Tuesday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 3.10.26

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

-- Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution  [It’s Not A Suggestion]

Senate Voting Schedule

March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

April 20, 21, 22

May 4, 5, 6

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

House Voting Schedule

Budget Hearings: Thru March 12

March. 23, 24, 25

April 13, 14, 15, 27, 28, 29

May 4, 5, 6

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

TODAY 12:30: Agenda Posted. DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting. 12:30 p.m. Contact: Ian Irvin iirvin@pa.gov or 717-579-0329. Read more here on the agenda.

March 11-- Agenda Posted. DEP Water Resources Advisory Committee meeting. 9:30 a.m. Contact: Bob Haines robhaines@pa.gov or 717-787-7565. [Agenda includes Chapter 102 which recommends fee increase]

March 12-- Agenda Posted. Susquehanna River Basin Commission meeting. 4423 North Front Street, Harrisburg. 9:00 a.m.  (formal notice)

March 16-- House Energy Committee hearing on House Bill 2223 (Fiedler-D- Philadelphia) advanced transmission technologies, House Bill 2225 (Davidson) virtual power plants [Draft Bill].  Room G-50 Irvis Building.  Noon to 2:30 p.m. Click Here to watch online.

March 18--  CANCELED. Rescheduled for April 30. DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Todd M. Wallace twallace@pa.gov.  (formal notice)

March 23-- House Energy Committee informational meeting on the PA Energy Development Authority. Room G-50 Irvis Building.  10:30 to 11:30 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

March 24-- House Energy Committee hearing on House Bill 2076 (Venkat-D-Allegheny) establishing a regulatory framework for geothermal energy for residential, commercial and industrial uses. Room B-31 Main Capital. 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

April 16-- DCED PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council meeting.  Penn State, State College.  10:00.  Contact: Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov. 

-- Keep PA Beautiful 2025 Annual Report: 35 Years, 3 Million Volunteers, Cleaned Up 165 Million Tons Of Trash, 1.2 Million Tires  [PaEN]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: PA Hosting More Than 209 Million Visitors In 2026 - PennDOT Encourages Participation In Pick Up Pennsylvania Litter Cleanup Initiative

-- TribLive: Volunteers Needed For Spring Cleanup, Adopt-A-Road Program In McCandless, Allegheny County 

-- Environmental Hearing Board Grants Request By Center For Coalfield Justice To Intervene In EQT Production Co. Appeal Of DEP Records Request In Ongoing Investigation Of 940,000 Gallon Shale Gas Wastewater Spill In Washington County, Six Other Well Pads  [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: People To Know In Energy: Eric Gustafson, PA DEP

-- Senators Malone, Miller Announce Bill To Protect Private Well Users By Licensing Water Well Drillers  [PaEN] 

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Officials Announce New Funding For Cobbs Creek Restoration Project

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Philly To Spend $9 Million To Restore Streams At Cobbs Creek Golf Course To Stem Flooding

-- Penn State Center For Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training Hosts April 16 Webinar On Cover Crops And Conservation  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension April 28 Webinar On Practical Strategies To Mitigate Concentrated Water Flow And Strengthen The Effectiveness Of Riparian Buffers  [PaEN] 

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Now Accepting Entries For The Save The Bay Photo Contest  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: EPA Cleanup Of Toxic Waste On Abandoned Bologna Coal Company Site May Delay 730-Acre Solar Energy Facility In Jefferson Twp., Washington County; Public Meeting March 11 

-- PA Solar Center March 27 Webinar: Helping Faith Institutions Go Solar With Solar Faithful  [PaEN] 

-- WNEP: Wind Turbine Catches Fire In Wayne County 

-- York Daily Record: Crews Find 47 Drums Of ‘Unknown Product” At J&K Junkyard Fire Site In York County

-- TribLive: NFL Draft Sustainability Plan Calls For Tree Planting, Food Recovery In Pittsburgh

-- South Mountain Partnership Spring Partnership & Regional Trail Coalition Meeting April 10, Dillsburg, York County 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

-- French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust Partner With Landowners To Permanently Preserve 18-Acres In Charlestown Twp., Chester County  [PaEN] 

-- Susquehanna Greenway Partnership: Spring On The Wing - Bird Migration Season On The Susquehanna River 

-- York Daily Record: Controversial Beaver Pond May Get Removed At Gettysburg Battlefield

-- Observer-Reporter: Lyme Disease Meetings Scheduled In Washington County

-- Help Wanted: Susquehanna Greenway Partnership Program Coordinator, Operations Assistant 

A.I. /Data Centers

-- PennLive: Texas Company Spends $50 Million To Buy 11 More Acres In Dauphin County For Planned A.I. Data Center

-- Scranton Times: City Of Scranton To Discuss Amending Zoning To Regulate A.I. Data Center At March 10 Meeting  [PDF of Article]

-- PJM Interconnection Latest Power Auction Results In $164.70/MW-Day Clearing Price, Well Below $329/MW-Day Price Cap, Below Collar Floor  [PaEN]

-- Oilprice.com: America’s Abandoned Coal Mine Pools Could Become Giant Underground Batteries Using Pumped Hydro Technology

-- The Telegraphy Guest Essay: Abandoned Pennsylvania Mines And Waste-Heat Recycling Could Make The State’s Massive New A.I. Data Centers Far More Sustainable - By Wangda Zuo, Professor Of Architectural Engineering, Penn State

-- Wall Street Journal Letter: Abandoned Mines Can Become Data Centers - By Steve Gardner, P.E., former President, American Institute Of Mining, Metallurgical & Petroleum Engineers

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: PPL Outlines 2026 Reliability Investments To Build A Stronger Grid 

-- PPL Utilities: Building A Stronger Grid - PPL Outlines 2026 Reliability Investments

Today’s Oil & Gas Violations

-- DEP Working With Heirs Of Deceased Owner Of 43 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells On State Game Land In Venango County To Clarify Current Status  [PaEN]

Gas Explosions

-- TribLive: Plum Boro Policy Say Man Intentionally Let Natural Gas Flow Freely To Blow Up House In Allegheny County

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- AP: In A Time Of War With Iran, Americans Unite In Aggravation Over Sticker Shock At The Gas Pump  [PA Highlighted]

-- AP: As Iran War Shakes Oil/Natural Gas Energy System, Some See Powerful Argument For Renewable Energy [Homegrown Renewable Energy Has Never Been Cheaper, More Accessible Or More Scalable]

-- Financial Times: Saudi Aramco Warns Of ‘Catastropic Consequences’ If Iran War Drags On

Federal Administration

-- EPA: Releases Strongest Enforcement And Compliance Results In Years

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- The Center Square: Cooperation With President’s ICE Up For Debate In Pennsylvania

-- AP: In A Time Of War With Iran, Americans Unite In Aggravation Over Sticker Shock At The Gas Pump  [PA Highlighted]

-- WESA: PA Officials Say President’s Policies A Worry For Woman- And Minority-Owned Businesses Who Want Federally Funded State Contracts

-- Inquirer: How Have Prices Of Necessities Changed In Philly? 

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[Posted: March 10, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

DEP Working With Heirs Of Deceased Owner Of 43 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells On State Game Land In Venango County To Clarify Current Status

On March 9, 2026, the Department of Environmental Protection posted March 4 inspection reports on 14 abandoned conventional oil and gas wells owned by Carol A. Morrison Baker on State Game Lands in Cranberry Township, Venango County saying the agency is working with the heirs of the deceased owner to clarify the status of the wells.

Morrison Baker held a total of 217 permits of which there are 43 abandoned conventional wells.

DEP issued violations for these abandoned wells in 2025 and 2026 and then confirmed the owner was deceased.  [Read more here.]

The March 4, 2026  DEP inspection reports for 14 of the wells reported the agency was able to make contact with the operator’s family about the wells.

The family reported the wells were sold before the owner’s passing, but the formal transfers were not completed.

DEP said it was working with the family to “remedy this situation.”

There was no indication in the reports about who now owns the abandoned wells.

DEP issued fresh notices of violations for well abandonment and failure to submit annual production, waste generation and well integrity reports for the 14 wells.

Click Here for links to the inspection reports for the 14 abandoned conventional wells.

Report Violations

To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.

Text photos and the location of abandoned wells to 717-788-8990.

Check These Resources

Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database and Inspection Reports Viewer webpages to search their compliance records by date and owner.

Sign up for DEP’s eNOTICE service which sends you information on oil and gas and other permits submitted to DEP for review in your community.

Use DEP’s Oil and Gas Mapping Tool to find if there are oil and gas wells near or on your property and to find wells using latitude and longitude on well inspection reports.

(Photo: Morrison State Game Lands 45 abandoned conventional well.)

[Note: If you believe your company was listed in error, contact DEP’s Oil and Gas Program.]

[Note: These may not be all the NOVs issued to oil and gas companies during this time period.  Additional inspection reports may be added to DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database.]

Related Article This Week:

-- Environmental Hearing Board Grants Request By Center For Coalfield Justice To Intervene In EQT Production Co. Appeal Of DEP Records Request In Ongoing Investigation Of 940,000 Gallon Shale Gas Wastewater Spill In Washington County, Six Other Well Pads  [PaEN]  

[Posted: March 10, 2026]  PA Environment Digest