The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee recently advanced legislation that would improve the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) permit reviewing process.
Senate Bill 692 would require the DEP to review permit applications consistent with its current policy. Existing regulations say the permitting process should take no more than 45 days, but some permits take more than 100 days.
The bill also would require the DEP to report to the General Assembly regarding the review times of applications, the number of permits applied for and issued, and the performance of regional offices in complying with the act.
“Unfortunately, DEP is not fulfilling its obligation of timely and efficient review of permit applications with great disparities existing among regional offices,” Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Greene County), who sponsored the bill, said. “These delays and inconsistencies slow development of critical infrastructure projects to move Pennsylvania natural gas to market and discourage our efforts to attract capital investments to Pennsylvania.
“My bill would send a strong signal to both DEP and job creators that Pennsylvania is serious about responsibly developing our energy resources while ensuring our regulators fulfill their permit review obligations of safe, responsible oil and gas development.”
The bill moves to the full Senate for consideration.