Awards/Recognition
-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader: Greater Nanticoke Area School District Team Wins Luzerne County Envirothon Competition
-- WNEP: H. S. Students Tackle Nonpoint Source Pollution At Schuylkill County Envirothon
-- Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation 30th Anniversary Celebration Sept. 19 In Luzerne County [PaEN]
-- Pennsylvania Turnpike Releases Report On Award-Winning Pollinator Initiative [PaEN]
-- Observer-Reporter: PennDOT Honors Adopt-A-Highway Litter Cleanup Crews In Washington County
Grants
-- DEP Invests Over $1 Million In 46 Environmental Education Projects, Supporting Summer Camps, Field Research, Classroom To Creek Learning Across PA; Next Grant Round Opens In August [PaEN]
Help Wanted
Upcoming Events
-- DEP: Peregrine Falcon Eggs Are Hatching On The DEP/DCNR Rachel Carson Building In Harrisburg! [Watch Live!]
-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Hosts May 7 Webinar On Licensing Water Well Drillers To Enhance Drinking Water Safety [PaEN]
-- Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Bay Host May 7 Webinar On Faith And Flood Resilience In Our Communities [PaEN]
-- Call For Presentations: Delaware River Watershed Forum, Sept. 29-30 University Of Delaware; May 7 Webinar On Submitting Proposals [PaEN]
-- Community Choice Aggregation Working Group Hosts May 13 Webinar On How Boroughs Can And Other Municipalities Could Purchase Power For Their Residents, Business And Lower Electric Bills [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension May 27 and June 24 Webinars On Private Water Supply Education And Water Testing, 1:00 p.m.
-- Penn State Extension To Host Keystones Of Ag Best Management Practices In-Person Workshop June 3-4 In State College [PaEN]
-- PA Technical Assistance Program July 16 Webinar On Funding, Incentives For Energy Efficiency Improvements For Manufacturers [PaEN]
-- FirstEnergy: On April 27 WestPenn Power Announced It Will Distribute Free Trees April 27 In Jeannette, Westmoreland County
-- Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Spring Migration Underway: Latest Counts Now Available
-- Planet Philadelphia Radio Show: May 1 - Local Resilience Training And Planning To Cope With Changing Weather Conditions, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Public Participation
-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council Meets May 12 For Presentations On A Data Center Guide From Chester, Montgomery Counties; PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Contamination In Biosolids [PaEN]
-- LOTS GOING ON! PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 2 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For 4.5 Mile EQT ARO Natural Gas Pipeline On State Forest Land In Lycoming County [PaEN]
-- READ CAREFULLY! DEP Posted 62 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 2 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On 2nd Stormwater Permit For SNA North LLC/QTS A.I. Data Center Project In Salem Twp., Luzerne County [PaEN]
-- DEP To Hold May 21 Informal Conference To Take Comments On The Proposed Addition Of 7,154 Acres To The Rosebud Mining Company Penfield Coal Mine In Clearfield County [PaEN]
-- DEP To Hold June 16 Hearing On Water Quality Permit For Rustic Ridge II Coal Mining Permit In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- Public Utility Commission Sets July 10 Telephonic Hearing On PPL Condemnation Of 30 Properties For The Sugarloaf 500/230KV Transmission Line In Luzerne County To Serve Data Centers [PaEN]
-- Post-Gazette Final Editorial: Goodbye, Pittsburgh [New Owners Do Not Support Or Oppose Public Policies Or Candidates For Public Office]
-- TribLive Editorial: Do Rigid Public Comment Rules Help? When People Feel their Voices Are Being Muted, They Shout Louder. Someone Needs To Give In On This Staring Contest, And It Shouldn’t Be the Public [Springdale, Allegheny County]
Programs/Information
-- Gov. Shapiro Announces $267 Million Investment In 31 PA Industry Projects To Reduce Air Pollution, Cut Energy Costs, Create Jobs, And Combat Greenhouse Gas Emissions In 23 Counties; Next Grant Round Opens May 15 [PaEN]
-- Republican Herald: 2 Schuylkill Businesses Receive RISE PA State Grants To Cut Energy Costs
-- DCNR: Grid-Scale Solar Energy Installations Are Not Permitted On Any DCNR Lands Or On Lands That Have Received DCNR Grant Funds [PaEN]
-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Guest Essay: Reflecting On Progress Protecting Public Health And The Environment In The Wyoming Valley - By Andy Reilly, CEO of Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: How Long Will The Impacts Of The Massive Potomac River Sewage Spill Be Felt?
-- CBF: PA Supreme Court Ruling Local Stormwater Management Charges Are A Tax Is A 'Gut-Punch' To Clean Water Efforts [PaEN]
-- PA House Committee Unanimously Reports Out Bipartisan Legislation To Ban PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' In Baby And Personal Care Products [PaEN]
-- Natural Resources Defense Council: Congress Raids Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund [$500 Million], Well Plugging Funds [$285 Million] That Help Rural Communities [Cuts Impact PA]
-- TheDerrick.com: Drones Survey Venango County For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells As Part Of Environmental Defense Fund Project [PDF of Article]
-- Environmental Defense Fund: Rollback Of Federal Methane Emission Limits On Oil & Gas Facilities Have Wasted $4.8 Billion Worth Of Natural Gas That Could Have Served 22 Million Homes- And Counting [PaEN]
-- South Mountain Partnership, Shippensburg University: Warehousing And Particulate Matter Pollution Study In The Cumberland Valley [PaEN]
-- TribLive: Family Of Westmoreland County Woman Who Died In Abandoned Mine Sinkhole Sues Restaurant, US Steel
-- TribLive: West Mifflin School District Creates Trail Walk And Arboretum That Serves Wide Audience In Allegheny County
-- TheDerrick.com: Ground Broken For Preschool Nature Classroom On Grove City College Campus, Mercer County-- Tribune-Democrat: Sept. 11 National Memorial Trail Alliance Breaks Ground On New Connector In Somerset County
-- TribLive: Keystone Trail Assn. Hosts Spring Hiking Weekend In Laurel Highlands
-- WHYY - Zoe Read: Pennsylvania Encourages Homeowners To Ditch Their Lawns For Meadows
-- Penn State Extension Master Gardener Plant Sale Directory By County
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Explore Pine Creek Rail Trail, Pennsylvania’s Trail Of The Year
-- Warren Times: Growing Tradition: Community Members Gathered At Crescent Park To Celebrate Arbor Day
-- Post-Gazette: A Year After Pittsburgh’s Massive, Deadly Derecho Storm, Structural Damage And Personal Trauma Linger
-- Post-Gazette: Late Freeze Deals Blow To Fruit, Other Crops Across PA
-- Erie Times/USA Today: Pennsylvania Winters Are Shorter; The Change Shows Up In Every County
-- Financial Times: The Hunt For A New Earth
-- City & State PA: Conversation With Attorney General Dave Sunday On How A.I. Tools Are Affecting Children, Teens And Vulnerable Populations
-- Maybe Folks Should Read This Article Again: The Guardian: Anthropic’s Claude A.I. Agent’s Confession After Deleting A Firm’s Entire Database: ‘I Violated Every Principle I Was Given’
A.I/Data Centers
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - May 4 [PaEN]
-- PUC Adopts Voluntary Large Load, Data Center Tariff Framework To Help Protect Ratepayers [PaEN]
-- Environmental Defense Fund: PA Public Utility Commission Moves To Protect Consumers From A.I. Data Center Grid Costs: ‘The Stakes Are High Given The Scale And Speed Of Data Center-Driven Growth’ [PaEN]
-- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Approves Extension Of PJM Capacity Auction Price Cap, Floor For Next 2 Auctions [PaEN]
-- Concerned Citizens Of Montour County: Data Center Developer Wants To Make It Harder For Citizens To Appeal Zoning, Permits; DCED Secretary Explains More On How They Want New GRID Principles To Work [PaEN]
-- Montour County: What A.I. Data Center Developers Don’t Like In Zoning Ordinances: Decommissioning Safeguards For When Their Tech Becomes Obsolete; No Noise Limits On Diesel Generators; No Property Value Impact Studies [PaEN]
-- Reading Eagle: Threats Of Violence Against Both Sides Dogging A.I. Data Center Projects In Limerick Twp., Montgomery County [PDF of Article]
-- Scranton Times Chris Kelly Opinion: Archbald Is The Canary In The A.I. Data Center ‘Coal Mine;’ 90 Data Center Buildings Proposed In Lackawanna County [PDF of Article]
-- Tri-County Regional Planning Commission Publishes Model A.I. Data Center Ordinance; Links To Other Model Ordinances [PaEN]
-- PA House Energy Committee Sets May 4 Meeting To Act On More Bills To Address Electric Grid Reliability, Affordability Issues: Authorize Virtual Power Plants, More [PaEN]
-- PA House Passes Bill To Require A.I. Data Centers To Report Water Use, Discharges To DEP [PaEN]
-- PA Senate Committee Hears Electric Grid Issues Getting Worse; PJM Has Attracted 220 GW Of New Generation Proposals; PJM ‘Backstop’ Procurement Critical To Making Data Centers Pay For New Generation [PaEN]
-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Gov. Shapiro Says Regulated Electric, Natural Gas, Water Utility System In PA Is ‘Broken’ In Letter To 24 Companies Laying Out New System To Rein In Corporate Profits
-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak & Laura Legere: A.I. Data Center Power Demand May Extend Conemaugh, Keystone Coal-Fired Power Plant Operations, Jobs For Years - But At A Cost
Background On Issues
-- Environmental Health Project Calls On Gov. Shapiro To Address Health Hazards Of Fossil Fuels [PaEN]
-- DEP Receives Federal Funding To Study Human Health Impacts Of Leaking, Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; Conventional Regulation Updates Delayed; Reports On Setback Petition By End Of 2026 [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 25 to May 1: Violations For Conventional Well Abandonment Top 204; Cleaning Up Shale Gas Wastewater Release For 245 Days [PaEN]
-- DEP - Day 245: Expand Operating LLC Continuing Cleanup Of Ongoing Shale Gas Fracking Wastewater Release From Well Pad In Great Bend Twp., Susquehanna County [PaEN]
-- DEP Signs Consent Orders With CNX Gas, Leatherwood LLC Requiring The Plugging Of 5 Conventional Coal Bed Methane Wells Prior To Longwall Coal Mining In Center Twp., Greene County [PaEN]
-- US Dept. Of Energy Cyber Threat Center Issues Another Warning To Oil & Gas Industry About Automatic Tank Gauge Manipulation By Malicious Cyber Threat Actors [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro Appoints Mark Szybist New Special Counsel For Energy Affordability [PaEN]
-- House Committee Approves Bill To Strengthen State Response To Spills Of Hazardous Substances After Energy Transfer/Sunoco Jet Fuel Pipeline Spill In Bucks County [PaEN]
-- Environmental Defense Fund: Rollback Of Federal Methane Emission Limits On Oil & Gas Facilities Have Wasted $4.8 Billion Worth Of Natural Gas That Could Have Served 22 Million Homes- And Counting [PaEN]
-- EPA Revises April 9 Revision Of Oil & Gas Rules To Allow Even More Flaring In Response To Industry Comments; More Changes Coming
-- TribLive Letter: ‘Natural Gas Operators Recognize Their Responsibility To Be Good Stewards Of Our Shared Natural Resources. Residents Can Be Assured That Operators Will Continue To Prioritize And Respect The Needs Of Their Fellow Community Members’ - By Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition
-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Update Highlights Additional Investments In Bay Watershed Cleanups; County Water Quality Plan Progress; Assistance Programs Available [PaEN]
-- House Committee Unanimously Reports Out Bipartisan Bill To License Water, Geothermal, Geotechnical Well Drillers [PaEN]
-- LancasterOnline: EPA Team To Check Drinking Water Pipes For Lead In Lancaster City
-- Wall Street Journal: Natural Disasters Are Rewriting Home Insurance Costs; See How It Impacts You
-- Pittsburgh Gateways Flips The Switch On New Rooftop Solar Energy System On Energy Innovation Center [PaEN]
-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: Hill District Energy Tech Hub In Pittsburgh Puts ‘Lazy Roof’ To Work With New Solar Energy Installation
-- LancasterOnline: Solar Energy Facilities vs. Farmland: Lancaster County Weighs Sheep Grazing As Energy Solution
-- The Daily Item: 2 Solar Energy Facilities Planned For 323 Acres In Freeburg, Snyder County
-- Canary Media: President Is Blocking Solar Energy Generation For Farmers, Can The Federal Farm Bill Fix That?
Visit the DEP Calendar of Events; PA Parks & Forests Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events for activities happening near you.
Visit DEP’s Teaching Green webpage to learn about more environmental education resources.
Visit the PA Environment Digest Calendar Of Events for more opportunities.
[Posted: May 3, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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