March 13 PA Environment Digest Now Available

The March 13 PA Environment Digest is now available.  Here are just a few of the headlines--

Senate Budget Hearing: Historic Cuts To DEP Budget, Safe Drinking Water, Chesapeake Bay

Questions related to the impact of the historic cuts to DEP’s budget, deficiencies in the Safe Drinking Water Program and meeting Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay cleanup obligations dominated the Senate hearing on DEP’s budget Thursday.

Senate Bill Would Regulate Safety Of Over 3,600 Miles Of Gas Pipelines For 1st Time

There are now over 3,688.3 miles of Class 1 natural gas pipelines not regulated for safety by either the federal or state government, but Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne) wants to change that.

On Monday she introduced Senate Bill 488 that for the first time would put Class 1 natural gas pipelines from unconventional drilling operations under the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission’s Gas Safety Division which regulates, inspects and enforces state and federal regulations as they apply to natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines.

Brodhead Watershed Assn. Founder Edie Stevens Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Edie Stevens of Paradise Township, who has spent most of her 78 years in environmental activism, would be the first to say that her work isn’t over yet. That won’t stop PennFuture from giving her the Women in Conservation Lifetime Achievement Award on April 7 at Keystone College, LaPlume, Lackawanna County.

DEP Seeks Bids On Acid Mine Drainage Plant To Restore Over 20 Miles Of Stream In Cambria County

In an effort to restore land and water quality and increase economic development, the Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation Wednesday announced it is seeking construction bids for a centralized plant to treat acid mine drainage (AMD) in Cambria County.

Restoration Spotlight: Little Juniata River-From Open Sewer To Class A Trout Stream

By: Stephanie Smith, Web Content Manager, EPA Chesapeake Bay Program

As the clear, cold waters of the Little Juniata River rush through the forests and farmland of central Pennsylvania, hidden spring holes and rocky boulders provide hideaways for the cautious brown trout.

PennDOT: Volunteers Needed For Statewide Cleanup, Beautification Effort

The departments of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Protection are seeking volunteers for this year’s Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania that begins March 1 and runs through May 31.

2nd Peregrine Falcon Egg Arrives At Rachel Carson Building Nest In Harrisburg

Eggs have begun to arrive for the pair of peregrine falcons nesting on the 15th floor of the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg.  So far two eggs have made an appearance, but there will probably be more.

Game Commission Removes Osprey From List Of Threatened, Endangered Birds

The Game Commission published notice in the March 11 PA Bulletin of a final regulation removing the osprey from the Commonwealth’s list of threatened and endangered birds.  Visit the Game Commission’s Osprey webpage for more background on the osprey’s recovery in Pennsylvania.

To read the Digest, visit: www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com.  Click Here to print the entire Digest.

PA Environment Digest is edited by David E. Hess, former Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and is published as a service of Crisci Associates.

PA Environment Digest was the winner of the PA Association of Environmental Educators'  2009 Business Partner of the Year Award.

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Questions?: Send email to David Hess at: DHess@CrisciAssociates.com