HB 109 — An Act amending Title 27 (Environmental Resources) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for issuance of permits in environmental justice areas.

PRINTER'S NO.   87

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 109
                                                 Session of
                                                   2025

     INTRODUCED BY VITALI, RABB, KENYATTA, ISAACSON, FREEMAN,
        HOHENSTEIN, HILL-EVANS, KHAN, PROBST, SANCHEZ, SAMUELSON AND
        HOWARD, JANUARY 14, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE
        PROTECTION, JANUARY 14, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Amending Title 27 (Environmental Resources) of the Pennsylvania
 2      Consolidated Statutes, providing for issuance of permits in
 3      environmental justice areas.
 4      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 5   hereby enacts as follows:
 6      Section 1.    Title 27 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
 7   Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
 8                                 CHAPTER 43
 9             ISSUANCE OF PERMITS IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AREAS
10   Sec.
11   4301.   Legislative findings and purpose.
12   4302.   Definitions.
13   4303.   Designation of environmental justice areas.
14   4304.   Permit process.
15   4305.   Regulations and publication.
16   § 4301.    Legislative findings and purpose.
17      The General Assembly finds and declares that:
 1             (1)   Low-income, low-wealth communities and communities
 2      of color have historically borne and currently bear a
 3      disproportionate share of environmental degradation.
 4             (2)   The Department of Environmental Protection is the
 5      agency charged with administering the laws and regulations in
 6      this Commonwealth to prevent and remedy environmental
 7      degradation and is one of the agencies charged with
 8      conserving, maintaining and restoring this Commonwealth's
 9      public natural resources.
10             (3)   Section 27 of Article I of the Constitution of
11      Pennsylvania recognizes that all the people of this
12      Commonwealth have inalienable environmental rights and that
13      the Commonwealth is the trustee of this Commonwealth's public
14      natural resources.
15             (4)   All individuals in this Commonwealth should be able
16      to live in and enjoy a clean and healthy environment that
17      includes outdoor spaces, access to clean energy resources,
18      access to public lands and public natural resources.
19             (5)   The elimination and restoration of disproportionate
20      environmental degradation is recognized as being directly
21      related to the economic vitality of this Commonwealth.
22   § 4302.    Definitions.
23      The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
24   shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
25   context clearly indicates otherwise:
26      "Cumulative environmental impacts."     The totality of existing
27   and imminent environmental impacts and pollution in a defined
28   geographic area, to land, waters of this Commonwealth or ambient
29   air, and regardless of whether the pollution has been authorized
30   under the laws of this Commonwealth.

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 1      "Department."    The Department of Environmental Protection of
 2   the Commonwealth.
 3      "Environmental justice area."       A geographic area
 4   characterized by increased pollution burden and vulnerable
 5   populations based on demographic, economic, health and
 6   environmental data.
 7      "Facility."   The site of a department-regulated activity that
 8   may lead to significant public concern due to potential impacts
 9   on human health and the environment. The term includes sites
10   that involve the following:
11          (1)   National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
12      permits at industrial wastewater facilities that discharge at
13      or above 50,000 gallons per day.
14          (2)   Air permits for any new major source of hazardous
15      air pollutants or criteria pollutants.
16          (3)   Air permits for any major modification of a major
17      source that are subject to Prevention of Significant
18      Deterioration or Nonattainment New Source Review.
19          (4)   Waste permits involving a combined monthly volume in
20      excess of 25 tons, or any major modification of waste
21      permits, including changes that result in an increase in
22      capacity or a facility expansion, for landfills, commercial
23      hazardous waste treatment facilities, storage or disposal
24      facilities and other disposal facilities, including a
25      landfill that accepts ash, construction or demolition debris,
26      medical waste or solid waste, transfer stations, recycling
27      centers, commercial incinerators and other waste processing
28      facilities.
29          (5)   Mining permits for bituminous and anthracite
30      underground mines, bituminous and anthracite surface mines,

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 1      large industrial mineral surface and underground mines, coal
 2      refuse disposal, coal refuse reprocessing, large coal
 3      preparation facility or any revision of permits under this
 4      paragraph that involve additional acreage for mineral removal
 5      or use of biosolids for reclamation.
 6             (6)    An individual permit for a land application of
 7      biosolids.
 8             (7)    Concentrated animal feeding operations that are new
 9      or expanded operations of greater than 1,000 animal
10      equivalent units, concentrated animal operation of greater
11      than 300 animal equivalent units in a special protection
12      watershed or a concentrated animal operation with direct
13      discharge to surface waters.
14             (8)    An electric generating facility with a capacity of
15      more than 10 megawatts.
16             (9)    A sewage treatment plant with a capacity of more
17      than 50,000,000 gallons per day.
18             (10)    Underground injection control wells associated with
19      oil and gas development.
20             (11)    Other facilities as designated by the Environmental
21      Quality Board through regulations under this chapter.
22      "Permit."      A permit, approval of coverage under a general
23   permit, registration or other authorization issued by the
24   department establishing the regulatory and management
25   requirements for a regulated activity as authorized by Federal
26   or State law.
27   § 4303.    Designation of environmental justice areas.
28      (a)    Method.--The methods to identify an environmental
29   justice area shall be determined and regularly reviewed by the
30   department.

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 1      (b)    Designation.--No later than 120 days after the effective
 2   date of this section, the department shall designate and make
 3   publicly available environmental justice areas in this
 4   Commonwealth. The department shall update environmental justice
 5   area designations every three years.
 6   § 4304.    Permit process.
 7      (a)    Department action on permit applications for facilities
 8   in environmental justice areas.--Beginning 180 days after the
 9   effective date of this section, prior to the department taking
10   an action on an application for a new facility or for the
11   expansion of an existing facility, located in whole or in part
12   in an environmental justice area:
13             (1)   The permit applicant shall prepare and submit with
14      the application for facility permit or other authorization, a
15      cumulative environmental impact report assessing the
16      environmental impact of the proposed new facility or
17      expansion of an existing facility, together with the
18      cumulative impacts on the environmental justice area, and the
19      adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided or
20      mitigated should the permit be granted.
21             (2)   Unless a public hearing is otherwise required by the
22      environmental laws and regulations for the permit or
23      authorization, the following shall apply:
24                   (i)   The department shall organize and conduct a
25             public hearing in a location as convenient as possible to
26             all interested parties and publish public notices of the
27             hearing in at least two newspapers circulating within the
28             environmental justice area and on the department's
29             publicly accessible Internet website not less than 21
30             days prior to the hearing.

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 1                (ii)    At least 14 days prior to the date set for the
 2            hearing, a copy of the public notice shall be sent to the
 3            clerk of the municipality in which the environmental
 4            justice area is located.
 5                (iii)    At a public hearing, the permit applicant
 6            shall provide clear, accurate and complete information
 7            about the proposed new facility or expansion of an
 8            existing facility and the potential environmental and
 9            health impacts of the new or expanded facility. The
10            hearing shall provide an opportunity for meaningful
11            public participation by residents of the environmental
12            justice area.
13                (iv)    Following the public hearing, the department
14            shall consider the testimony presented and evaluate
15            revisions or conditions to the permit that may be
16            necessary to reduce the adverse impact to the public
17            health or the environment in the environmental justice
18            area.
19      (b)   Decision by department.--The department may not issue a
20   decision on the permit application until at least 60 days after
21   a public hearing.
22      (c)   Additional requirements.--The department may require
23   additional conditions or mitigation measures or may deny a
24   permit application in an environmental justice area based on the
25   cumulative environmental impacts.
26      (d)   Publication.--The applicant shall provide copies of
27   applications for a permit for a facility located in whole or in
28   part in an environmental justice area to the clerk of the
29   municipality in which the environmental justice area is located,
30   who may recommend to the department conditions upon, revisions

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 1   to or disapproval of the permit only if specific cause is
 2   identified. If the department overrides a municipal
 3   recommendation, the department shall be required to transmit
 4   notice of the department's justification for overriding the
 5   municipality's recommendations to the Legislative Reference
 6   Bureau for publication in the next available issue of the
 7   Pennsylvania Bulletin. If the department does not receive
 8   comments within 60 days of receipt of the applications from the
 9   permit applicant by the clerk of the municipality, the
10   municipality shall be deemed to have waived the municipality's
11   right to review.
12      (e)    Construction.--The provisions of this section shall be
13   in addition to all requirements under any applicable
14   environmental law.
15   § 4305.   Regulations and publication.
16      (a)    Promulgation.--The department and Environmental Quality
17   Board shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to
18   implement this chapter.
19      (b)    Publication of permits.--In addition to publication
20   requirements under law and regulation, the department shall
21   publish all permits granted under this chapter, along with any
22   guidance documents, on its publicly accessible Internet website.
23      Section 2.   This act shall take effect immediately.




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