or near Harrisburg, Indiana, Meadville, Tunkhannock, Washington, West Chester and Williamsport.  The meetings should be in similar locations around the state.

At public meetings DEP does a presentation on the regulation changes and answers questions, but does not take public comments.  Public hearings are for receiving public comments in addition to commenters submitting them by mail or email to DEP.  Click Here for a DEP Citizens Guide To DEP’s Regulatory Process.

Abruzzo said the drilling regulations, adopted by the Environmental Quality Board in July, have been delayed in the review process prior to publication for comment as a result, in part, of what he said were some routine questions from the Office of Attorney General.  DEP sent answers to those questions on November 1 and they expected to hear back from the Attorney General shortly.

Abruzzo said work is continues with the Fish and Boat Commission on finding the cause of the smallmouth bass die off in the lower Susquehanna River.  He noted DEP staff have been on the river taking samples for 188 days over the last year analyzing water for everything from pharmaceuticals and pesticides to more routine pollutants.

He noted the bass population did see some improvement this year.

Abruzzo also reported an electronic system for accepting and reviewing oil and gas well permit applications started testing on November 1 and he said he expects it to be available generally to applicants in January.

He said the new system will be a pilot for other permit types in the agency making it easier to store permit information and make it available through DEP’s eFACTS permit information system.

He noted DEP is expected to finalize its public participation policy on permit reviews by the end of the year and a proposed revision to the environmental justice permit review policy should be available the first quarter of 2014.

DEP provided Council with its regular monthly report for November.

National Rivers Assessment

Council also heard a presentation on the National Rivers and Streams Assessment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and how the results are causing confusion about the condition of Pennsylvania streams.

Representatives from EPA assessment program said the results are intended to show the water quality condition over broad ecological regions covering several state each based on taking samples at 1,942 locations in the 1,194,000 miles of rivers and streams in the United States.

The results show 55 percent of the nation’s river and stream miles are in poor biological condition and there are 7 percent fewer stream miles in good condition comparing 2004 and 2008 results.

These results are in contrast to the detailed assessments and monitoring done by states under Section 305(d) of the federal Clean Water Act to determine whether bodies of water meet federal water quality standards.

The most recent 305(d) report completed by the Department of Environmental Protection shows about 77 percent of Pennsylvania streams meet federal water quality standards, but about 23 percent do not-- nearly 20,000 miles.

Pennsylvania’s most significant causes of water quality impairment are drainage from abandoned mines, which the EPA assessment does not specifically address, agricultural runoff and urban runoff/stormwater.

EPA staff complimented Pennsylvania on having a very good stream assessment and monitoring program.          

The CAC also heard presentations on these topics--

-- DEP Right-To-Know Requests: DEP receives about 99 requests for information under the state Right-To-Know law each month requiring a response by agency staff.  Generally any document in the agency is consider a public record, unless it is specifically excluded from requests under the law.  Trisha Salvia, from DEP’s Bureau of Regulatory Counsel, said generally once the agency releases a document to the public at an advisory committee meeting, for example, it is public regardless of whether it was originally protected under the Right-To-Know law.

-- Community Environmental Projects Policy: The policy provides guidance to DEP staff in determining when it would be appropriate for the agency to accept local environmental projects in lieu of paying penalties to the state when environmental violations occur.  Council heard a presentation on a response to comments the Council provided.  The comment period on the policy closes November 25.

Public Comments

During the Council’s open public comment period, several individuals appeared--

-- Roberta Winters, PA League of Women Voters, commended Marjorie Hughes, CAC Executive Director, for her work with Council on the occasion of her retirement, noted the Right-To-Know law provides an important tool for citizens to obtain information from public agencies, presented a series of questions about the proposed Community Environmental Project Policy including what determines an appropriate situation for their use, is it based on the ability to pay and others, and said the League supports strong water resource programs and policies, in connection with the presentation on the National Rivers and Streams Assessment.

-- Stephen Kunz, Schmid & Company, Inc., provided Council with his detailed comments on proposed changes to the GP-8 General Permit covering temporary crossings and environmental testing or monitoring activities saying the revisions dramatically expand the scope of activities covered by the permit without the detailed agency review required by individual permits.  He noted public comments are due January 10.  In response, Council Chair Terry Dayton asked the Council’s Policy and Regulatory Oversight Committee to review the issue and report back to Council.

-- Jeff Schmidt, Joanne Kilgour, PA Sierra Club, also commended Marjorie Hughes for her work with Council.  Schmidt noted he is retiring from his position with the Sierra Club and introduced the new Director Joanne Kilgour.

Council Member Leaving, New Executive Director

The Council adopted a resolution recognizing Richard Manfredi for his 11 years of service to the CAC as a Council member, noting he served on the Public Participation and Outreach, Air and Water Committees of Council.

The resolution noted Manfredi’s local government experience was very valuable in helping Council be more effective in addressing environmental issues facing the Commonwealth.

Michelle Tate was named the new Executive Director of Council, replacing the retiring Marjorie Hughes.  She will take over the position on January 3.

Tate has worked in DEP for 17 years and most recently served as DEP’s Regulatory Coordinator since 2003 and was responsible for moving regulations through the development and adoption process internally with the Environmental Quality Board and the external review process involving the General Assembly and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission. 

Previously she served in positions with the Bureau of Land Recycling and Waste Management and the former Office of Pollution Prevention and Compliance Assistance.

In 1997 Tate was part of a group of DEP employees who were recognized with a Secretary’s Award for Excellence for their efforts in the Strategic Environmental Management Team.

Tate has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor’s Degree from Gannon University in Erie.  She is also a certified ISO 14001 Environmental Standards Auditor.

Marjorie Hughes was presented with a letter of congratulations from  Gov. Corbett for her service to the Commonwealth by Secretary Abruzzo at the Council meeting.

Future Meeting Dates

There is no meeting of the Council in December.  Meeting dates for 2014 are: January 21, February 18, March 18, April 15, May 21, June 17, July 15, September 16, October 21 and November 18.

For more information, visit the DEP Citizens Advisory Council webpage.

11/25/2013