On September 24, the PA Environmental Council and Environmental Defense Fund wrote a letter to all members of the House urging them to oppose House Bill 1107 (O'Neal-R- Washington) and House Bill 1106 (Puskaric-R- Allegheny) that would undermine the integrity of environmental permitting in Pennsylvania.

The text of the letter follows--

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Environmental Defense Fund strongly urge you to vote against House Bill 1106 and House Bill 1107, which are expected to come up for a vote in the House of Representatives this week. Both bills would wholly destabilize environmental permitting in Pennsylvania.

House Bill 1106 sets time limits for permit reviews, establishes “deemed approval” of permits, and provides for alternative review of permit application documents. This legislation is flawed for multiple reasons:

-- The legislation mandates a 30 day permit review time frame for all permit applications regardless of the complexity or scale of the proposed activity, or state and federal requirements. While a shortened review period may be feasible for activities governed by general permits, it is entirely inappropriate for permits that require substantive analysis and proficiency.

-- The legislation compels approval of permit applications if they are signed by a professional engineer, regardless of the engineer’s professional qualifications and without any conflict of interest protections.

-- The legislation eliminates any reasonable opportunity for public review and comment on permit applications.

-- The legislation adds another layer of permit application review through the Environmental Hearing Board, without any clear guidance or financial support for this new process.

These provisions undermine the integrity of permitting decisions, compel decisions without allowing for reasonable opportunity and analysis, and potentially threaten Pennsylvania’s primacy delegation under federal law.

House Bill 1107 removes permitting and regulatory authority from the Department of Environmental Protection and hands it to a newly established, politically appointed commission.

The legislation fails to justify how instituting an entirely new bureaucracy, driven by political appointees, would ensure public health and environmental protection in Pennsylvania, or lead to greater permitting efficiencies.

As with House Bill 1106, House Bill 1107 will assuredly lead to legal challenges and invite revocation of state primacy.

For these reasons, we ask that you vote against House Bills 1106 and 1107.

Thank you for your consideration.

John Walliser                                            Andrew Williams

Pennsylvania Environmental Council      Environmental Defense Fund

Click Here for a copy of the letter.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, PEC Bill/Regulation Tracker, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on Facebook.  Visit PEC’s Audio Room for the latest podcasts.  Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.

NewsClips:

Click Here For Links To Last Week’s Environment & Energy NewsClips

Related Articles This Week:

House Passes Bill To Require Repeal Of 2 Regulations For Every New Regulation Adopted, Create Duplicate $695,000 Office Of The Repealer

Senate Committee OKs Bill To Limit Public’s Right To Know Why A Regulation Is Being Proposed

Temporary Stay Of Execution For Permitting Programs That Protect Pennsylvania’s Environment

DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Stormwater General Permit For Projects Under 5 Acres (PAG-01)

Senate Environmental Committee Reports Bill To Legalize Road Dumping Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater With Little Discussion, Only 3 Negative Votes

Related Article:

House Republicans To Move Bills To Demolish Environmental Permitting, Stop Development For 3-5 Years, Cut Public Out Of Permit Reviews

[Posted: September 24, 2019]

9/30/2019