Regulation

A MAJOR victory for Pennsylvania Republicans that is not getting the attention it should. For years, PA State Sen. Gene Yaw and others have lobbied for review by qualified third parties to speed up the turnaround time to approve relatively simple permits issued by the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), including earth disturbance/erosion permits, known as Chapter 102 permits, and water obstruction and encroachment permits, known as Chapter 105 permits (see PA Sen. Yaw Intros Bill to Allow 3rd Party Review of Erosion Permits). The DEP fought it tooth and nail, perceiving such a change as a threat to its bureaucratic power (see PA DEP Using ePermits for Erosion & Sedimentation to Avoid New Law). No more. The DEP is now silent in its opposition as a third-party review of permits was adopted and signed into law as part of the recently passed state budget.
Read More “New PA State Budget Includes Third-Party Review of DEP Permits”

Permitting in Pennsylvania overseen by the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been a hot mess for years. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation permit sometimes takes two, three, or 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 to speed up approvals (see PA Sen. Yaw Intros Bill to Allow 3rd Party Review of Erosion Permits). In early March of this year, the DEP said it was making progress in reducing turnaround times for permits, including Chapter 102 permits (see PA DEP Claims Progress in Reducing Out-of-Control Permit Backlog). In late April, the DEP launched yet another initiative to reduce the time required to issue new Chapter 102 permits (see PA DEP Makes Effort to Speed Up Approvals for Erosion Permits). The DEP now claims it has reduced its massive backlog of permit applications by 56% since the end of last year. Progress, no?
Read More “PA DEP Claims it Reduced Permits Backlog by Half Since 2023”