We are glad the state Department of Environmental Protection has significantly cut its backlog of applicants awaiting permits.

We also believe more needs to be done.

As The Center Square’s Anthony Hennen reported recently, from December of 2023 to the end of June, DEP reduced the number of cases awaiting permits from about 2,000 to 970.

“It was our goal early in 2024 to reduce that backlog by 10% each month. We’re hovering very close to that, but we still have a long way to go,” John Ryder, deputy secretary for DEP field operations said, according to the Center Square report.

As we have noted, our state and our region needs both jobs and housing. And a DEP permitting process that is too slow and too burdensome is an obstacle for both employers and developers to bring either to the Keystone State.

That challenge is reflected in the climbing costs of housing. It is reflected in the struggle to find employment that allows families to thrive.

And all of this together is reflected in the decisions by many families to leave our region and state for communities where good jobs and affordable housing are frankly more abundant.

We hope the governor’s office and our state legislators can recognize this opportunity and build upon this momentum. The state needs to reform the permitting process. Our neighbors who are willing to build housing and to create jobs need a streamlined approach that allows for a faster pace — a pace necessary to stop the discouraging discoveries families make when they look for better jobs and better homes that fit their needs.

Our governor and state Legislature need to recognize that if they cannot find those jobs and those houses here, they will find them in other states.

That’s why our public servants cannot afford to miss this opportunity to bring more jobs and more housing to communities in Pennsylvania.