Regular Session 2017-2018 House Bill 0536 P.N. 0562

PRINTER'S NO. 562

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

536

Session of

2017

INTRODUCED BY THOMAS, BULLOCK, V. BROWN AND SOLOMON,

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled

"An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the

executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the

Executive Department thereof and the administrative

departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,

including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or

Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or

authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative

departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and

duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative

officers, and of the several administrative departments,

boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the

Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive

and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of

certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and

other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,

and commissions; and prescribing the manner in which the

number and compensation of the deputies and all other

assistants and employes of certain departments, boards and

commissions shall be determined," in powers and duties of

Department of Environmental Protection, further providing for

cooperation with municipalities.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 1905-A of the act of April 9, 1929

(P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, is

amended to read:

Section 1905-A. Cooperation with Municipalities and Public

Information.--(a) The Department of Environmental [Resources]

Protection shall cooperate with municipalities in the

construction and completion of projects and improvements for the

conservation of water and the control of floods. For this

purpose, the department shall have the power to use and expend

any funds advanced by municipalities, under authority of law, on

the projects and improvements designated, when such funds are

advanced, in the same manner as it expends any funds

appropriated by the Commonwealth for similar purposes.

(b) (1) The Department of Environmental [Resources]

Protection shall require every applicant for the following

permits and permit revisions to give written notice to each

municipality in which the activities are located:

(i) Air quality permits applied for pursuant to the act of

January 8, 1960 (1959 P.L.2119, No.787), known as the "Air

Pollution Control Act."

(ii) Water allocation permits applied for pursuant to the

act of June 24, 1939 (P.L.842, No.365), entitled "An act

relating to the acquisition of rights to divert water from

rivers, streams, natural lakes, and ponds, or other surface

waters within the Commonwealth or partly within and partly

without the Commonwealth; defining various words and phrases;

vesting in the Water and Power Resources Board certain powers

and authorities for the conservation, control and equitable use

of the waters within the Commonwealth in the interests of the

people of the Commonwealth; making available for public water

supply purposes, water rights heretofore or hereafter acquired

but not used; providing for hearings by the Water and Power

Resources Board and for appeals from its decisions; fixing fees;

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granting to all public water supply agencies heretofore or

hereafter created the right of eminent domain as to waters and

the land covered by said waters; repealing all acts or parts of

acts inconsistent herewith, including Act No.109, Pamphlet Laws

152, approved April 13, 1905, Act No.307, Pamphlet Laws 455,

approved June 7, 1907, Act No.64, Pamphlet Laws 258, approved

April 8, 1937."

(iii) Water obstruction permits applied for pursuant to the

act of November 26, 1978 (P.L.1375, No.325), known as the "Dam

Safety and Encroachments Act."

(iv) Water quality permits, except permits relating to coal

mining activities, applied for pursuant to the act of June 22,

1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as "The Clean Streams Law."

(v) Solid waste and hazardous waste permits applied for

pursuant to the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L.380, No.97), known as

the "Solid Waste Management Act."

(1.1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall

require every applicant for a permit or permit revision of the

types listed in clause (1)(i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) to give

written notice of the following to each landowner owning land in

the area of concern and to each resident in the area of concern:

(i) The information contained in subsection (c), to be

provided within thirty (30) days of submission of the

application to the Department of Environmental Protection.

(ii) The date of publication of the permit application in

the Pennsylvania Bulletin and information addressing the

submission of public comments to the Department of Environmental

Protection regarding the permit application.

(iii) The date, location and time of any hearing scheduled

by the Department of Environmental Protection regarding the

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permit application, to be provided at least five (5) days prior

to the hearing date.

(2) In the case of written notices sent pursuant to

[subclauses (i)] clause (1)(i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), the

written notices shall be received by the municipalities and each

landowner at least thirty (30) days before the Department of

Environmental [Resources] Protection may issue or deny the

permit. In the case of written notices sent pursuant to

subclause (v), the written notices shall be received by the

municipalities and each landowner at least sixty (60) days

before the Department of Environmental [Resources] Protection

may issue or deny the permit.

(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to

permits relating to coal mining activities issued under the act

of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as "The Clean Streams

Law," the act of May 31, 1945 (P.L.1198, No.418), known as the

"Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act," the act of

April 27, 1966 (1st Sp.Sess., P.L.31, No.1), known as "The

Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act," and the

act of September 24, 1968 (P.L.1040, No.318), known as the "Coal

Refuse Disposal Control Act."

(4) When the department issues an emergency permit to

respond to or alleviate an actual or imminent threat to life,

property or the environment, such as activities conducted in

compliance with the emergency response provisions of the Natural

Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-481, 49 U.S.C. §

1671 et seq.) and 49 CFR 192.615 (relating to emergency plans),

the provisions of clause (2) and any other provision in

regulation requiring notice to the affected municipality shall

not apply. The applicant shall notify the affected municipality

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of an emergency permit as soon as possible verbally and provide

a follow-up notice in writing within forty-eight (48) hours from

the issuance of an emergency permit.

(b)(1.1)(i) shall contain the following information:

(1) A description of the type of permit application

submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection.

(2) A brief description of the activity planned for the

project under the permit application.

(3) A statement that the project activity under the permit

application is anticipated to have one or more impacts on the

landowners.

(4) A brief description of the anticipated impact or

impacts.

(d) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,

the Department of Environmental Protection shall post in its

entirety on its publicly accessible Internet website each

application for a permit and permit revision listed in

subsection (b)(1) and all related supporting documents submitted

to the Department of Environmental Protection.

(e) As used in this section, the following words and phrases

shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless

the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Area of concern" means an area where all of the following

apply:

(1) An area defined by a radius of one-half mile from the

center of a proposed permit activity or, where an activity is

not centralized, an area extending one-half mile beyond the

boundary of the proposed activity.

(2) An area where one or more impacts of the type for which

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the Department of Environmental Protection is authorized to

analyze are anticipated.

(3) An area where one or more impacts that are not included

under clause (2), such as noise, vibration or odor, are

reasonably anticipated to arise from the proposed permitted

activity.

"Resident" means a unit owner or proprietary lessee of a

common interest property established under Title 68 of the

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (relating to real and

personal property) or a lessee of any building or portion

thereof that is leased as a residence.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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