Acting PA Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jessica Shirley touched on her agency’s efforts to partner with Pennsylvania’s business community during keynote remarks at the PA Chamber’s Spring DEP Quarterly meeting last week.
Secretary Shirley discussed the agency’s work to define their mission and vision in working with business leaders, and operate as a model environmental agency that moves at the speed of business with acknowledgment of environmental impact at the forefront.
Her remarks focused on DEP’s strides in permitting reform. She praised DEP’s Acting Executive Deputy Secretary Ramez Ziadeh for his leadership in the agency’s 88 percent reduction of permit backlogs; along with the facilitation of the SPEED program, which allows DEP to move faster in permit processing, and provides businesses with greater predictability, transparency, and efficiency.
The event also included a presentation by DEP’s Louie Krak on the Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) Program, a $396 million decarbonization initiative to help companies reduce costs, create jobs, and improve their competitiveness. RISE PA is officially open for business and accepting applications now through August 29. You can learn more and apply visiting the designated RISE PA website.
Sam Robinson, Deputy Chief of Staff for Consumers and the Environment in the Office of Governor Shapiro, wrapped up the meeting by showcasing the emergence of new energy-centric development in Pennsylvania and the potential for future growth. He highlighted the planned transformation of the Homer City Generating Station into a revamped, 3,200-acre natural-gas-powered data center campus as one such investment and stressed the need to continue this forward progress as increasing energy demands and a projected generation shortfall have been blamed for price increases in the PJM region. He promoted Gov. Shapiro’s energy proposal, known as the Lightning Plan (you can see the PA Chamber’s response to the governor’s energy plan here), and said he expects that various bills proposed as part of the Lightning Plan will be introduced shortly.
The PA Chamber would like to thank the generous sponsors of DEP Quarterly for making these important gatherings possible – Presenting Sponsor, GZA GeoEnvironmental; and Gold Sponsors, Bentley Systems and Eckert Seamans.