House committee holds Chester hearing on bill to factor cumulative impacts into DEP permitting

The House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee held a public hearing in Chester on House Bill 109, proposing that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection incorporate cumulative environmental and social burdens into permitting decisions for facilities in designated environmental‑justice areas, committee leaders said.

The bill would require DEP to designate environmental‑justice areas across the Commonwealth, direct certain permit applicants to prepare cumulative environmental impact reports that account for existing pollution and community vulnerabilities, and mandate public hearings. "Based on that cumulative impact analysis, [DEP] may either modify or deny a permit," the committee chair, Chairman Vitale, said at the hearing.

Supporters told the panel that the change is needed to address long‑standing, concentrated pollution in places such as Chester. Zalene Mayfield, chairperson of Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living (CIRCLE), recounted three decades of local fights over waste and emissions and urged lawmakers to give residents tools to protect public health. "For 33 years, Circle has been the cavalry of this community," Mayfield said, describing the incinerator and other nearby industry as a persistent source of odors and health concerns.

Public‑health researchers and local officials cited evidence of disproportionate exposure and health burdens in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Dr. Sarah Leupold, an assistant scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, described the ASSESS community study of Southern Delaware County, which surveyed 147 residents and found that 95 percent reported smelling odors and roughly three‑quarters reported negative health effects they linked to odors and air pollution. "This bill is necessary for these communities, and I strongly urge your support of this bill," Leupold said.

Laura Sigman Werner, director of the Delaware County Health Department, backed the bill as a policy tool to account for clustered environmental and social risks, calling the existing permitting system unable to “take that bigger picture, rational view” of cumulative exposures.

University of Pennsylvania toxicologist Dr. Marilyn Howarth recommended tightening the bill to require DEP to define the components and methodology of cumulative‑impact reports and to disclose permit applications and related materials in advance of public hearings so communities can meaningfully participate. "The public needs to have access to the permit application and the cumulative environmental impact report well in advance of the public [hearing]," Howarth said.

Physicians for Social Responsibility board member Dr. Walter Suh outlined the industrial and transportation sources within a five‑ to ten‑mile radius of Chester — including refinery and manufacturing facilities, a major waste‑to‑energy incinerator and airport operations — and said the cumulative exposure picture must inform permitting decisions.

City of Chester Health Commissioner Dr. Kristin Motley and Mayor Stefan Roots described the local consequences: elevated rates of asthma and other environmentally mediated disease, limited access to health care and persistent poverty despite heavy industrial activity. "Chester is Delaware County's waterfront. We want to enjoy the waterfront like other communities enjoy their waterfront," Mayor Roots said. He added, "Cumulative permitting is what we're here to talk about today. It's changing the game."

Committee members pressed witnesses on implementation details. Representative Day and others urged objective, measurable methods for scoring cumulative impacts rather than leaving broad discretion to DEP; witnesses and the chair acknowledged the need for clear methodology and suggested that specifying report components and public‑notice procedures would reduce uncertainty and legal risk. Several panelists also discussed the potential health and safety implications of proposed liquefied natural gas infrastructure, noting concerns about additional pollution and transport risks.

No formal committee action or vote was taken at the hearing. Chairman Vitale said he intends to move quickly to a committee vote on House Bill 109 after considering amendments that may arise from testimony and stakeholder input. Supporters were urged to press legislators for floor consideration; Vitale noted that a floor vote previously did not occur when the bill faced opposition from building trades.

Votes at this hearing: none — the session was a public hearing and information‑gathering exercise.

The hearing drew multiple medical and academic witnesses, community leaders and elected officials who urged clearer, standardized cumulative‑impact methods and earlier public disclosure of permit materials to enable meaningful community participation. Committee members asked for more detail in the bill text about report components and scoring to make the authority administrable and more legally durable.

The committee adjourned after calling for continued engagement from community members, researchers and labor and industry stakeholders as it considers amendments and the timing of a committee vote on House Bill 109.