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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 29, 2017 01:46 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative David H. Zimmerman |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Moving DEP Farm Permitting to SCC |
| The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) oversees permitting for activities and projects in many different areas. If those activities or projects take place on a farm, there is often little expertise within DEP for reviewing the permit application, which leads to frustration and delays. These are projects to install best management practices to improve environmental quality! In the near future, I will introduce legislation which will require DEP to transfer its permitting authority for projects on farms to the State Conservation Commission (SCC). The SCC is an administrative commission under the concurrent authority of both DEP and the Department of Agriculture and therefore has the expertise within its staff of both the environmental laws and agricultural practices. Since the SSC is already responsible for on-farm inspections and enforcement on behalf of DEP, it is the more logical place for agricultural permit application reviews. Please join me in cosponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB1256