Corbett Tells DEP to Expedite Permit Process

STATE IMPACT / NPR: Penn­syl­va­nia Gov. Tom Cor­bett has issued an exec­u­tive order requir­ing the Depart­ment of Envi­ron­men­tal Pro­tec­tion to set estab­lished time­lines for pro­cess­ing per­mit appli­ca­tions. The DEP is respon­si­ble for issu­ing per­mits on indus­trial activ­ity that may impact the envi­ron­ment. The department’s resources have been stretched by the recent shale gas drilling boom. In a press release issued Tues­day, Cor­bett says he’s respond­ing to com­plaints about how long DEP takes to issue permits.

“[Cor­bett] has already cut $20 mil­lion from DEP’s bud­get and now they’re ask­ing them to do things faster,” says McNeil. “The Depart­ment is less than half the size it was a few years ago, that strikes me as egregious.”…

“This is a depart­ment put under tremen­dous pres­sure to approve per­mits as quickly as pos­si­ble and now its going to be a fac­tor of job eval­u­a­tion,” says McNeil. “The incen­tive is not to make sure these projects are safe, their incen­tive is now to make sure these projects get done quickly.”…  (more)