Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary to Approve All Actions Regarding Marcellus Development
This post was written by Nicolle Bagnell and Ariel Nieland.
According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the regional offices of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") have been told that they must seek pre-approval from Harrisburg before taking ANY action regarding Marcellus development, including permitting and enforcement. Recently-appointed Secretary of DEP Michael Krancer must now approve all final actions. The DEP indicated that this policy was put into effect to ensure that Marcellus development was being handled consistently throughout the state; regardless, this is a very unusual step for the DEP to take.
