Corbett Speeds Up Permit Process
But some say it is bid to bypass safeguards
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
12 March 2011
By Laura Olson, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG -- A vague one-paragraph state government policy change
intended to speed up permits for some businesses has sparked concerns
that environmental and other safeguards could be bypassed in the
process.
In a paragraph touting the need for a "friction-free" regulatory
process for companies, Gov. Tom Corbett's budget proposal stated that
he would authorize the Department of Community and Economic Development
secretary to help smooth out permitting backlogs.
That Cabinet official, currently C. Alan Walker, who is awaiting Senate
confirmation, "is empowered to expedite any permit or action pending in
any agency where the creation of jobs may be impacted," according to
the proposed budget.
DCED spokesman Steve Kratz said that means Mr. Walker will serve as
"chief liaison" across agencies, to make sure applications move in a
timely fashion.
The secretary will not be authorized to override an agency's permit
decision, Mr. Kratz said. All applications still will be required to go
through the agency approval process required in statute.
"Basically, his role is to make sure that red tape and bureaucracy
don't hold up job creation," he said.
That goes for any type of permitting, from gas drilling applications in
the Department of Environmental Protection to requests through PennDOT
to install a driveway to a business off a main road.
But some lawmakers, as well as environmental advocates, say that the
delays in the permitting process are built in for a reason.
"Another word for friction is regulation," said state Sen. Daylin
Leach, D-Montgomery. "It's not like regulatory agencies and the
industries they regulate have a personal problem with each other.
They're trying to make sure the industries they regulate follow the
law."
Environmental advocacy group PennFuture voiced a similar concern about
the governor's change, saying it "could render our regulators
toothless."
"What [the administration is] not saying out loud is that they think
regulations are burdensome and sometime inappropriate, therefore they
need to be minimized or swept out of the way for progress to be made,"
said PennFuture CEO and President Jan Jarrett. "That's kind of where it
seems to be going."
Certain parts of the regulatory process, however, can be unnecessarily
cumbersome, said Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson. A
business owner may have to wait two months for a DEP permit before he
can head to the back of a three-month line for another approval process
at PennDOT.
Without coordination between departments on a project, the chain of
requirements can drag on and on, he said.
"One thing I've heard from those who create jobs is, the bureaucracy
and the time that costs is real money," Mr. Scarnati said.
A January DEP report showed 432 oil and gas drilling permits were under
review at that time, and that 353 of those had been waiting for fewer
than 60 days. Forty-six had been in the agency queue for between 60 and
195 days, and another 33 had been waiting longer than that.
An average DEP permit wait time was unavailable Friday. An agency
spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Leach said he was aware of some backlog issues with the agency's
permit processing, but said those hold-ups were due to budget cuts and
a shortage of personnel.
Permit fees from drilling applications have allowed the agency to add
68 additional inspectors last year, but they also lost 138 employees, 5
percent of the workforce, as a result of the 2009-10 budget.
"They just didn't have the manpower," Mr. Leach said. "Hire some more
people, and then you can process the permits faster."
Mr. Leach also questioned why the DCED secretary would be given the
authority to seek faster permitting for projects. He said any change
that an agency requires of a company that would have an additional cost
could affect their hiring decisions.
And the choice of Mr. Walker's department raised a separate concern for
Mr. Leach, given the acting secretary's background as a coal company
executive, a role in which he was cited by DEP for violations.
"He has not complied with environmental regulations in the past, and
we're turning over state government to him on the assertion that
something affects job creation?" asked Mr. Leach. "It looks like an
attempt to overrule a whole series of laws."
Questions about DCED's new role in permits likely will come up during
Appropriations Committee hearings, Mr. Scarnati said.
"In lieu of having opportunity grants and other funds, this is a way to
help businesses," he said. "I don't think cutting through the red tape
means circumventing laws."
Laura Olson: 717-787-4254 or lolson@post-gazette.com. Tracie Mauriello
contributed.