HARRISBURG, PA — John Quigley, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Preservation (DEP), told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 25 that his reduced budget has left the department with antiquated equipment, especially in the area of information technology (IT).

He said the ongoing cuts will have serious impacts. “DEP’s ability to protect public health and the environment, and to perform basic functions like evaluating permit applications in a timely fashion, have been stressed to the limit. Further cuts will jeopardize the citizens we serve and the environment that we are obligated to protect, and harm the state’s economy.”

In his remarks, Quigley said, “DEP’s IT budget in 2004 was $23 million, and at that time the agency received an ‘A’ grade from the Office of Administration, which rated us then as among the most capable agencies in state government from an IT perspective.

“Today, we are at the bottom of the class, rating at best a ‘D.’ Merely adjusted for inflation since 2004, our IT budget should be $29 million today.

“Unfortunately, it stands at $16 million—43% less in nominal terms than 11 years ago. And that’s not because personal computers have become cheaper. This represents a cumulative $83 million divestment in the agency’s IT capacity over the period.”

Quigley also addressed staff shortages that have developed over the years and said there is not enough staff to fully meet the needs of any of DEP’s programs.

The DEP budget has been reduced significantly in recent years. The department received about $164.4 million in 1994-95 from the state’s general fund. The high point came in 2002-03 when DEP received $245.6 million. The lowest amount came in 2012-13 when the DEP received about $126.8 million from the general fund, or about half what it was at the high point.

The number of staff in DEP at the high point in 2002-03 was about 3,200 and today that number is 2,495, representing a reduction of about 22%.

Quigley said the staffing cuts have also seriously impacted the work of the department. He said, “Our regulatory responsibilities have not diminished; indeed, workload is increasing. In recent audits, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cited DEP for severe understaffing in our coal mine inspection, air quality monitoring, safe drinking water and stormwater programs.

The general assembly is working on a budget for 2016-17; meanwhile the budget for 2015-16 is not yet finished, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled House and Senate are still at odds over both.