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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | July 31, 2020 02:35 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Danielle Friel Otten |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Legislation Providing Jurisdiction for Environmental Crimes to the Office of Attorney General |
| Recently, a grand jury report on the natural gas industry highlighted the misconduct of certain companies in relation to the drilling practice known as hydraulic fracturing (fracking). According to Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the grand jury’s two-year investigation uncovered systematic failures by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in overseeing the fracking industry and fulfilling its responsibility to protect the residents of the Commonwealth from hazardous drilling-related activities. Under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, the Office of Attorney General (OAG) does not have original jurisdiction to investigate or prosecute environmental crimes. However, it can obtain jurisdiction over an environmental crime by a referral from either a district attorney or state agency with enforcement duties. Once referred, the OAG’s Environmental Crimes Section may investigate and prosecute violations of state environmental laws. Unfortunately, as the grand jury report noted, far too often, DEP has not referred criminal investigations involving drilling-related incidents to the OAG. I believe that more should be done to hold natural gas drilling companies responsible for their criminal actions. Therefore, I am introducing legislation that would amend Section 205 of the Commonwealth Attorneys Act to provide the OAG with the authority to prosecute any criminal charge arising out of the enforcement provisions of an environmental law or regulation, regardless of whether it was investigated or referred by a Commonwealth agency. As stated by Attorney General Shapiro, “Our government has a duty to set, and enforce, ground rules that protect public health and safety. We are the referees; we are here to prevent big corporations and the powerful industries from harming our communities or running over the rights of citizens.” I hope you will join me in support of this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB2772