DEP Dawdles 

A Philadelphia Inquirer editorial of February 8, 2000 says that Gov. Ridge is a recent convert to fighting sprawl. Unfortunately, his overall environmental record on protecting Penn's Woods leaves much to be desired, and casts a lot of doubt on the sincerity of his conversion.

Remember that Tom Ridge made the old Department of Environmental Resources a campaign issue, and after his election, pronounced that the agency no longer existed. He created the new Department of Environmental Protection and is therefore responsible for his creation.

This agency (it has ambigously billed itself as "open for business") has dawdled on action that would protect the cleaner waters of the state. Citizens of the Tohickon Creek watershed, in upper Bucks County, petitioned DEP in 1996 to grant further protection to this stream. The citizens' effort was supported, not opposed, by local government. But this stream, like many others whose evaluation has not yet been conducted, can have its quality and character compromised because DEP will not stop issuing discharge permits while it slowly considers the citizens' request. Why move so slowly on citizens' requests? Because citizens usually request a higher level of protection for our waters, which translates into higher costs for dischargers.

DEP has also continued to issue permits to dump more sewage into Neshaminy Creek. The word "dump" is appropriate because for 12 years, DEP has said that the Neshaminy is not meeting standards because of too much sewage. Streams that are polluted in this way are not supposed to be subject to further pollution. Why would they do this? Because they are "open for business." 

Worst of all, in May 1999, the Environmental Quality Board, overseer of DEP's regulations and made up mostly of Ridge appointees, voted to strip language from a regulation intended to protect waters of National Parks, National Forests, and State Parks. Federal regulation requires that states give the highest protection to waters of National and State Parks, so the action was not a bureaucratic error, it was deliberate.

Our organization, the Raymond Proffitt Foundation, protested as did other conservation groups, although our positions were misrepresented before the Board by DEP, who said that we supported the regulation. Why would they do all of this? It was reported later in the press that the change in the regulation was made at the request of lobbyists for extractive industries.

We are prepared to file suit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency if they approve this clearly inadequate regulation. But we wouldn't have to if Tom Ridge's state government had simply obeyed the law. 

And how about Valley Creek in Chester County? This wonderful stream meanders through Valley Forge National Historical Park, and has the highest designation of any stream in the Commonwealth. Yet, since 1993 Gov. Ridge's boys have issued over 40 discharge permits, without any limitations or monitoring. We and others are in a lawsuit over this one.

If Gov. Ridge really wants to give local citizens more power to control their own destiny, and is serious about protecting the best and brightest of Pennsylvania, he doesn't have to talk big and wait to sign legislation. He can do something about things he can clearly control, like DEP and the Environmental Quality Board and reverse their actions that allow our waters to be degraded in disregard of the law.

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