(WHTM) — Governor Josh Shapiro calls it G-S-D, for “getting stuff done.”
Perhaps he should add a Q for “Quickly.”
The Governor trumpeted the speed his administration is approving permits and cutting red tape. But, is the state cutting corners? That’s the concern of at least one lawmaker.
“Speed saves money,” the governor said at a recent press conference, adding that it makes the state money, too. “Our work to speed up government is helping us secure billions of dollars in private sector investment.”
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Like $20 billion from Amazon, coming to fruition, Shapiro said Thursday, because of streamlined permitting and speeding up government.
“We are now a model for other states and cities across this country for how to get it done and how to move at the speed of business,” Shapiro said.
But, is Pennsylvania moving too fast? These projects will need more power, which Pennsylvania is promising but is not currently producing.
“With all this talk of energy development, there’s no talk of climate change,” Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), chairman of the House Environmental Committee. He’s the legislature’s fiercest environmentalist and calls the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) “grossly understaffed,” noting its complement has decreased in the past decade.
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“The workload in that same time period has increased dramatically with the advent of the oil and gas industry,” Vitali said.
He suspects that too few inspectors overseeing power producers is the intent of Harrisburg’s powerful.
“I think conservatives in Pennsylvania want a weak Department of Environmental Protection program so they can’t do their jobs.”
He also criticizes his own party for not insisting on more DEP inspectors during budget negotiations.
“Governor Shapiro and House Democratic leadership are not sufficiently prioritizing the problems with inadequate staffing of the Department of Environmental Protection,” Vitali said. “It’s a serious problem.”
A concern the governor seemed to anticipate in his press conference, while staying on his ‘let’s move faster’ message.
“We’re not there to throw up roadblocks,” Shapiro said. “We’re there to figure out a way to get to yes, while also protecting public health and public safety in the interests of the taxpayers of this Commonwealth.”
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“One thing I’ve learned over my 30 years of doing this is, if you do climate policy in a fossil fuel state, your career is not going to be filled with many victories,” Vitali said.
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