CHESTER, March 4, 2025 — The state House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee held a public hearing at Widener University on legislation (H.B. 109) that would regulate the issuance of permits by the PA Department of Environmental Protection in environmental justice areas, according to committee Chairman Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, who hosted the hearing and is the prime sponsor, along with Reps. Chris Rabb and Malcolm Kenyatta–both D-Phila., of the legislation.
The state Department of Environmental Protection already has the ability to set environmental justice areas in historically burdened communities across Pennsylvania; however, the issuance of permits for development in those areas has been largely unregu- lated. House Bill 109 would require the applicant to submit a cumulative environmental impact report, in addition to DEP holding a more robust public hearing process, before issuing a permit in an environmental justice area, allowing DEP to impose additional con- ditions or deny the permit based on the cumulative impacts.
Vitali said the legislation is one step that the state can take to better serve and protect environmentally vulnerable areas and populations.
“All Pennsylvanians have the constitutional right to a clean environment,” he said. “Folks living in environmental justice areas have had to live with the detrimental health impacts of industry located in their community. Requiring a cumulative environmental impact study and a more transparent process in these neighborhoods simply provides everyone with a better understanding of how development might shape the health and well-being of the people who live and work in nearby communities. This is a responsible way to ensure that these communities don’t continue to bear the burden of harmful impacts to their quality of life and health.”
Zulene Mayfield, chair of the Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, testified that the legislation is a good start.
“I believe that House Bill 109 is a step in the right direction,” she said. “We believe that it is a proper start of addressing the impacts pollution has on populations in an environmental justice community like Chester, PA.” Dr. Sara N. Lupolt, assistant scientist at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, spoke on the importance of cumulative impact assessments informing communities and developers about the combined effects of environmental damages.
“Cumulative impact assessments are an important foundation for ensuring the health and resilience of all communities across the Commonwealth,” she said. Lora Siegmann Werner, director of the Delaware County Health Department, also testified to the significance of cumulative impact statements in identifying environmental burdens.
“Addressing cumulative impacts in environmental permitting decisions in overburdened communities is needed across our Commonwealth – in every rural, suburban, and urban county,” she said. Vitali says the committee will use the testimony re- ceived to possibly fine-tune parts of the legislation, and he hopes to schedule a committee vote on the bill in the near future. The bill was previously introduced in the 2023-24 legislative session and approved in committee on party lines but did not receive further votes in the House.
The hearing can be viewed online at youtube.com/live/qoCYK-LOF90
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