department-of-environmental-protection

Wolf proposes staffing increases, fee hikes in DEP’s budget request

BY: - February 24, 2020

Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee suggested that the fee hikes for for dumping in landfills and drilling for natural gas, are just a stealth tax hike. 

Mariner East 2 owner fined $30.6 million for western Pa. pipeline explosion

BY: - January 3, 2020

The fine is one of the largest ever brought by the state, but also lifts an 11-month moratorium on state approval for Energy Transfer Partner pipeline construction permits.

Opponents of cap-and-trade contemplate legislative, legal options to stop RGGI

BY: - November 19, 2019

Tax carbon? You’re gonna need a bill for that. It’s a message that Republicans — and some Democrats — have hammered home ever since Gov. Tom Wolf announced in early October he was forging ahead with a plan to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI, as it’s known in official shorthand, is a nine […]

Pa. environmental board will vet proposed rules restricting potent greenhouse gas emissions

BY: - September 17, 2019

Three years after they were first announced, new regulations restricting methane emissions from existing natural gas wells will get a hearing before a statewide rulemaking body this year, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said Tuesday. The move comes as Republican President Donald Trump rolls back restrictions on the potent greenhouse gas. Lawmakers from both parties and […]

What Pa.’s green lawmakers and environmentalists think of this year’s budget

BY: - July 4, 2019

A trend of environmental issues seemingly playing second fiddle to other state priorities continued in the latest budget, according to environmental advocates. 

COMMENTARY

Adequate funding, not ‘regulatory reform’ is the key to an effective DEP | Opinion

BY: - June 19, 2019

A recent Capital-Star op-Ed by the business community made the wrong argument.

COMMENTARY

Regulatory reform is a key step in moving Pa.’s economy forward | Opinion

BY: - June 14, 2019

Here are three, easy steps Gov. Tom Wolf and the Legislature can take to improve the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection.

Pennsylvania is ‘broken’ link in Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort, report says

BY: - May 29, 2019

Pennsylvania's efforts to reduce the flow of pollution into the Chesapeake Bay lag far behind its neighbors, and the state could face action from federal regulators if it doesn’t clean up its act soon.

Environmental proponents to state Senate panel: Pa. needs better methane regulations

BY: - April 23, 2019

Panelists at a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on Tuesday slammed the state’s proposed regulations on methane gas, and called on state lawmakers to let the Department of Environmental Protection exercise more regulatory authority. The hearing at the Teamster Temple in Pittsburgh brought environmental policymakers and advocates together to discuss methane emissions across Pennsylvania, including […]