March 23 PA Environment Digest Now Available

The March 23 PA Environment Digest is now available.  Click Here to print entire Digest.

Budget Hearing: DCNR Infrastructure Backlog Reduced By $400 Million In 2 Years

Acting DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn told the House Appropriations Committee Monday the backlog of infrastructure projects in State Parks and Forests was now about $600 million thanks to a combination of funding sources including the Capital Budget, Enhance Penns Woods and others

In 2013, then DCNR Secretary Richard Allan told the Committee during his budget hearing there was a $1 billion infrastructure backlog.

DEP CAC: DEP To Have Lower Susquehanna Impairment Recommendation Late 2015

DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council was told Tuesday the agency plans to have a recommendation on whether the Lower Susquehanna River should be designated as impaired by the end of 2015.

Josh Lookenbill, DEP Bureau of Point and Non-Point Source Management, briefed Council on the Lower Susquehanna River Study DEP and the Fish and Boat Commission started in 2012 in an attempt to determine why smallmouth bass populations were declining and in some cases developing lesions.

CBF: New EPA Report Examines State Oversight Of Agriculture Programs In PA

New reports from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency examine state programs overseeing animal agricultural facilities as well as actions undertaken by Virginia and Pennsylvania to reduce pollution from agriculture.

The reports found that while both states have pieces in place to support pollution reductions, both states have significant deficiencies that will have to be rectified if cleanup goals are to be achieved.

Shell Meets All 15 Center For Sustainable Shale Development Performance Standards

The Center for Sustainable Shale Development in Pittsburgh, a collaborative of environmental organizations and energy companies that encourages responsible practices in development of shale gas resources in the Appalachian region, announced Wednesday it has certified Shell’s SWEPI LP Appalachian operations as having successfully completed the Center’s rigorous evaluation and verification process.

PA Environmental Council Calls For Overhaul Of Act 54 Longwall Mining Law

On Tuesday, PA Environmental Council President and CEO Davitt Woodwell delivered the following comments to the DEP Citizens Advisory Council on the most recent five year report on the effects of underground coal mining—

DEP: Harrisburg Peregrine Falcons Produce Clutch Of Eggs

The pair of peregrine falcons that nest on a ledge of DEP's headquarters in Harrisburg have produced three eggs so far.  The first egg arrived March 14.  The female typically lays an egg every other day until the "clutch" is complete.