Letter to the editor: On DEP, what's in a name (change)?

Thanks to the writer of the letter “Ramifications of DEP name change” (June 16, TribLIVE) for pointing out that, on June 10, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill changing the name of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to the Department of Environmental Services. One question: What sort of environmental services does the DEP provide that do not involve the protection of the environment on behalf of the citizens of the commonwealth? Can’t think of any? Nor could I. So then its name — Department of Environmental Protection — is already a pretty good one, huh?

The claim that the change is only one of inconsequential words is bull crap. When the DEP was created, its sole purpose, stated clearly to this day in its official description, is the protection of the environment. And it is not, as Sen. Kim Ward would have you believe, mainly an environmental resource and partner to the citizens of Pennsylvania. To someone who might be looking to make a fast buck, that sounds more like a name that wouldn’t be as off-putting as one that warned of “protection” of the environment, right there in its name!

If this proposed name change is so “innocuous,” that’s probably why its costs, including changing stationery and signage, were not even mentioned. Nor was the cost of the Senate’s consideration and passage of the bill.

So, if you are as sick as I am of political games involving name changing, it sounds like you should call your state representative and tell her or him simply, “Kill Senate Bill 691.”

Ed Collins

West Newton