Commonwealth v. Marks Contracting, Ltd.

OPINION BY

Judge COHN.

We must decide whether field inspectors employed by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are vested with the authority, “by law,” to issue citations for violations of what is colloquially known as the Blasting Act.1 The Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County held that field inspectors are not vested with such authority by law and, so, are not “law enforcement officers” as defined in Pa. R.Crim. P. 103, and, thus, cannot issue citations under Pa. R.Crim. P. 402. Consequently, it granted an omnibus pre-trial motion dismissing numerous citations issued by DEP…