PA Shale Drillers Now Have Money-Back Guarantee for Permit Delays

The Pennsylvania State Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) should prepare to cough up some of the money it receives from the steep charges it assesses for Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation and Chapter 105 Water Obstructions and Encroachments permits. For YEARS, we've told you about these permits sometimes taking two, three, even six to eight months for approval --- instead of the law-mandated 14 days. It got so bad that in the fall of 2019, PA State Sen. Gene Yaw introduced a bill to allow third-party reviews of these permits (see PA Sen. Yaw Intros Bill to Allow 3rd Party Review of Erosion Permits). One of Josh Shapiro's pledges was to fix the permitting delay mess. In August, he promised a money-back guarantee (see Gov. Shapiro Says Fix Coming for Late Permits: Money-Back Guarantee). He made good on his promise yesterday.

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