UPDATED: Secretary of Pennsylvania DEP Resignation Prompts Speculation

UPDATE

Krancer spoke with the Pittsburgh Business Times about his resignation.

“It’s been the greatest honor, the greatest job I’ve ever had, the greatest team I ever worked with,” said Michael Krancer, who Friday announced he’s leaving the agency after 26 months at the helm.

Why?

“The time is right for me to go back home. I’ve lived away from home for over two years. I’ve got a wife and two high-school-aged daughters.”

He didn’t have a truncated term in mind when he accepted Corbett’s nomination in January 2011, but “living away from home is something that makes you think about what you’re sacrificing to do this,” he said. “I’m not going to get this time back.”

Read the whole thing here.

ORIGINAL POST:

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection released this press release yesterday:

HARRISBURG -- Governor Tom Corbett today announced that Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Krancer will step down April 15 to return home to Montgomery County to practice law. 

“Secretary Krancer has been an invaluable member of our team and I am grateful for his service,’’ Corbett said. “His impressive efforts at DEP have taken the agency back to basics, protecting the environment and making the permitting process more efficient.

“His guidance on a variety of issues related to the environment has been vital,” Corbett said. “DEP has been in good hands under his leadership.”

Corbett appointed Krancer to his cabinet in January 2011, where Krancer oversaw many major initiatives, including the reorganization of the agency, which created an Oil and Gas deputate and improved consistency statewide in enforcing that industry’s regulations. 

Krancer also oversaw the Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee, which have brought timeliness and consistency to the permitting process for all agency-regulated activities.

In April 2011, Krancer and the governor issued a call to Marcellus Shale operators to stop delivering shale gas drilling wastewater to plants that were not equipped to fully treat it, which resulted in a sea change overnight and improved the health of Pennsylvania’s waterways.

Krancer also made brownfields redevelopment and abandoned mine reclamation projects around the state a priority and oversaw the implementation of the Covered Device Recycling Act. 

Krancer and his agency were also instrumental in facilitating new investments and potential investments around the state, including his role in Governor Corbett’s team efforts to save the three southeastern Pennsylvania refineries and attract to them new environmentally responsible investors, employers and projects. 

Krancer also had the opportunity to testify as an expert before several U.S. Congressional committees on many topics. 

“Serving Governor Corbett and DEP has been the greatest honor of my career,’’ Krancer said. “Pennsylvania is well on its way to becoming the focal point of an American energy revolution, and I am grateful to the governor for giving me this  role in assuring that natural gas and energy development happen in an environmentally sound and responsible manner. 

“I owe a tremendous amount of thanks and appreciation to all of the talented, dedicated, hard-working professionals at DEP with whom I have been privileged to work as their Secretary,” he said.

DEP has 2,633 employees and a $655 million budget.

Krancer will rejoin his former law firm, Blank Rome LLP, an international law firm based in Philadelphia.

In addition to his previous legal work at Blank Rome, Krancer, 55, of Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County, served as a judge on the state’s Environmental Hearing Board for 10 years, including four years as chief judge and chairman. He has also worked as an attorney for Exelon Corp. 

A graduate of the University of Virginia, Krancer earned his law degree from Washington and Lee University. 

“I appreciate Mike’s unwavering commitment to this job, knowing that it took him away from spending quality time with his wife and children,’’ Corbett said. “While I am sorry to lose his expertise in the administration, I am glad this is an opportunity for him to go back home.”

E. Christopher Abruzzo, deputy chief of staff for Governor Tom Corbett, will serve as acting secretary. Abruzzo, who works closely with Krancer and the DEP staff in his position as deputy chief of staff, will hold both positions until Corbett names Krancer’s successor. 

For more information, visit www.pa.gov or www.dep.state.pa.us.

The sudden announcement has brought a variety of speculation.

Here's what the one anti-drilling blog has to say:

Temporarily filling in the for departing Krancer will be E. Christopher Abruzzo, deputy chief of staff for Governor Tom Corbett.  Abruzzo, who works closely with Krancer and the DEP staff in his position as deputy chief of staff, will hold both positions until Corbett names Krancer’s successor.    There is currently no speculation who will be the next drill baby in charge of DEP.
Nothing in the news stories to indicate why Krancer is choosing to leave now.
Scuttlebutt speculation includes:

• Jumping ship before Corbett goes down in 2014 election

• Fallout from the Range Resource-Hallowich records being unsealed

• Possible repercussions from pending DEP Audit by Auditor General DePasquale.  It’s unknown at this point if the audit has even started.

• Will be working with the newly formed fluffy Center for Sustainable Shale Development

• Feces of unknown origin about to impact the rotating blades.

Whatever the reason, you can be assured Corbett’s next appointee will be one who makes sure it’s business as usual at the DEP. 

Read the rest of that article here.

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