86 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 86 new stories in the PA Environment Digest about individuals, groups, local governments, farmers, businesses, watershed groups and many more working all across Pennsylvania to restore and protect the environment and show others the beauty that surrounds us.

Thank you for your leadership!

-- Keystone Trails Association Honors Outstanding Volunteers, Hikers, Trail Leaders On Dec. 6 Celebration At Ned Smith Center For Nature & Art, Dauphin County  [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Conservancy Honors Former National Park Service Director Robert G. Stanton, Ann Jones, Lysle Sherwin As Champions Of The Chesapeake Bay Watershed  [PaEN]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader Editorial: Students At Wilkes-Barre Area Career & Technical Center Celebrate Giving Back To Nature

-- The Derrick: Kara Kauffman Continues Her Husband’s Mission As New Director Of Two Mile Run County Park In Venango County [PDF of Article]

-- PA Resources Council Announces Winners Of 2025 Gene Capaldi Lens On Litter Photo Contest  [PaEN]  

-- Observer-Reporter: Fayette County Teen’s Photo Wins Prize In State Anti-Litter Contest  

-- Environmental Quality Board Meets Dec. 9 On Petitions To Increase Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells, Oil & Gas Wastewater Processing, Water System Operator, Radiation Protection Fees  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 22 to 28: $3.3 Million Penalty; 10,000 Gallon Spill Into Mine Voids, For 4th Time; 21 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Wet Fracking Sand ‘Escapes’ Containment  [PaEN]

-- DEP Settlement With Energy Transfer/Sunoco, Atlantic Richfield Imposes $3.3 Million Penalty, Including $1 Million Community Improvement Projects For Polluting Allegheny River  [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Energy Transfer/Sunoco, Atlantic Richfield To Pay $3.3 Million Penalty For Decades Of Oil Pollution In Allegheny River

-- DEP To Host Dec. 8 Virtual Update On Response To Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipeline Leak In Upper Makefield Twp., Bucks County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issues Lazy Oil Company Violations For Abandoning 12 Conventional Wells In Venango County; None Of The Wells Could Be Found At Their GPS Coordinates; If You Know More, Call DEP  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: MarkWest Liberty Midstream Pipeline Construction Results In 10,000 Gallon Spill Into Coal Mine Void Under Washington County, For The 4th Time  [PaEN]   

-- TribLive: 2 Years After Rustic Ridge Natural Gas Explosion That Left 6 People Dead, Lot Could See New Home Built Next Year In Allegheny County 

-- Williamsport Sun: Williamsport Sees Dip In Act 13 Drilling Impact Fee Revenue In Recent Years [Because It Isn’t Based On Gas Production, But Number Of Wells

-- Environmental Defense Fund: President’s EPA Delays Methane Pollution Protections From Oil & Gas Industry Despite Health Risks, Energy Waste, Widespread Opposition  [Warning]

-- EPA Extends Deadlines For Oil & Gas Industry Methane Emissions Reporting And Certain Compliance Dates  [Warning]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Draft 2026 Integrated Water Quality Assessment Report-- 37% Of PA Streams Have Impaired Water Quality For One Or More Uses; Increase In Streams Assessed  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For Site Construction Of Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus 4.5 GW Natural Gas Power Plant In Indiana County  [PaEN]

-- The Guardian: How President Derailed Coal Country’s Clean Energy Revival: ‘Deeply Demoralizing’   [Warning]

-- WHYY: Federal Energy Efficiency Tax Credit Ended By Congressional Republicans To Expire Soon [Warning]

-- EPA Extends Deadline For Compliance Of Coal Waste Surface Impoundments By 3 Years To 2031   [Warning]

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: President’s EPA Again Reverses Course On Coke [Coal] Oven Rule For Toxic Air Pollution, Granting 2-Year Waivers To Comply  [Warning]

-- AP: President’s EPA Moves To Abandoned Rule That Sets Tough Standards For Deadly Soot Pollution   [Warning]

-- Clean Air Task Force: EPA Asks Court To Strike Down Fine Particulate Air Pollution Standard Threatening Public Health, Undermining Obligation In Federal Clean Air Act  [Warning]

-- PublicPower.org: US DOE Extends Closure Date Again For Eddystone Natural Gas Power Plant In Delaware County Under ‘Emergency’ Order  [Click Here for Order]  [Warning]

-- The Guardian: State Law Changes Could Soon Bring Plug-In Solar Energy To Millions Across US  [Includes PA] 

-- TribLive: Eco-Conscious Residents Finds ‘Off-The-Grid’ Solar Energy Success In Aspinwall, Allegheny County

-- E2 Economy + Environment: PA Clean Energy Grew 5X Faster Than Rest Of PA Economy, Added 3,000 Jobs In 2024

-- Green Building Alliance/Resilient Reading Host Dec. 9 Roundtable On Reducing Energy Costs, Adaptive Reuse Of Buildings  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: Pitt’s 8 Planned Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Met With Pushback From Community

-- Inquirer: PA, NJ Getting More Electric Vehicle Chargers Even As EV Sales Start To Dip [Without Federal Incentives Ended By Congressional Republicans]

-- PJM Market Monitor Files Complaint With FERC Saying PJM Is Proposing To Allow A.I. Data Centers To Connect To Grid That It Cannot Reliably Serve, Will Require Blackouts To Maintain Service  [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: PJM Market Monitor: No More PJM Data Centers Unless They Can Be Reliably Served  

-- Inside Climate News: Members Of PJM Can’t Agree On How To Handle Surging Power Demand From A.I. Data Centers That Has Already Driven Up Electricity Prices For Millions 

-- PUC Commissioners Agree On Need To ‘Get It Right’ On Reforming Grid Connection Process For Solar, Renewable, All Energy Sources To Protect Consumers, Grid Reliability  [PaEN]

-- PUC Invites Comments On Model Tariff For Connecting A.I. Data Center To The Grid

-- Utility Dive: US DOE A.I. Data Center Load Connection Proposal Sparks Federal-State Jurisdiction Concerns, Data Centers Offer Qualified Support 

-- Utility Dive: FERC Approves PECO - Amazon A.I. Data Center Transmission Agreement For Bucks County; Rejected Call To Assess Impact On Energy Costs For Existing Ratepayers, Energy Capacity

-- Post-Gazette: Pushback Mounts From Montgomery County To Allegheny County As A.I. Data Centers Flourish In Pennsylvania: Grid Reliability, Energy Costs Soaring  [PDF of Article]

-- Better Path Coalition Hosts Dec. 3 Online Brown Bag Briefing On A.I. Data Centers vs. Communities  [PaEN]

-- Tribune-Democrat: Clean Air Council Opposing Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus 4.5 GW Natural Gas Power Plant Permit   [PDF of Article]

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - December 1  [PaEN]

-- PUC Chairman Highlights 'Extraordinary Challenges' Pennsylvania Families Are Facing This Winter With Energy Bills And His Appreciation For Groups Providing Assistance  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Electricity Costs Set To Rise In Most Of PA Next Month Due To A.I. Data Center Demands, Backlog Of New Generation Sources [Duquesne Light: Customers Facing ‘Astronomically Higher Bills’]

-- TribLive: Why Your Electric Bill Is Rising This Winter And How To Prepare [A.I. Data Center Demand, Rising Natural Gas Costs]

-- PUC: Most PA Electric Utility Consumers To See 3.7% To 10.6% Increase In Electricity Prices During The Next 3 Months Starting Dec. 1  [PaEN] 

-- WHYY: How Can I Prevent A Utility Shutoff During The Winter Months?

-- Utility Dive: US EIA: Residential Electricity Prices Continue Rise, Up 7.4% In September; Natural Gas Up 47.4%; No One Sees A Near-Term Solution

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Gas Works Residential Customers To See Monthly Bills Jump By About $6

-- UGI Gas To Increase Gas Cost By About $1 Per Month Starting Dec. 1

-- Wyoming County Press Examiner: Stanley Cooper Sr. Chapter Trout Unlimited, Wyoming, Luzerne Conservation Districts, EPCAMR, Game Commission Conduct Assessment, Insect Collection Along Bowman Creek

-- Penn State Extension Watershed Winds Online Learning Opportunities, Interns ID Ag BMP Opportunities

-- Morning Call: Lehigh County Authority Continues Awareness Campaign On Lead Drinking Water Pipe Replacement Project

-- TribLive: City Of Pittsburgh To Transfer Water, Sewer Assets To Pittsburgh Water Authority

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Waterfront Development Tax Credit Survives PA State Budget Battle

-- Inquirer: Meet The People Who Use Pennsylvania Rivers To Create Art

-- PA Capital-Star: Emergency Management Disaster Aid Scores Increase In State Funding To Offset Loss Of Federal Support

-- Inquirer: Philly Area’s Most Flood-Prone Waterways Mapped

-- York Dispatch: Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant To Conduct Siren Testing Dec. 3

-- TribLive Letter: Littering Is Ruining Our Roads - By Guy Woodward, Hunker

-- WITF: Public Officials Cheer, Watchdogs Fume Over PA Supreme Court Softening Key Public Access Law  [Warning]

-- Foundation For Sustainable Forests - Loving The Land: The Liebenguth Family Woodland In Forest County: ‘The Land Is A Sacred Place’  [PaEN] 

-- Natural Lands Partners With Landowner, Thornbury Township To Permanently Preserve 14.6 Acre Property In Delaware County  [PaEN]

-- Berks Nature Places Conservation Easement On 19.48 Acre Farm In Historic Butter Valley, Berks County  [PaEN]

-- Beaver Times: North Country Trail Assn. Accepts Land Donation In Wampum Area, Lawrence County

-- LancasterOnline: PennDOT Wants To Use Part Of Natural Lands Sadsbury Woods Preserve In Chester County For Improvements To US 30/10 Bypass  [PDF of Article]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Feb. 21 Spring Symposium On Transforming Traditional Lawns Into Resilient, Life-Supporting Habitats With Native Plants  [PaEN] 

-- AP: Christmas Tree Retailers Find Lots To Like At PA Wholesale Auction

-- Penn State Extension Woods & Wildlife News: Forest Health Observations; 2026 Agroforestry Conference; Forest Layers - The Understory; Online Learning Opportunities

-- Registration Open!  PA Recreation & Park Society Conference & Expo March 24-27, Manheim, Lancaster County  [PaEN] 

-- DCNR Grants News: NW PA Advances Recreation Economy Study; Community Conservation Grants Open Jan. 12; ATV/Snowmobile Grants Open Feb. 2 

-- Observer-Reporter: National Tunnel On Montour Trail Closed Due To Deteriorating Ceiling 

-- Altoona Mirror: Rails To Trails Officials Hopeful Lower Trail’s Dilling Bridge Will Reopen Before Winter

-- Inquirer: Gulph Road Connector Trail Project Planned Near King Of Prussia Mall Gets New Funding

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Natural Playgrounds Are A Worthy Investment In Children And The Environment

-- Tribune-Democrat: Cambria County Water Rescue Team Gets Grants For Rescue Boats

-- Post-Gazette/AP: National Parks Adopts ‘Americans First!’ Fee Policy, Increasing Park Fees For International Tourists Visiting Popular Parks  [Warning]

-- Morning Call Guest Essay: President’s Administration Putting National Parks In Peril - By John Plonski, National Parks Volunteer, Former Executive Deputy DCNR  [Warning]

-- PA Capital-Star: Rifle Deer Hunting Season Begins In PA Saturday; With 2 Sunday Hunting Days 

-- LancasterOnline: Rare Gray Kingbird Spotted In Lancaster County

-- Erie Times: Rare Mexican Axolotl Found In Walnut Creek, Erie County: What Is It And What Happened To It?

-- CBSNews: Axolotl, Rare Salamander Native To Mexico, Discovered In Erie County Stream

-- WHYY: Which Species Could Be Impacted By Proposed Weakening Of Federal Endangered Species Act Protections?  [Warning]

-- Help Wanted: Fish & Boat Commission Seasonal Fisheries Biologist Aide [PaEN]

Visit the PA Environment Digest website to learn more.

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[Posted: November 30, 2025]   PA Environment Digest