Bill Text: PA HR87 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Urging the Environmental Protection Agency to stop its unlawful application of the Guidance Memo relating to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which is a substantive change to the permitting procedure conferred on the states, and restore the regulatory environment that existed prior to the release of the Guidance Memo.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 23-7)

Status: (Passed) 2011-05-03 - Adopted (148-49) [HR87 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-HR87-Introduced.html

  

 

    

PRINTER'S NO.  780

  

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

  

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

No.

87

Session of

2011

  

  

INTRODUCED BY PYLE, BENNINGHOFF, BURNS, CAUSER, CHRISTIANA, CLYMER, P. COSTA, DENLINGER, ELLIS, GABLER, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GROVE, HALUSKA, HARHAI, HARRIS, HESS, M.K. KELLER, KORTZ, OBERLANDER, PICKETT, RAPP, ROAE, TALLMAN, VULAKOVICH, TOBASH AND STEVENSON, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

  

  

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011  

  

  

  

A RESOLUTION

  

1

Urging the Environmental Protection Agency to stop its unlawful

2

application of the Guidance Memo relating to the Federal

3

Water Pollution Control Act, which is a substantive change to

4

the permitting procedure conferred on the states, and restore

5

the regulatory environment that existed prior to the release

6

of the Guidance Memo.

7

WHEREAS, Under section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution

8

Control Act (62 Stat. 1155, 33 U.S.C. § 1342), National

9

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits are

10

typically issued by states for discharge of nondredged and

11

nonfill material; and

12

WHEREAS, Once the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

13

approves a state permitting program, the state has exclusive

14

authority to issue NPDES permits; and

15

WHEREAS, Through a 1991 Memorandum of Agreement executed

16

between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the EPA, the

17

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was identified as

18

the lead agency with exclusive authority for administering and

- 1 -

 


1

granting NPDES permits for mining-related activities in this

2

Commonwealth; and

3

WHEREAS, In September 2010, the EPA informed the DEP that it

4

was altering the Commonwealth's administration of its permitting

5

program and would conduct its own additional review of NPDES

6

permits; and

7

WHEREAS, This abrupt change in the Commonwealth's permitting

8

process was not the result of any accompanying Federal statutory

9

or regulatory changes; and

10

WHEREAS, As a result of this change, the DEP is required to

11

provide the EPA's Region 3 field office with all pending mining-

12

related NPDES permit applications, whose activity will either

13

discharge into the Monongahela River or into any designated

14

total maximum daily load impaired stream for its independent

15

review; and

16

WHEREAS, The EPA's Region 3 field office is not sufficiently

17

staffed to perform these types of reviews in a timely manner,

18

causing indefinite delays in the permitting process; and 

19

WHEREAS, The EPA's objections to the issuance of these permit

20

applications vary, but generally are based on what the Federal

21

agency perceives are inconsistencies between the applications

22

and an interim final Guidance Memo that the EPA released in

23

April 2010, designed to provide a framework for regional reviews

24

of surface mining projects in Appalachia based on conductivity

25

levels it associated with adverse impacts to streams; and

26

WHEREAS, Although the stated intent of the Guidance Memo is

27

to limit its applicability to surface mining projects only, a

28

number of the permits being delayed in this Commonwealth are for

29

activities other than this type of mining; and

30

WHEREAS, The Guidance Memo is based on flawed studies with

- 2 -

 


1

limited application and unconfirmed conclusions that cannot be

2

used to develop a predictive cause and effect relationship

3

between the EPA's established benchmark threshold for

4

conductivity levels and healthy streams in this Commonwealth;

5

and

6

WHEREAS, Despite the representation that the Guidance Memo is

7

an interim document, it nevertheless is applied by the EPA in a

8

binding manner in its current version, even though the EPA

9

continues to receive comments on it; and

10

WHEREAS, The EPA's application of the Guidance Memo

11

constitutes a substantive change in the basic application of the

12

permitting process; and

13

WHEREAS, By substituting the issuance of agency guidance for

14

formal rulemaking, the EPA circumvents the clear requirements of

15

the Administrative Procedure Act (60 Stat. 237, 5 U.S.C. § 551

16

et seq.) for public notice and comments; and

17

WHEREAS, This unnecessary extended review of NPDES permit

18

applications by the EPA has led to a significant backlog of

19

permits that could result in coal contracts being lost, mining

20

jobs being destroyed and this Commonwealth losing its major

21

source of affordable and reliable electric generation; therefore

22

be it

23

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the

24

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Environmental Protection

25

Agency to stop its unlawful application of the Guidance Memo

26

relating to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which is a

27

substantive change to the permitting procedure conferred on the

28

states, and restore the regulatory environment that existed

29

prior to the release of the Guidance Memo; be it further

30

RESOLVED, That the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reassert its

- 3 -

 


1

rightful role as the sole agency with permitting authority of

2

mining-related National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

3

permits; and be it further

4

RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the House of

5

Representatives transmit a copy of this resolution to the

6

Governor of Pennsylvania, the Environmental Protection Agency

7

Administrator and all members of the Pennsylvania Congressional

8

Delegation.

- 4 -

 


feedback