PA Environment Digest Blog: Senate Committee Meets March 6 On Bill Prohibiting Elected Officials In Local Governments From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Combat Climate Change

The Senate Local Government Committee is scheduled to meet March 6 on legislation-- Senate Bill 143 (Yaw-R-Lycoming)-- that would take away the authority of elected local government officials to move to cleaner sources of energy to address climate change.

Legislation like this was vetoed by Gov. Wolf in July of last year. Read more here.

The legislation was introduced at the request of the natural gas industry and is part of a nationwide initiative by the American Gas Association. Read more here.

It would prohibit elected officials in municipalities from “Adopt[ing] a policy that restricts or prohibits, or has the effect of restricting or prohibiting, the connection or reconnection of a utility service based upon the type of source of energy to be delivered to an individual consumer within the municipality.”

The bill was introduced because a small number of cities in other states, not in Pennsylvania, were adopting ordinances requiring the electrification of new construction and prohibiting the use of natural gas and heating oil as part of initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Duquesne Light [Read more here] and PennEnvironment [Read more here] have pointed out the economic and environmental benefits of electrification of new buildings in Pennsylvania, especially over the last 18 months when natural gas prices were spiking [Read more here].

The meeting will be held in Room 8E-A of the East Wing Capitol Building starting at Noon. Click Here to watch online.

Sen. Rosemary Brown (R-Lackawanna) serves as Majority Chair of the Senate Local Government Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-787-6123 or send email to rbrown@pasen.gov. Sen. Timothy Kearney (D-Chester) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-1350 or send email to: tim.kearney@pasenate.com.

-- Gov. Wolf Vetoes Bill Prohibiting Communities From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Address Climate Change [PaEN]

-- Duquesne Light Releases Whitepaper On Electrification's Potential To Benefit The Environment, Economy, Local Communities

-- Ohio River Valley Institute Decarbonization Pathway Relies On Zero Emissions Resources, Energy Efficiency, Increased Electrification, Is Less Costly Than Natural Gas, Carbon Capture Options

-- PA PUC: Cost Of Natural Gas Provided By Major Utilities In PA Increased As Much As 154% Over Last Year [PaEN]

-- PUC Alerts Consumers Utility Natural Gas Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 128%, Electric Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 34%; Both Driven By Cost Of Natural Gas On World Markets [PaEN]

PA DEP Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 25 to March 3; More Well Plugging Sites Inspected [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - March 4 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 63 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 4 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Compliance Reports

-- Feature: 60 Years Of Fracking, 20 Years Of Shale Gas: Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Industrial Infrastructure Is Hiding In Plain Sight [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To File Annual Production/Waste Generation Reports For 61,655 Wells; Attorney General Continues Investigation Of Road Dumping Wastewater [PaEN]