Friday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 2.20.26

“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

Budget hearings will be held February 23-26, and March 2

March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

April 20, 21, 22

May 4, 5, 6

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

House Voting Schedule

Budget hearings will be held February 23-26, and March 2

March. 23, 24, 25

April 13, 14, 15, 27, 28, 29

May 4, 5, 6

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

February 26-- Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Department of Environmental Protection.

March 2-- House Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources. Click Here to watch live.

March 3-- Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Public Utility Commission.  

March 5-- House Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Public Utility Commission. Click Here to watch live.

March 18--  CANCELED. Rescheduled for April 30. DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Todd M. Wallace twallace@pa.gov.  (formal notice)

April 16-- DCED PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council meeting.  Penn State, State College.  10:00.  Contact: Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov. 

-- DCNR: Pine Creek Rail Trail Selected As Pennsylvania’s 2026 Trail Of The Year  [PaEN] 

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: Here’s Why Pine Creek Rail Trail Is PA’s 2026 Trail Of The Year

-- DEP: 16 More Counties Now In Drought Warning; 11 More Counties In Drought Watch  [PaEN] 

-- PennLive: List Of PA Counties Under Flood Watch Due To Potential For Ice Jams

-- WTAE: Flood Watch Issued In Western PA Due To Dangerous Ice Jams

-- The Derrick: ‘Soft Evacuation’ Takes Place In Oil City; Ice Jam Releases To Open Channel, End Emergency [PDF of Article]

-- WPXI: Beaver County Officials Closely Monitoring Connoquenessing Creek Levels As Ice Jams Cause Flood Risk

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: President’s Tariffs, ICE, Climate Change Raising Prices For Pittsburgh-Area Farms, Restaurants

-- AP: US Supreme Court Strikes Down President’s Sweeping Tariffs, Upending Central Plank Of His Economic Agenda; Push Expected To Refund $133 Billion Collected

-- PennDOT Announces $100 Million In Federal Funding Available For Public Electric Vehicle Chargers In PA

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Capital & Main Resolves Legal Challenge From CNX Resources Over Its Reporting With Editor’s Note Explaining What It Did Not Say Or Write About In An Article  [PaEN] 

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 8.7% Rate Increase Requested By UGI Gas Division  

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 5.9% Rate Increase, 35.7% Increase In Customer Charge Requested By National Fuel Gas  

-- PUC To Invite Comments On Proposed Rule Codifying Utility Customer Consumer Protections

-- POWER Interfaith Hosts Feb. 22 In-Person People's Hearing On Community Based, Affordable, Clean Electricity Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia

-- PUC Approves Smaller Rate Increase Than Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority Requested

-- Spotlight PA: PUC Judge Recommends Sale Of Troubled Rock Spring Water Company In Centre County To PA American Water

-- Penn State Extension Hosts March 18 In-Person Seeds To Saplings Saving Streams Workshop In York County  [PaEN] 

-- Carol Parenzan, Environmental Engineer, Author, Launches The Water Healer™, Debuts 'From the Rivers to the Bay,' a New Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education Series [PaEN]

-- February 21 Pennsylvania Bulletin Now Available

-- The Derrick: Regional News To Continue: Derrick Publishing Company, Oil Region Alliance Of Business Collaborate On Online Platform  [PDF of Article]

-- DCNR Resource News Highlights Governor’s Budget; Conestoga River Of The Year; Grant Opportunities Open  [PaEN]

-- Erie Times: Presque Isle Beaches Lacking Federal Funding For Sand For 2nd Year

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority, Motorcycle Group OK Deal To Build Off-Road Trail Network On Authority Land Despite Opposition From Neighbors

-- WHYY: Activists Celebrate The Return Of Slavery Exhibit At Philadelphia’s President’s House, Despite President’s Administration Appeal Of Court Order 

-- North Branch Land Trust Annual Dinner March 25 In Wilkes-Barre  [Click Here For Tickets]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: North Branch Land Trust To Host Dinner/Auction March 25

-- Lehigh Valley’s Wildlands Conservancy Highlights March Experiences, Educational Programs 

A.I. /Data Centers

-- Scranton Times: Carbondale Adopts Standards For A.I. Data Centers [PDF of Article] 

-- The Citizens Voice: Residents In Hollenback Twp. Debate A.I. Data Center Ordinance [PDF of Article]

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Residents Give Mixed Views On Restarting Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant To Power Microsoft A.I. Data Centers To Federal Regulators 

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Planned Restart Of Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant To Power Microsoft A.I. Data Centers Moves Forward Toward More Intense NRC Review

-- TribLive/Spotlight PA: State Data Center Tax Break Created To Boost Economy, Add Jobs In PA Could Cost State Taxpayers Billions  

-- Reuters: PPL Forecasts 2026 Profit Below Estimates, Lifts Spending As Utility Prepares To Meet Surging Power Demand From A.I. Data Centers By Building Power Generation, Expanding Transmission Networks

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: A.I. Data Centers Employ An Average Of 27 On-Site Workers - About The Same As An Average Olive Garden Restaurant

-- Politico: ‘Pay For Your Own Power:’ Shapiro Digs In On A.I. Data Center Energy Costs

-- Bloomberg Opinion: Onsite Generators A.I. ‘Bring Your Own Generation’ Electricity Stopgap Needs A Big Caveat

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- KDKA: Gasoline Prices In Pittsburgh Area Are Spiking; Here’s Why

-- Bloomberg: EQT Natural Gas Driller Expects $1 Billion Windfall On Winter Storm-Driven Gas Price Rally 

-- Bloomberg: President’s $33 Billion Ohio Natural Gas Power Plant Project Short On Details, Hasn’t Secured Binding Commitments, Needs A Lock On Equipment Suppliers, A Complete Surprise To State Regulators, PJM Grid Operator

Other States/National

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Permanent Fix For Huge Sewage Spill Into Potomac River Still Months Away

Federal Administration

-- The Guardian: President’s Order Seeks To Protect Roundup Weedkiller At Center Of Barrage Of Lawsuits 

-- AP: Bayer Agrees To $7.25 Billion Proposed Settlement Over Thousands Of Roundup Cancer Lawsuits

-- AP: President’s Climate Health Rollback Likely To Hit Poor, Minority Areas Hardest, Experts Say 

-- Bloomberg: President Says Climate Repeal Saves $1.3 Trillion; EPA Says It Might Cost Over $1.4 Trillion 

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: US Supreme Court Strikes Down President’s Sweeping Tariffs, Upending Central Plank Of His Economic Agenda; Push Expected To Refund $133 Billion Collected

-- Politics PA: Rep. Rabb (D-Philadelphia) Will Not Seek Reelection

-- WITF: 2,700 People Demand Lancaster County Sheriff End Partnership With President’s ICE 

-- Morning Call: Lehigh Valley Officials Debate Options For Blocking Plans For Immigrant Detention Centers In Warehouses By President’s ICE

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: President’s Tariffs, ICE, Climate Change Raising Prices For Pittsburgh-Area Farms, Restaurants

-- York Daily Record: Person Behind The ‘You’re Not Alone Leaving MAGA.org’ Billboards A Mystery

-- Post-Gazette: Mt. Pleasant School District Cuts Ties With Lifetouch School Photo Company After Connection To Epstein Files

-- TribLive: More Than 100 State Lawmakers Support Penn State Faculty Union Efforts

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports 11.6% Increase In Gambling Revenue In January

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[Posted: February 20, 2026]  PA Environment Digest