News & Notes October 2002

DEP, EPA Sign Historic Partnership Agreement

DEP Secretary David E. Hess joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III Administrator Donald S. Welsh Sept. 24 in signing a performance partnership agreement, the first such agreement for Pennsylvania.

"This historic agreement helps ensure that DEP and EPA are working cooperatively on the most important initiatives that will have the greatest impact on improving and protecting the environment for our citizens," Secretary Hess said. "This agreement gives us greater flexibility to meet our citizens' needs and truly makes DEP and EPA partners in this effort."
Under the agreement, EPA and DEP have agreed to target three priority areas: watershed restoration, enhancing environmentally responsible development, and reducing environmental exposure to citizens, including sensitive populations.

In the watershed-restoration area, the agreement will build on DEP's Growing Greener Program, which has established new watershed groups and dedicated millions of dollars to watershed-and stream-restoration efforts. Through the Environmental Futures Program, DEP has set up 34 watershed teams to address environmental indicators at the watershed level.

DEP and EPA also will set up an urban-revitalization workgroup to address significant urban-revitalization issues such as infrastructure needs, "green development," and impacts to sensitive populations.
The two agencies also will undertake pilot projects in areas where stormwater management is a priority concern. The agencies will work closely to identify partners, such as universities and local government associations, to help in sponsoring stormwater compliance assistance forums for municipalities in Pennsylvania.

The two agencies also will work together to identify areas of the state where there may be elevated occurrences of infectious and chronic disease related to environmental exposures.

The agencies will, in addition, work to implement the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Environmental Justice work Group.

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