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

PRINTER'S NO. 1235
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 1048
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY HAYWOOD, CAPPELLETTI, COLLETT, COMITTA, SCHWANK,
A. WILLIAMS, KEARNEY, HUGHES, FONTANA, COSTA, KANE, SAVAL AND
L. WILLIAMS, OCTOBER 15, 2025
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, OCTOBER 15, 2025
AN ACT
Amending Title 27 (Environmental Resources) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, providing for issuance of permits in
environmental justice areas.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 27 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 43
ISSUANCE OF PERMITS IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AREAS
Sec.
4301. Legislative findings and purpose.
4302. Definitions.
4303. Designation of environmental justice areas.
4304. Permit process.
4305. Regulations and publication.
§ 4301. Legislative findings and purpose.
The General Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) Low-income, low-wealth communities and communities
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of color have historically borne and currently bear a
disproportionate share of environmental degradation.
(2) The Department of Environmental Protection is the
agency charged with administering the laws and regulations in
this Commonwealth to prevent and remedy environmental
degradation and is one of the agencies charged with
conserving, maintaining and restoring this Commonwealth's
public natural resources.
(3) Section 27 of Article I of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania recognizes that all the people of Pennsylvania
have inalienable environmental rights and that the
Commonwealth government is the trustee of the Commonwealth's
public natural resources.
(4) All individuals in Pennsylvania should be able to
live in and enjoy a clean and healthy environment that
includes outdoor spaces, access to clean energy resources,
access to public lands and public natural resources.
(5) The elimination and restoration of disproportionate
environmental degradation is recognized as being directly
related to the economic vitality of this Commonwealth.
§ 4302. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Cumulative environmental impacts." The totality of existing
and imminent environmental impacts and pollution in a defined
geographic area, to land, waters of this Commonwealth or ambient
air, and regardless of whether the pollution has been authorized
under the laws of this Commonwealth.
"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
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the Commonwealth.
"Environmental justice area." A geographic area
characterized by increased pollution burden and vulnerable
populations based on demographic, economic, health and
environmental data.
"Facility." The site of any department-regulated activity
that may lead to significant public concern due to potential
impacts on human health and the environment. The term includes
sites that involve the following:
(1) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
permits at industrial wastewater facilities that discharge at
or above 50,000 gallons per day.
(2) Air permits for any new major source of hazardous
air pollutants or criteria pollutants.
(3) Air permits for any major modification of a major
source that are subject to the Prevention of Significant
Deterioration or the Nonattainment New Source Review.
(4) Waste permits involving a combined monthly volume in
excess of 25 tons, or any major modification of waste
permits, including changes that result in an increase in
capacity or a facility expansion, for landfills, commercial
hazardous waste treatment facilities, storage or disposal
facilities and other disposal facilities, including, but not
limited to, a landfill that accepts ash, construction or
demolition debris, medical waste or solid waste, transfer
stations, recycling centers, commercial incinerators and
other waste processing facilities.
(5) Mining permits for bituminous and anthracite
underground mines, bituminous and anthracite surface mines,
large industrial mineral surface and underground mines, coal
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refuse disposal, coal refuse reprocessing, large coal
preparation facility or any revision of permits under this
paragraph that involve additional acreage for mineral removal
or use of biosolids for reclamation.
(6) An individual permit for a land application of
biosolids.
(7) Concentrated animal feeding operations that are new
or expanded operations of greater than 1,000 Animal
Equivalent Units (AEUs), Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operation of greater than 300 AEUs in a special protection
watershed or a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation with
direct discharge to surface waters.
(8) An electric generating facility with a capacity of
more than 10 megawatts.
(9) A sewage treatment plant with a capacity of more
than 50,000,000 gallons per day.
(10) Underground injection control wells associated with
oil and gas development.
(11) Other facilities as designated by the Environmental
Quality Board through regulations under this chapter.
"Permit." A permit, approval of coverage under a general
permit, registration or other authorization issued by the
department establishing the regulatory and management
requirements for a regulated activity as authorized by Federal
or State law.
§ 4303. Designation of environmental justice areas.
(a) Method.--The methods to identify an environmental
justice area shall be determined and regularly reviewed by the
department.
(b) Designation.--No later than 120 days after the effective
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date of this section, the department shall designate and make
publicly available environmental justice areas in this
Commonwealth. The department shall update environmental justice
area designations every three years.
§ 4304. Permit process.
(a) Department action on permit applications for facilities
in environmental justice areas.--Beginning 180 days after the
effective date of this section, prior to the department taking
an action on an application for a new facility or for the
expansion of an existing facility, located in whole or in part
in an environmental justice area:
(1) The permit applicant shall prepare and submit with
the application for facility permit or other authorization a
cumulative environmental impact report assessing the
environmental impact of the proposed new facility or
expansion of an existing facility, the cumulative impacts on
the environmental justice area and the adverse environmental
effects that cannot be avoided or mitigated should the permit
be granted.
(2) Unless a public hearing is otherwise required by the
environmental laws and regulations for the permit or
authorization:
(i) The department shall organize and conduct a
public hearing in a location as convenient as possible to
all interested parties and publish public notices of the
hearing in at least two newspapers circulating within the
environmental justice area and on the department's
publicly accessible Internet website not less than 21
days prior to the hearing.
(ii) At least 14 days prior to the date set for the
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hearing, a copy of the public notice shall be sent to the
clerk of the municipality in which the environmental
justice area is located.
(iii) At a public hearing, the permit applicant
shall provide clear, accurate and complete information
about the proposed new facility or expansion of an
existing facility and the potential environmental and
health impacts of the new or expanded facility. The
hearing shall provide an opportunity for meaningful
public participation by residents of the environmental
justice area.
(iv) Following the public hearing, the department
shall consider the testimony presented and evaluate
revisions or conditions to the permit that may be
necessary to reduce the adverse impact to the public
health or the environment in the environmental justice
area.
(b) Decision by department.--The department may not issue a
decision on the permit application until at least 60 days after
a public hearing.
(c) Additional requirements.--The department may require
additional conditions or mitigation measures or may deny a
permit application in an environmental justice area based on the
cumulative environmental impacts.
(d) Publication.--The applicant shall provide copies of
applications for a permit for a facility located in whole or in
part in an environmental justice area to the clerk of the
municipality in which the environmental justice area is located,
who may recommend to the department conditions upon, revisions
to or disapproval of the permit only if specific cause is
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identified. If the department overrides a municipal
recommendation, the department shall be required to transmit
notice of the department's justification for overriding the
municipality's recommendations to the Legislative Reference
Bureau for publication in the next available issue of the
Pennsylvania Bulletin. If the department does not receive
comments within 60 days of receipt of the application from the
permit applicant by the clerk of the municipality, the
municipality shall be deemed to have waived the municipality's
right to review.
(e) Construction.--The provisions of this section shall be
in addition to all requirements under any applicable
environmental law.
§ 4305. Regulations and publication.
(a) Promulgation.--The department and Environmental Quality
Board shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the
provisions of this chapter.
(b) Publication of permits.--In addition to publication
requirements under law and regulation, the department shall
publish all permits granted under this chapter and any guidance
documents on its publicly accessible Internet website.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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