PA Environment Digest Blog: 127 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 127 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!

-- PEC Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards Recognize Pittsburgh International Airport; Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail; David & Lillian Cale For Their Gift Of Laurel Caverns [PaEN]

-- Native Garden At Wissahickon High School, Montgomery County Thrives Thanks To Work Of Master Watershed Steward Erin Crump [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: Janus School Students Release Trout Into Little Chiques Creek From Trout In The Classroom Program

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Pennsylvania Again Led Nation In Dam Removals For 2025

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Caily Grube Creating Lasting Impact Beyond Litter Cleanup At Allegheny CleanWays

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Editorial: Parks Offer Crucial Hands-On Learning Opportunities

-- WTAE: Historical Marker To Be Installed On Montour Trail In Western PA For Trail Land Once Owned By George Washington

-- May 8 Take Five Fridays With Pam, PA Parks & Forests Foundation Now Available [I Love My State Parks Week]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 2 to 8: DEP Inspects 124 Abandoned Conventional Wells For Plugging; Forgot To Get A Permit For Pipeline Construction; Failed To Submit A Well Plugging Bond [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Section 401 Water Quality Certification For Eastern Gas Transmission 20-Inch Natural Gas Pipeline In Salem Twp., Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- The Center Square Guest Essay: Act 13 Shale Gas Drilling Impact Fee ‘Smart Deal’ For PA Communities - By Jim Welty Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition [Inconsistent Revenue Is Feast Or Famine For Communities ]

-- ‘Emergency’ Upset Natural Gas/Chemical Flare At The MarkWest Harmon Creek Cryogenic Natural Gas Processing Plant Briefly Creates Small Sun Over Washington County At 3:05 a.m. May 4 As It Continuously Burns - Live Breathe Project Cameras [May 4]

-- PA House Passes Bills To Establish Framework For Developing Clean, Safe Geothermal Energy, Advanced Transmission Line Technology, Retooling PA Energy Financing Authority [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: PA House Unanimously Passes Bill To Require Utilities To Incorporate Review Of Advanced Transmission Technology In Transmission Line Proposals

-- The Allegheny Front: Federal Grant To Pay For DEP ‘Enhanced’ Geothermal Energy Project Using CNX Shale Gas Well In North Mahoning Twp., Indiana County

-- PA House Energy Committee Reports Out Bills To Authorize Virtual Power Plants, Address Connecting New Generation Quickly To Improve Grid Reliability [PaEN]

-- Environmental Advocates Urge Lawmakers To Pass Bills Giving PUC Authority To Regulate Data Centers, Prohibit Nondisclosure Agreements, Promote Clean Energy To Reduce Energy Costs [PaEN]

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - May 11 [PaEN]

-- PJM Report Offers 'Frank’ Assessment Of Wholesale Electricity Market Facing Burgeoning Electricity Demand, Reluctant Investors, Long Lead Times For Power Plant Construction: 'The Current Situation Is Not Tenable' [PaEN] [Warning]

-- PA Capital-Star: Citing ‘Unsustainable Stress’ From Price Volatility, PJM Grid Operator Lays Out Reform Options

-- PJM Interconnection Prepared To Meet Summer Peak Energy Demands With Adequate Resources Under Expected Conditions [PaEN]

-- Sen. Laughlin Introduces Resolution Urging PA To Enter Into Multistate Compacts To Oversee Policies, Procedures For Planning, Siting, Construction, Operation Of Interstate Electric Transmission Lines [PaEN] [Warning]

-- Utility Dive: American Electric Power Eyes Exit From PJM, SPP Over Slow Connection Of New Generation In Face Of A.I. Data Center Demand [AEP operates in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, WV In PJM] [Warning]

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp. Issues Level 3 Alert, Mandates Action To Address Sudden A.I. Data Center Load Losses [Warning]

-- EENews: North American Electric Reliability Corp Issues Level 3 Alert On Sudden Large Load Loss From A.I. Data Centers

-- North American Electric Reliability Corp Issues Level 3 Alert On Grid Reliability Focused On Sudden Load Loss From A.I. Data Centers

-- Spotlight PA: Shapiro Demands A Stop To ‘Excessive’ Electric, Natural Gas, Water Utility Rate Increases, But Has Little Authority To Force Change

-- LancasterOnline: PPL Electric Default Service Customers To See 1.5% Increase In What They Pay For Electricity They Use Starting June 1

-- TribLive Editorial: Rising Electric Bills Leave Pennsylvanians Powerless

-- Republican Herald Editorial: PUC Must Stand Up To Repeated Electric, Natural Gas, Water Utility Rate Hike Requests

-- Guest Essay: Every Community Evaluating An A.I. Data Center Proposal Should Ask - What Financial Instrument Is Posted Before Construction That Guarantees The Site Will Be Remediated If The Facility Becomes Obsolete, Is Abandoned Or Closes? - By PA Data Center Accountability, Carbon County [PaEN]

-- Washington & Jefferson Center For Energy Finds Communities Are Unprepared For The Rapid Industrialization Brought By A.I. Data Centers And Their Impacts; Proposals Are Outpacing Regulatory, Planning Processes [PaEN]

-- The Center Square: Municipalities Use Local 180-Day A.I. Data Center Moratoriums To Create Zoning Rules ‘In Peace’

-- Scranton Times: Data Center Coalition Industry Group Weighs In On NE PA A.I. Data Center Landscape

-- TribLive: PA US Sen. McCormick Defends 3,200 Acre Homer City Data Center Campus, Largest Gas Power Plant In PA To Feed Centers Amid Environmental Concerns In Indiana County [Warning]

-- WJAC: Wife Of PA US Sen. McCormick Named Meta [Facebook] President, Vice Chairman, ‘Heavily Involved In Accelerating The Pursuit Of… A.I.” [1.12.26] [Warning]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Section 401 Water Quality Certification For Restart Of Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant In Dauphin County [PaEN]

-- DEP Accepting Comments On Water Quality Permit For Transmission Line Project To Connect Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant To Grid In Dauphin County [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Water Quality Permit Amendment To Correct Wetlands Impacts For Homer City Generation Data Center Project In Indiana County [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Stormwater Permit For PPL Utilities Juniata-Shermansdale, Juniata-Bernheisel High Voltage Transmission Line Projects In Perry, Cumberland Counties To Serve Data Centers In Middlesex Twp. [PaEN]

-- PUC Announces 2 June 30 Hearings On Proposed PPL Utilities Transmission Line Projects In Hazle Twp., Luzerne County Serving Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Centers [PaEN]

-- May 10: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Down Another Penny Since Yesterday, Now $1.56/Gallon Higher To $4.67 Since Feb. 27 [15 Cents/Gallon Higher Since May 3]]

-- May 10: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $4.52 Ohio- $4.71 PA- $4.67

-- Feb. 27: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $2.98 Ohio- $2.79 PA- $3.11

-- The Allegheny Front: How Much Could You Save By Driving An Electric Vehicle?

-- The Center Square: PA Motorists ‘Stressed And Struggling’ As Average State Gasoline Price Hits $4.64 [Actually $4.69 This Morning]

-- Warren Times: Gasoline Prices Surge 43 Cents/Gallon In 3 Days; Typically Warren County Highest In The State

-- Post-Gazette: Ohio, Midwest Grapple With Refinery Disruptions Raising Prices Higher Than In PA In Turnabout

-- PA Environmental Council In Case You Missed It In April: RISE PA Decarbonization Grants; Clean Water Grants; Sojourns; Western PA Awards [PaEN]

-- PA Solar Center: Learn How To Advocate For REAL Energy Independence For PA During Online Workshops June 8, 15 [PaEN]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Guest Essay: Myths And Facts About Solar Energy Facilities - Relax, Solar Panels Won’t Give You Cancer

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: Lancaster County Farmland Advocates And Farmers Should Find Middle Ground On Solar Energy Facilities

-- The Center Square: Report: RGGI Carbon Taxes Cost Pennsylvania $5 Billion [RGGI Was Never Implemented In PA Due To Court Challenge, Other Market Forces Were At Work]

-- YaleEnvironment360: In Pennsylvania Coal Country, Black Lung Disease Surges As Federal Protections Stall

-- TribLive: DEP To Hold June 16 Hearing On LCT Energy Rustic Ridge 1 Coal Mine Water Quality Permit In Donegal Twp., Westmoreland County

-- DEP To Host June 2 Informal Conference, Hearing On Permit To Add 4,342 Acres To Rosebud Clymer A Coal Mine In Cherryhill Twp., Indiana County [PaEN]

-- The Appalachian Voice: Many Federal Permitting ‘Reform’ Proposals Would Further Strip Environmental Protections, Weaken Public Input

-- DEP: Increased Protections For More Than 530 Miles Of 98 Streams Now Final [PaEN]

-- Register Now! Choose Clean Water Coalition 2026 Choose Clean Water Conference Set For May 18-20 In Lancaster [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Field Project Examines What ‘Thriving Ag’ Could Look Like In The Future

-- Penn State Extension June 9 Webinar On Creating Connections Through Citizen - Community Science [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts June 12 In-Person Field To Data - Environmental Stream Health Monitoring In Action Workshop In Huntingdon County [PaEN]

-- Stroud Water Research Center UpStream News: Boots-In-The-Water; Whose Mud Is It? From Stream Sensors To Bee Hives

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Names Katie Cassidy New Deputy Director

-- TribLive: Parks Twp. Residents Told More Details About Nuclear Waste Dump Cleanup In Armstrong County