As the recently appointed Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), I head the state agency responsible for protecting the commonwealth’s air, water, wetlands, and tidelands.
MassDEP has long been a nation-leader, establishing protective environmental standards while continually innovating to find the most economical way to implement them. Governor Deval Patrick has always said that the choice between the economy and the environment is a false choice, as environmental protection and economic growth can go hand-in-hand. For example, during the first Patrick-Murray term, MassDEP dramatically reduced timelines for issuing permits and handling certain appeals, without compromising our high environmental protection standards.
MassDEP has sustained excellence and met pressing new environmental needs in the face of significant budget cuts dictated by a national economic downturn. In 2002, MassDEP’s annual funding was $62.9 million with a staff of 1,200. Today, our budget is down to $46.4 million and 840 employees – the lowest levels since the mid-1980s. Even as we absorbed these cuts, MassDEP’s responsibilities were expanded, as the agency took on implementing laws such as the Mercury Management Act, and the Global Warming Solutions Act.
Unfortunately, part of the reality leading to MassDEP’s streamlining and efficiencies stems from a decline in economic activity during the global economic recession. For example, in the past year, MassDEP issued 97 percent of its permits within six months, but, during that time period, permit applications dropped from an average of 3,000 per year to 2,000.
In recent months, however, Massachusetts has rebounded from the global recession faster and stronger than most states. As the state continues to add jobs under Patrick’s leadership, and businesses from across the country and world continue to locate and expand here, permit applications will increase. When this happens, MassDEP’s ability to issue permits in the timely manner to support economic development will be challenged, as will its ability to carry out other core functions.
The Patrick-Murray administration has a plan for meeting these challenges:
Update the Bottle Bill
The governor’s budget proposes to earmark $6.5 million for MassDEP from a fund created by expanding the bottle bill to place a nickel deposit on non-carbonated beverages such as bottled water and sports drinks. Expanding the bottle bill makes sense because it reduces trash, increases recycling, and saves municipalities money. It would also help MassDEP boost assistance to municipal recycling programs and maintain existing staffing levels. Without this additional revenue, MassDEP could lose another 70 employees, leading to a serious over-taxing of our already depleted resources.
Reform
To achieve the same level of environmental protection with fewer staff, MassDEP needs to innovate. This means reforming the way we regulate. We’ve done it before. More than 15 years ago, the commonwealth changed its hazardous waste cleanup program to harness the ingenuity of the private sector to get cleanups done and hold private parties to a strict standard through audits and enforcement. We need to explore whether we can adapt this or other innovative models to the other regulatory programs we administer. In April, the Patrick-Murray administration will launch a public process with the business, environmental and municipal communities to gather all of the best ideas. We will narrow down the list by summer, and begin to put reforms in place this fall.
Upgrade Technology
Because of MassDEP’s outdated IT system, enforcement staff routinely perform tasks manually that could be automated, such as picking out environmental violations from the thousands of pages of reports we receive from the regulated community. And our files and data are not as accessible to other agencies and the public as they could be. MassDEP intends to procure the best technology and install a new system as fast as funding allows.
Restructure
Reduction in staff and changes in our environmental needs impel us to take a fresh look at how our staff is deployed. In the next six months, I intend to modernize our management structure and break down silos, maximize synergies among staff, and improve communication and consistency across all of our offices. This will make the agency more transparent and its various functions more understandable to the public.
Through this multi-faceted approach to revising the agency’s structure and functions, MassDEP is poised to serve as a model for remaking government agencies for the 21st Century. And we’ll continue to make good on Patrick’s promise of “regulation at the speed of business.”
Kenneth Kimmell is commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
