A legislator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly introduced two bills on Wednesday to amend the state constitution and make the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) a commissioner post elected by the public, rather than one appointed by the governor.

Rep. Jesse White (D-Cecil) — a vocal opponent of Act 13, Pennsylvania’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law, but not of oil and natural gas development — said HB 2606 and HB 2607 would create a DEP commissioner operating along similar lines as the state treasurer, attorney general and auditor general, which are also elected posts.

“I think there are a lot of people out there that have concerns about the way the DEP is conducting their business, and asking if they are fulfilling their mission,” White told NGI’s Shale Daily on Thursday. “To some level they have basically become political concerns, from both sides. But given the rise of the energy industry in Pennsylvania and the way it’s taken on a renewed importance that it didn’t have years ago, I think this would be a good way to allow people to decide what kind of environmental policies and what level of enforcement they want to see.”

White said an incident involving a medical clinic in Burgettstown was at the heart of his decision to submit the bills. “It was not directly related to hydraulic fracturing,” he said.

White’s district includes Cecil, Mount Pleasant and Robinson townships in Washington County, and part of South Fayette Township in Allegheny County. All are plaintiffs in the legal challenge to Act 13, Pennsylvania’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law. The case is headed to an appeal before the state Supreme Court (see Shale Daily, Sept. 6; July 27; April 2).

“I have seen the economic positives and the job creation [from oil and gas development], and I would never tell any of my constituents that I don’t think they should be allowed to make money from leasing their property,” White said. “Where the conflict has come in [with the legal challenge to Act 13] is that everybody says they want to do this the right way, and we’re now going through the growing pains of figuring out what the right way looks like.”

Lou D’Amico, president of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Shortly before taking office in January 2011, Gov. Tom Corbett named Michael Krancer to head the DEP (see Shale Daily, Jan. 13, 2011). Environmental and industry groups applauded Krancer’s appointment.

White was first elected to the state House in 2006 and won reelection in 2008 and 2010. He is running unopposed in the 2012 election, which will be held on Nov. 6. He introduced a bill in June (HB 2493) to impose a surtax on natural gas production, the revenue from which would be used to lure Royal Dutch Shell plc to build an ethane cracker in Monaca, PA. White submitted another bill in February (HR 593) to encourage companies to drill in the Marcellus.