Put Up or Shut Up

Although Governor Ridge is out of the country, it's business as usual for his Cabinet. The Cabinet makes up the majority of the members of the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) that votes on proposed and final regulations for Pennsylvania's DEP. On Wednesday, May 19, the EQB will vote on a final regulation on Pennsylvania's "antidegradation" program which has been the subject of about a billion words here at PU (and elsewhere) the last couple of years. On the EQB, there are also representatives of the PA Game Commission, the PA Fish and Boat Commission, members from the General Assembly and members from the Citizen's Advisory Council (go to http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/subject/eqb/eqb_member.htm   for a complete list).

One change that DEP made from the last proposal (January, 1999) to this final one is the deletion of "National Parks or Forest" from the list of waters that qualify as "Exceptional Value" waters, PA's highest classification. It's puzzling why DEP would delete this as it is something that EPA is sure to notice.

The draft DEP released dated 3/9/99 - after the end of the ANFR comment period, had this: "94.4b(b)Qualifying as an exceptional value water, subsection "(1)(ii) the water is located in a designated National Park or Forest, state Park Natural area or State Forest Natural area, National Natural Landmark, federal or state Wild or Scenic River, Federal Wilderness Area, or National Recreational Area."

The copy the EQB received goes as follows: "(1)(ii)The water is located in a designated State Park Natural Area or State Forest Natural Area, National Natural Landmark, Federal or State Wild River, Federal Wilderness Area, or National Recreational Area."

One reason why DEP is doing all this is because currently, Federal regulations are in place for Pennsylvania. EPA can only remove them if state regulations are at least as stringent as the Federal regulation.

Overall, given the direction that DEP was going in 1997, the final regulation is better. You might want to give a quick call to the members of the EQB that are also in the General Assembly and ask them to support the final regulation on Wednesday, provided they are not made any weaker. The calls to the legislators should also say the National Park and Forest need to be protected as EV waters.

The Honorable Mary Jo White,   Senate of PA,   Room 168,    Main Capitol Building,   Harrisburg, PA 17120,   717-787-9684.

The Honorable Arthur Hershey,   PA House of Representatives,   Room 214,  Capitol Annex,   Harrisburg, PA 17120,    717-783-6435.

The Honorable Raphael J. Musto,   Senate of PA,   Room 17 E, East Wing Main Capitol Building,   Harrisburg, PA 17120,   717-787-7105.

The Honorable Camille George,   PA House of Representatives,    Room 38B, East Wing Main Capitol Building,   Harrisburg, PA 17120,    717-787-7316.

Normally things go pretty smoothly at the EQB when they are supported by DEP, especially after so many tries. But this could be different. Word has it that the "regulated community" is not happy with the regulation and have been lobbying hard to get some changes made.

But as described above, a majority of the EQB are members of the Governor's cabinet. If Tom Ridge wants it, well, they all work for him. Would a "no" vote prove embarrassing to the Governor as he wants to spruce up his environmental record? We will see on Wednesday. One tactic might be to make changes and then still vote "yes." A regulation has to be put back out for public comment if major changes are made (but how do you define "major?"). Since this thing has to be passed this month or turn into a pumpkin (due to a sunset clause), it likely will be declared a handsome coach fit for a princess by the EQB on Wednesday. But will they replace the fine upholstered seats with budget polyester seat covers as it is driven out the door?

At this stage, the "regulated community" with their slick lobbyists have the ear of government. The lobbyists don't want a fancy carriage, they want a manure cart. The regulation, if changed, is not going to get any better, only weaker. So it pays to pick up the phone and call, saying you support the regulations, and no changes should be made to weaken them.

But even if the regulation passes the EQB, there are other places where it might be derailed or diverted after Wednesday. One place is the General Assembly, which is controlled by the Governor's own party, so passage should not be a problem. Stay tuned to see how the carriage, uh, the regulation fares. We will be watching its progress with an eye to any "major" changes that might be made.

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