HARRISBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) has filed three formal requests under Pennsylvania’s Right to Know (RTK) law, asking for documentation of exactly how and by whom environmental laws and regulations are being enforced by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
“As yet another serious fracking accident makes news, there is confusion about who exactly is making policy around Marcellus Shale drilling, and how our environmental laws are being enforced,” said Jan Jarrett, PennFuture’s president and CEO. “We learned from reports out of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that the long-standing ability of inspectors to immediately stop violations has been compromised, and it is unclear who is making these changes.
“Initially, reporters were told that these new policies and procedures – in which inspectors must clear all notices of violation in advance with the DEP executive staff in Harrisburg – were developed by acting Secretary Krancer and others at DEP, and that these changes were solely to create consistency across the DEP regions,” continued Jarrett. “We’ve now discovered that DEP has told some legislators that the new policy came from Governor Corbett’s office. We need to get to the bottom of this.
“Are these new procedures dictated by staff in the Governor’s office or by Governor Corbett himself? What if any role does Department of Community and Economic Development secretary C. Alan Walker play, who has been given the unprecedented power to intervene in permit issues? Or is DEP actually doing the job the citizens expect? There is simply no way to tell without having DEP open its records,” continued Jarrett.
“Governor Corbett promised to be ‘the cop on the beat’ in protecting Pennsylvania’s environment from damage by the drillers,” continued Jarrett. “But right now, it’s more like the Keystone Kops with questions about who is in charge. The Keystone State deserves more – world-class regulations, fairly and quickly enforced throughout the state. And right now, there is no assurance that this is the case.”
PennFuture’s formal requests ask for all public records dealing with the new policies and procedures, including which individuals in which offices were involved in creating the new procedures; when and how the decision was implemented, and specific information about three violations identified after March 22, the date the new policy became public. DEP is required to provide an initial answer acknowledging these requests within five business days (Monday, May 2). DEP can (1) provide the documents requested, (2) deny the request, or (3) state that the request is being reviewed, and explain the reason for the review. PennFuture’s request documents are online at www.pennfuture.org.
PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization that advances policies to protect and improve the state’s environment and economy. PennFuture has experts and attorneys, outreach workers and communicators, lobbyists and educators, all working with local groups and citizens across the state to adopt and enforce great public policy. PennFuture’s motto is “Every environmental victory grows the economy.” The Philadelphia Inquirer called PennFuture the state’s “leading environmental advocacy organization.”