Clean Air Council Urges Hike in Air Permit Fees to Ensure Adequate Funding for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

(PHILADELPHIA, PA – June 17, 2019) On Monday, Clean Air Council submitted a letter to Pennsylvania regulators urging them to adopt new rules allowing the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to recoup more of its expenses through higher fees on air quality permits.  The Pennsylvania legislature and a succession of governors has starved DEP of funding for decades. DEP’s air pollution control program has lost a quarter of its staff since 2000 and is poised to go broke within the next few years. DEP is now stretched so thin that it cannot comply with the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act.  This lack of funding has weakened permit reviews, limited enforcement and restricted industry’s compliance with clean air regulations. Millions of Pennsylvanians breathe dirtier air as a result.

Because the proposed fee hikes would still not be adequate to fund the DEP air quality program, the Council asks regulators to raise fees more than DEP is requesting.  Earthjustice, Breathe Project, and PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center join the Council in its request.

“Ultimately, it is up to the General Assembly to fix the shameful underfunding crisis they have caused,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel for Clean Air Council.  “Until then, we call on regulators to raise fees at least enough so that DEP can do its job protecting the air we breathe.”

The Council’s full June 17, 2019 letter can be accessed here.