PA Environment Digest Blog: Thursday PA Environment & Energy Articles

“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

October 3 (NV), 6, 7, 8, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29

November 17, 18, 19

December 8, 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

House Voting Schedule

September 29, 30

October 1, 6, 7, 8, 27, 28, 29

November 17, 18, 19

December 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

WARNING: This Is Budget Season, Watch Out For Anything!

TODAY 10:00: Agenda Posted. DEP Recycling Fund Advisory Committee + DEP Solid Waste Advisory Committee joint meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 10:00 a.m. Contact Laura Henry at 717-772-5713 or ahenry@pa.gov. [Permitting New Hazardous Waste Facilities]

TODAY Noon: Senate Game & Fisheries Committee hearing on Game Commission land acquisition process. Driftwood Senior Center, 7806 Bridge St. Driftwood, Cameron County. Noon. Click Here to watch online.

TODAY 6:00: Virtual. Environmental Health Project, Partners Webinar On Health Professionals Toolkit For Protecting Patients From Medical Conditions Related To Oil & Gas Development [PA Medical Society Learning Center Course Available]. 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

September 29-- NEW. House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee meets to consider House Bill 664 (Webster-D-Montgomery) directing PennDOT to develop best practice guide for road salt management. Room 515 Irvis Building. 11:00 a.m. Click Here to watch live.

September 30-- NEW. House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee meets to consider House Bill 505 (Donahue-D-Lackawanna) modernizing the Act 129 electric utility energy efficiency program as part of Governor’s Lightning Energy Plan. Room B-31 Main Capital. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch live.

-- Trout Unlimited - Every River Needs A Champion: Russ Collins, Doc Fritchey TU Chapter Working In Dauphin, Lebanon Counties [PaEN]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader Guest Essay: Let’s Be Clear - Orange Creeks Polluted By Abandoned Mine Drainage Require Faster Clean Up In Chesapeake Bay Watershed - By Robert Hughes, Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation

-- Observer-Reporter: Study Shows Probable Link Between Freeport Twp. Water Well Contamination And Fracking In Greene County [PDF of Article]

-- The Center Square: Physicians For Social Responsibility PA Speak Out Against Governor’s Proposed RESET Energy Siting Bill To Override Local Land Use Controls [House Bill 502]

-- The Derrick: PA Assn. Of Township Supervisors Updates Venango County Townships On Its Opposition To House Bill 502 Overriding Local Land Use Controls On Energy Facility Siting [PDF of Article]

-- EPA Issues Sandstone Development Permit For Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit In Cyclone, McKean County [PaEN]

-- PennTAP Now Accepting Applications For $40 Million Of Round 2 RISE PA Small, Mid-Sized PA Industry Decarbonization Grants [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Catholic Parish Goes Solar To Save Money, Shine A Light On Sustainability

-- TribLive: Hempfield Twp. In Westmoreland County OKs 3 MW Solar Energy Facility, 2nd Solar Facility In 4 Months

-- WESA-Rachel McDevitt: Democratic Cong. Deluzio Highlights Solar Energy As A Way To Save Money On Energy Bills, Address Climate Change

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: How Will Brunot Island In The Ohio River Be Redeveloped After 50-Year-Old Gas Power Plant Shuts Down? Could Be A ‘Crown Jewel’ Of Pittsburgh

-- LehighValleyLive: Lehigh Valley Watersheds Celebrated At Resource Protection Conference With Bat Talk, Family-Friendly Bike Ride

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority Condemns 125 Acres Of Reclaimed Strip Mine Land In Reservoir Watershed Above The Horseshoe Curve

-- Horn Farm Center For Agricultural Education Urges Opposition To Warehouse Development On Neighboring Property In Hellam Twp. York County

-- York Dispatch: Warehouse Proposal Near Horn Farm Center Draws Opposition In Hellam Township

-- York Dispatch: Dover Township To Hold Special Meeting Sept. 29 On 200-Acre Mega Warehouse Complex

-- WHYY: EPA Approves Long-Awaited Protections For Endangered Fish In Delaware River

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Oct. 6 Webinar To Train Natural Resource Professionals Advising Woodland Owners On Forest Carbon Markets [PaEN]

-- DCNR Resource: PA Is Growing The Outdoor Economy; Helping Seniors Connect To Outdoors; Seeking Passionate Trail Advocate [PaEN]

-- DCNR Invests In Warriors Path State Park, Huntingdon & Broad Top Rail Trail In Bedford County [Click Here for video/photos]

-- Keystone Trails Association: Explore The PA Wilds During The Keystone Hiking & Outdoor Weekend Oct. 17-19 In Clarion County [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Trail Association Hosts Dr. Allen Dieterich-Ward Oct. 16 For A Presentation On The Environmental History Of Pennsylvania At Fort Hunter, Dauphin County [PaEN]

-- Join DCNR’s Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council For Oct. 8 Webinar On Workforce Capacity Needed To Support DCNR's Mission [PaEN]

-- Fish & Boat Commission Now Accepting Applications For Boating Facility Grants Thru Dec. 1

Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- TribLive: US Steel Says It Will Invest $100 Million In Braddock Steel Works [Does Not Include Clairton Coke [Coal] Works, Site Of Deadly Explosion]

A.I. /Data Centers

-- TribLive: Springdale Planning Commission Holds Off A.I. Data Center Decision In Allegheny County

-- Utility Dive: PJM Grid Operator Says States Must Address Electricity Generation Deficit Issues; Siting, Permit Reform Needed To Overcome ‘Hostile’ Opposition

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Your Electric Bill Is Subsidizing Big Tech’s A.I. Data Center Dreams - By Rep. Mandy Steele (D-Allegheny), Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes The Sun, Joe Morinville, EIS Solar

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Politicians Should Keep Their Hands Off PJM Power Grid - By Todd Snitchler, Electric Power Generators. [High Prices Are ‘Essential Market Signals’]

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- Financial Times: US Shale Drilling Bosses Decry ‘Chaos’ In President’s Administration’s Energy Policy In Dallas Fed Energy Survey

-- Reuters: Oil/Gas Execs Dour In Dallas Fed Energy Survey: ‘Right Now We Are Bleeding’

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- PA State Treasurer Garrity Announces $500 Million Short-Term Loan Program For Counties, Head Start As State Budget Impasse Continues

-- PennLive: PA State Treasurer Garrity To Open $500 Million Loan Pool For Counties, Head Start As State Budget Impasse Continues

-- Post-Gazette: Poll: PA Republican Primary Voters Favor Sen. Mastriano Over Endorsed Candidate Stacy Garrity By Wide Margin

-- TribLive: Gov. Tom Corbett, Retired Federal Judge Robert Cindrich: Attacking Judiciary Poses Danger And Threat To Democracy

-- PennLive - John Baer: PA Supreme Court Retention Elections Are Very Different This Year

-- TribLive: Carrick High School Student Stabs 3 Schoolmates In Pittsburgh, Police Say

-- PennLive: Parents Of Transgender Children Fear UPMC Will Hand Medical Records To President’s Justice Department