Apr. 11, 2022
HARRISBURG- Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R-Susquehanna/Wayne) today applauded the House for voting in favor of his bill to fix the DEP permit approval process.
“As of now, Pennsylvania is unacceptably slow in the processing of permits,” said Fritz. “Right now, we have sediment and erosion control permits that are taking up to a year to be processed and approved.”
“Pennsylvania is losing business development to other states as a result. Our goal is to make Pennsylvania more attractive and competitive for the next generation,” he added.
Under
House Bill 604, DEP permit applications would be deemed to be administratively complete if accompanied by a professional engineer’s affidavit attesting to the sufficiency of the application. Unless DEP shows evidence before a neutral referee that the application is not sufficient, the permit would be deemed approved. For a permit or authorization that is not accompanied by an affidavit by a professional engineer, DEP would be required to render its decision within 45 days.
Representative Jonathan Fritz
111th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives