PA Environment Digest Blog: June 2024

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Thursday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 6.20.24

“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]

House next voting day June 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

Senate next voting day June 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

-- June 24-- NEW. House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee hearing on House Bill 2277 (Otten-D-Chester) Governor’s PA Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard. Room G-50 Irvis Building. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch live. Read more about agenda here.

-- June 25-- NEW. House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 589 (Kinkead-D-Allegheny) establishing a state landslide insurance program; House Bill 2393 (Friel-D-Chester) establishing a permit program for food waste disposal. Room G-50 Irvis Building. Call of the Chair. Click Here to watch live.

-- EPA Air Now Forecasts Code Orange Air Quality Day In Pittsburgh Region, Indiana County

-- Williamsport Sun: Mid State Trail Assn., Susquehanna Chapter Trout Unlimited Challenge PA General Energy Multiple Shale Gas Pipeline Plan In Northwestern Lycoming County

-- CNHInews: Advocates Urge True Clean Energy Approach For Hydrogen, Others Pine For PA’s Natural Gas

-- Erie Times: EPA To Sample Soil Of Former Erie Coke [Coal] Plant Neighbors To Check For Toxic Pollutants

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Shale Gas Drilling Impact Fees Bring In $180 Million For 2023 On Lower Gas Price, Less Drilling

-- TribLive: Natural Gas Well Impact Fee Allocations Drop; But ‘Every Little Bit Helps’

-- KDKA: Shell Petrochemical Plant Holding Emergency Drill TODAY In Beaver County

-- Inquirer: Summer Solstice 2024 - 10 Things To Know About The Longest Day Of The Year

-- TribLive: Excessive Heat Warning Extended Thru Saturday

-- WHYY: Philly Declares First Heat Health Emergency Of The Year Amid Scorching Temps

-- The Allegheny Front/WPSU: Climate Change Is Making Heat Waves Like This Week’s More Common And Severe In PA

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Going All-In On Electric Vehicles Hurts, Just Ask Hertz

-- TribLive: Jeannette Flood Project Set To Begin After Years Of Delays

-- Rodale Institute Annual Organic Field Day July 19 In Berks County

-- Post-Gazette - Mary Ann Thomas: Spotted Lanternfly Nymphs Are Back, You Might Need A Shop Vac

-- Beaver County Times: Corry Link In Erie To Pittsburgh Trail Is On Hold, Why Neighbors Don’t Want It

-- Manada Conservancy/Dauphin County: Ice Cream Social; Summer Native Plant Sale; Bird Blitz For Conservation; Climate Change & Penns Woods - What Does The Future Hold?

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Push To Save Native Trout In PA Hampered By Stream Study Backlog

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: PA Out Birdwatching To Build Third Statewide Bird Atlas

6th Oil/Natural Gas Spike: True Energy Independence Means Renewables

[There Is No Limit To What Oil/Natural Gas Industry Can Make You Pay]

-- Bloomberg: Cracks Appearing In LNG Gas Demand By China As Gas Supply Via Pipelines Grows

Other States/National/International

-- Reuters: Oil Companies Flare More Natural Gas, Defying Effort To Eliminate Practice

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: House Republican Policy Committee Wrestles With Tax Burden And The Local/State Divide

-- Inquirer: Democrats Plan To Spend Big To Flip Con. Scott Perry’s Seat; Republicans Say They’re Wasting Their Money

-- AP: Fight For Abortion Rights Gets An Unlikely Messenger In Swing State PA: Bob Casey

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Lackluster Accountability Continues To Mar PA’s Opioid Settlement Spending

-- Spotlight PA: Top Penn State Health Surgeon Warned Leaders About Transplant Problems Months Before Shutdown, Then He Was Let Go

-- Courier Times: What Does It Mean To Be Middle Class In PA? Did You Make The Cut?

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[Posted: June 20, 2024] PA Environment Digest

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Wednesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 6.19.24

"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]

House next voting day June 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

Senate next voting day June 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

-- DEP To Hold July 2 Virtual Hearing On PA General Energy Project To Construct 3.7 Miles Of Shale Gas, Water Pipelines Thru Exceptional Value, High Quality, Wild Trout Streams In Lycoming County [PaEN]

-- PennLive: Trout Unlimited, Mid State Trail Assn. Unhappy With Proposed Route Of PA General Energy Shale Gas Pipelines Thru Lycoming County

-- Master Watershed Stewards, Erie Water Works, Ernst Conservation Seeds, Volunteers Team Up To Plant Native Meadow In Erie [PaEN]

-- PUC: Act 13 Drilling Impact Fee Revenue Drops $100 Million From Last Year’s Record To $179.6 Million, Even Though Gas Production Increased In 2023 [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Shale Coalition: Shale Gas Impact Fee Returns $180 Million [$100 Million Less Than Last Year]; Natural Gas Prices Drop $1.8 Billion In 2023, [Down From International Price Spikes Of 2022]

-- TribLive: North Huntingdon Twp Could Get Nearly $7,000 For Gas Rights Under Township Land In Westmoreland County

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Shell Petrochemical Plant Explains Nighttime Fire Alarms At Beaver County Plant, Warns Sirens Will Sound Later This Week

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: CNX Plan To Turn Mine Methane Gas Into Jet Fuel A ‘Win-Win’ Or Carbon Accounting ‘Gimmick’?

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Will Creating Hydrogen Hubs In PA Get Us Away From Fossil Fuels? But How To Do It, And Whether It’s Possible Are Open Questions

-- PA Coal Alliance: Coal Industry Supports 5,164 Jobs, $2.2 Billion Of Direct Economic Value

-- TribLive: Some Western PA Customers Could Be Out Of Power Till Sunday Following Storm-Related Outages

-- The Hershey Company Updates Science-based Targets As It Advances Efforts To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

-- Post-Gazette: Patrick Dowd Leaving Allegheny Health Dept. Director Post For Pittsburgh’s Environmental Charter School

-- US Army Corps Of Engineers: Love Your Lake During July At Blue Marsh Lake In Berks County

-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation Virtual Book Club Features 'Susquehanna River Of Dreams' Author Susan Stranahan June 26 [PaEN]

-- Erie Times: Presque Isle Ranks High For Summer Solstice Sunrise Watching In Erie

-- Western PA Conservancy Protects 250 Acres To Safeguard Forestland, Water Quality In The French Creek Watershed, Venango County [PaEN]

-- Land Conservancy Of Adams County, Hugh & Nell Matthews Partner On 37+ Acre Conservation Easement [PaEN]

-- MCall: Lehigh County Preserved 400+ Farms, Here’s What The Future Holds

-- Game Commission: Volunteers Needed To County Pennsylvania's Birds For 3rd PA Bird Atlas [PaEN]

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Senate Republican Leader Says Budget Talks Need ‘A Kick In The Pants’

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Senate Republican Leader Says State Budget Talks Moving Along But May Miss July 1 Deadline

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Legal Pot Likely Won’t Be In This Year’s Budget, But Supporters Say There’s A Silver Lining

-- PA Capital-Star: Republicans Bring Nationwide Effort To Recruit Poll Workers, Poll Watchers To Bucks County

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports May Revenue Up 8.68% Over May 2023

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[Posted: June 19, 2024] PA Environment Digest

Master Watershed Stewards, Erie Water Works, Ernst Conservation Seeds, Volunteers Team Up To Plant Native Meadow In Erie

By Gary Rihn, Master Watershed Steward

A piece of public land is converted from an ecologic dead zone into a property full of environmental benefits when a public utility, concerned citizens, watershed stewards, and seed company combine efforts.

For many years, the Erie Water Works maintained their properties as vast manicured lawn areas. It was planted with turf grass, fertilized and cut regularly to maintain its fine appearance.

However, all of that was counterproductive to nature's preferred path, and a local concerned citizen noticed it.

"They were cutting it all every week, which was extreme," said Freda Tepfer. "So I decided to go to a meeting and express my concerns and some ideas that I had."

Tepfer teamed up with Jean Ganger, a Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward, to formulate a plan of action and recommendations.

With Tepfer's concerns and Ganger's knowledge, they approached Erie Water Works to see what they could work out as a possible solution that would be beneficial to all.

At Erie Water Works, they met CEO Craig Palmer, who was not only receptive to their ideas, but eager to engage at the ground level and help facilitate some changes.

Palmer commented, "We are always aware and sensitive to what's happening around our community. Anything involving environmental stewardship and community engagement is something I believe we can all get behind. This benefits many community partners at the same time; it goes beyond clean drinking water."

As the three started to formulate a plan, they enlisted the help of Greg Kedzierski at Ernst Conservation Seeds, who would provide the seed and technical expertise for the project.

In coordination with Erie Water Works, an area was chosen that was flat, out of the way yet visible to neighbors, and accessible outside of critical facility areas that were fenced in.

Kedzierski came in, prepared a plot of approximately 15 by 30 feet, and sowed the initial seeds of what will become a long-range multi-year project.

All plants chosen were native to this region of PA.

"I chose what is going to look good aesthetically together. The plants are also good for pollinators. This is going to look good for the neighbors while being a great pollinator garden," Kedzierski said.

He went on to explain that a diverse native meadow is beneficial on many levels compared to a grass monoculture.

"It becomes a place to meet. It brings communities together as a destination focal point. You can sit, watch birds and butterflies, and hopefully be inspired to do a similar project at home."

He noted that while this garden has 15-20 different species planted, a home garden can possibly be as small as three feet by five feet and filled with just three to five species.

A native garden takes a few years to establish itself due to the plants being slower growing than the annuals that a lot of homeowners are used to, but once established, they require very little maintenance.

The benefits of replacing turf grass with a native species garden or prairie are wide and varied.

Less gas is used for mowing, the soil is less compacted by mowers and foot traffic which leads to better percolation of water through it resulting in less runoff, less chemicals are applied to the ground, biodiversity for animals, and helping pollinators that have found themselves in serious decline are just a few.

Besides the physical benefits, there are personal benefits to a project like this. Tepfer noted that she sees it as a "changing of a paradigm, showing that this is something we can all do, even at home." Kedzierski said that something like this was pretty much restricted to the sides of highways until not that long ago.

"Now more communities are starting to get involved, it's a great start."

Ganger said that she had her "faith restored in corporations, with Ernst offering to provide the resources to Erie Water Works who in turn worked with us, all with a smile."

And Palmer summed it all up, noting that one person can still make a difference when he said, "There are people in the community that care, and cared enough to come to a public board meeting, with a plan, to make their concerns known. It's hard to turn away that kind of positive energy.”

To learn more about becoming a Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward, and get involved in projects like these, visit the Master Watershed Stewards website.

Visit the Erie Water Works and Ernst Conservation Seeds websites for more information.

Upcoming Events

-- Chesapeake Urban Stormwater Professionals Free Training Begins Soon!

-- June 24: Twilight Pond Walk, Dingmans Ferry, Pike County

-- June 26: History of the Susquehanna River, York

-- June 26: Celebrating 50 Years Of Parks & Recreation In Northampton County

-- June 27: Walk With Watershed Stewards, Lancaster County

-- June 27: Testing Emerging Contaminants In PA Private Wells (Webinar)

-- July 30: Using Citizen Science Tool To Track Stream Health (Webinar)

-- July 13: Pittsburgh Riverside Trails Bike Tour

-- Multiple Dates: Private Water Supply Education & Testing

-- Online Water Courses