Pittsburgh, PA and Washington, DC
FNREL Mineral and Energy Law Newsletter
Pennsylvania – Oil & Gas
(Joseph K. Reinhart, Sean M. McGovern, Gina F. Buchman and Matthew C. Wood)
On April 4, 2024, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), in a 4–1 vote, adopted a joint motion to comprehensively review processing times of certain applications under its purview. See Press Release, PUC, “PUC Launches Comprehensive Review of Application Procedures” (Apr. 4, 2024). Specifically, the PUC proposed to analyze how to make more efficient application processes that do not have applicable regulatory or statutory deadlines (or have deadlines that the PUC has authority to extend). Joint Motion for Chairman Stephen M. De Frank and Commissioner Ralph V. Yanora (Joint Motion), at 2.
The initiative consists of two parts. First, the PUC directed each of its various bureaus that work on these types of applications to review and inventory each applicable proceeding with the following information:
- the methods by which the PUC receives the applicable filings;
- the statutory or regulatory authority underlying issued approvals;
- whether publication of an application is required;
- whether the application has a protest period, and if so, its length; and
- a description of the bureau’s tasks.
Id.
Second, the Office of the Executive Director will analyze the inventory information, examine each bureau’s average application review time and the total average processing time from application filing to a final decision, and evaluate process improvements. Id. The goal of the evaluation is to reduce processing times by at least 15% (subject to revision), while also considering the allocation of necessary resources, legal deadlines, and compliance with applicable legal requirements under the Public Utility Code, PUC Regulations, or PUC Orders. Id.
According to the Joint Motion, the PUC’s initiative was influenced by multiple Shapiro administration actions, including: (1) the February 2024 PermitConnectPA workshop, which focused on making permitting, licensing, application, and certification procedures more efficient; (2) Governor Shapiro’s creation of the Office of Transformation and Opportunity, “to position Pennsylvania as the most business-friendly state in the U.S. and to empower [stakeholders] to reignite economic growth and promote prosperity throughout the Commonwealth”; and (3) Governor Shapiro’s Executive Order 2023-07, “Building Efficiency in the Commonwealth’s Permitting, Licensing, and Certification Processes” (Jan. 31, 2023). Id. at 1. Executive Order 2023-07 directed all commonwealth agencies to catalog the types of permits, licenses, or certifications they issue (including legal authority and timeframes) and submit the information to the Governor’s office for review and recommendations to make processing times more efficient.
The Joint Motion directs the bureaus to submit their inventories within 60 days of its adoption (by June 3, 2024) and the Office of the Executive Director is tasked with reviewing and compiling the inventories into a report within six months of its adoption, unless a request for an extension is submitted and approved. Id. at 3. The PUC docket for this action is No. M-2024-3047172.
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