Environmental Law

PADEP Secretary McGinty Resigns

By M. Joel Bolstein

On July 11, 2008, Governor Ed Rendell announced the resignation of PADEP Secretary Katie McGinty.   Her resignation is effective on July 18.

To her credit, Secretary McGinty recognized that PA's Act 2 program was one of its most successful programs and she built on that success.  She also had an eye for talent within the Department.  She took people who were instrumental in the success of the Act 2 program and put them in leadership positions within the Department, including Tom Fidler (elevating him from Chief of the Land Recycling Program to Deputy Secretary), Karen Bassett (who was instrumental in the public roll-out of the Act 2 program, elevating her to Deputy Secretary for Management & Technical Services), and Ken Bowman (who was instrumental in the development of the Act 2 Technical Gudiance Manual, elevating him to Regional Director of the SW Regional Office).   During her tenure, sites continued to move through the Act 2 process.  She added a seasoned leader in Jill Gaito, who as Deputy Secretary with responsibility for managing the Act 2 program, brought extensive outside expertise to the program.  Secretary McGinty also saw Act 2 for what it is  -- a   program designed to create jobs and economic opportunities at the same time that sites are being remediated.  

With that said, morale in the Act 2 program slid as a result of a shortage in HSCA funding.  She also unilaterally decided that Act 2 could not be applied to contaminated agricultural properties, even though the authors of the Act said it was intended to cover all properties and it had been applied to such properties since the outset of Act 2.  There were no significant changes to the Act 2 regulations or the Act 2 TGM under her watch.  If anything, that is a testiment to the strength of the program, the thought that went into creating the program, and her good judgment not to mess with a good thing. 

It will be interesting to see what kind of priority Acting Secretary Joe Powers (or whoever Governor Rendell appoints as Secretary McGinty's permanent replacement) puts on the Act 2 program.  The first opportunity to demonstrate such a commitment would be in the implementation of UECA, and in the speed in which the Department moves to develop technical guidance.   As the Executive Deputy Secretary, Mr.  Powers was in a position to see the value of seeking public input on significant regulatory and policy issues.  UECA implementation presents a great opportunity for Acting Secretary Powers to demonstrate leadership in an area that is critical to the continued success of the Act 2 program.     

Full post as published by PA Brownfields Environmental Law on July 16, 2008 (boomark / email).