From Marcellus Drilling News (PA Sen. Gene Yaw Proposes to Rename State DEP, Drop “Protection” | Marcellus Drilling News)

You’ve gotta give Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw credit–he sure knows how to get under the skin of the wackadoodle left! Yaw is the Majority Chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. His committee oversees (among other things) the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), which is the state agency that oversees energy industries, including shale drilling. Yesterday Yaw tweaked the left by announcing he will soon introduce a bill to remove the word “Protection” from the DEP’s name, and replace it with…

Yaw wants to replace “Protection” with “Services.” So instead of the DEP, it would become the DES.

The enviro-left is already howling at the moon. This kind of thing drives them nuts. And we love it!

Yaw floated the following sponsorship memorandum to elicit co-sponsors of the bill when it’s introduced:

MEMORANDUM
Posted: April 27, 2023 04:22 PM
From: Senator Gene Yaw
To: All Senate members
Subject: Department of Environmental Protection Name Change

In the near future, I will introduce legislation that will change the name of the “Department of Environmental Protection” to the “Department of Environmental Services”. The word “protection” carries a law enforcement or security connotation rather than that of an environmental resource and partner to the citizens of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, enforcer has become the prevalent view of the department, overshadowing other work which is detrimental to an open relationship between the citizenry and their government regarding environmental issues. Emphasizing that this department is focused on “services” will be a huge step forward in instituting a needed culture change. This name change will have no effect on the jurisdiction or enforcement obligations of the department. Please join me in establishing the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Services.*

As you can see, Yaw thinks the DEP needs a cultural makeover. We agree.

Let the howling begin!

Additional link: *Pennsylvania State Senate (Apr 27, 2023) – Department of Environmental Protection Name Change

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