Keystone Today

Pennsylvania House Republicans chose not to update the volatile organic compound (VOC) regulation for conventional oil and gas wells, and Gov. Tom Wolf spoke out against their actions saying it could lead to the state losing nearly a billion dollars in federal transport funding.

According to a release by Wolf’s office, On November 14 the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, held an unannounced meeting where a disapproval letter was sent to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission about the VOC rulemaking. 

“It’s simply a disgrace that House Republicans are jeopardizing road and bridge repairs by holding up the administration’s efforts to make federally required updates,” Wolf said. “They hastily held a committee meeting this week without advance notice or transparency for the sole purpose of thwarting this regulation, which will jeopardize nearly a billion dollars in federal funding.”

Due to the Pennsylvania Regulatory Review Act, there is a 14-day waiting period after a meeting held on November 17 by the Independent Regulatory Review Committee. The waiting period will expire after the General Assembly has adjourned, so the regulation cannot be finalized by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) before December 16.

“As a result of the House Republicans’ actions, state and local governments across the commonwealth will lose the authorization to spend hundreds of millions of dollars of federal transportation funding on affected projects,” Wolf said. “Because these regulations are required under the Clean Air Act, failure to submit them in final form to U.S. EPA by December 16, 2022, will result in EPA imposing non-discretionary sanctions, and the federal government would thus withhold nearly $1 billion of transportation funding – funding that cannot be recuperated.”

Wolf said that sanctions can threaten projects like highway expansion, road construction, highway and bridge restoration and maintenance projects. The delay could cause roads and bridges to be closed or given weight limits, as well as longer ambulance response times, extended commutes and federal gasoline tax dollars going to states other than Pennsylvania.

“This regulation is not controversial,” Wolf said. “It is a federally mandated, technology-based standard. There is no good reason to block the rulemaking but there are extreme consequences for doing so. We have been sounding the alarm for months about the real consequences of these actions and yet they insisted on disapproving the state’s VOC rule. My administration is reviewing all options to prevent the sanctions from being implemented.”