Tuesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 4.2.24

“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]

House next voting day April 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 39, 30

-- Committee Schedule

Senate next voting day April 8, 9, 10, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

TODAY 10:00: House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on House Bill 905 (McNeill-D- Lehigh) providing notice of a property’s water usage increases by 50% in one month..  Lehigh Valley Health Network, 2545 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem.  10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

TODAY 1:00: House Republican Policy Committee hearing on Balancing Your Budget & Thermostat- Consumer- Focused Energy Policy. US Hotel Tavern, Liberty Hall, 401 S. Juniata St., Hollidaysburg, Blair County. 1:00 p.m.  Read more here on Republican Energy Package.

April 3-- House Republican Policy Committee hearing on Balancing Your Budget & Thermostat- Consumer- Focused Energy Policy. Butler County Community College - Ford City Campus, Armstrong County  10:00 a.m.   Read more here on Republican Energy Package.

April 4-- Agenda Posted. DEP Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee meeting.  Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 9:15 a.m.  Visit the Committee webpage for options to join the meeting remotely.  Contact: Joseph Martini martjos@pa.gov or 717-772-5619.

-- Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Seeking High School Students For Young Ambassadors Program  [PaEN]

-- Pike County Conservation District: What Is Envirothon? 

-- DEP, Keystone Landfill Sign Consent Order With $575,000 Penalty To Immediately Begin Mitigating Landfill Odors In Lackawanna County  [PaEN] 

-- Scranton Times: Keystone Landfill To Pay Nearly $600,000 Penalty, Undergo 26 Corrective Actions For Odors

-- Environmental Health News: Residents Fear PA, WV Chemical Plastics Recycling Proposals Will Deepen Fossil Fuel Tires, Pollution Problems

-- Central Penn Business Journal: Shapiro’s Energy Plan Draws Reactions From PA Labor, Industry Leaders

-- The Allegheny Front: PennEnergy Plan To Withdraw Water From Big Sewickley Creek In Beaver County For Fracking Revives Worry About Threatened  Fish 

-- KDKA: Radioactive Nuclear Waste Burial Ground In Armstrong County To Be Cleaned Up By Federal Government 

-- US Senator Casey Presses Cumberland Coal Mine Owner About Impact Of Mine Closure On Miners, Families In Greene County  

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Eos Electricity Storage Enterprises Wins Expansion Of Contract With Pine Gate Renewables 

-- The Energy Age Blog: Electric Vehicle Charging, Solar Energy And Home Utility Costs In March 

-- Inside Climate News: Kraft Heinz Faces Shareholder Vote On Its ‘Deceptive’ Recycling Labels

-- Penn State PA Technical Assistance Program Highlights Upcoming Webinars On Sustainable Metals, Bioindustrial Manufacturing; Small Business, Ag Funding Opportunities  [PaEN]

-- Beaver County Times: Enjoy Free Earth Day Fun At Sisters Of St. Joseph Center In Baden April 20 

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy To Host Free Earth Month Events At 2 City Parks 

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Casey Announces $1.35 Million For Nanticoke Creek Restoration Project  

-- WNEP: $1 Million+ Abandoned Coal Mine Land Reclamation Project Announced In Luzerne County

-- GettysburgConnection.org: Adams County Planting Partnership, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership, Watershed Alliance of Adams County Offers Free Native Trees For Adams County Residents

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Wave Of Defense Tactics Aim To Save Eastern Hemlocks 

-- TribLive: Hundreds Turn Out For Gilpin Trail Opening In Armstrong County; Look Forward To Completion Of Next Leg This Year 

-- Williamsport Sun: Williamsport Seeks Mountain Bike Track designers For Shaw Place Park

-- PA Society For Ornithology To Hold 4th Annual Breeding Bird Blitz For Conservation June 7-17 - Sign Up Your Team Today!  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension: Spotted Lanternfly News: Business Inspections Resume April 1; Training Opportunities 

-- Williamsport Sun: What To Do Before Spongy [Gypsy] Moths Damage Your Trees Irreplaceably

-- Penn State Extension: Home Garden News: Master Gardener Plant Sale Directory 

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Game Commission’s $3.2 Million Bobwhite Quail Revival Effort

-- Williamsport Sun: Wildlife In Need Helps Get Injured Animals To Rehab Centers

6th Oil/Natural Gas Spike: True Energy Independence Means Renewables

[There Is No Limit To What Oil/Natural Gas Industry Can Make You Pay]

-- Reuters: US March LNG Gas Exports Flat As Texas LNG Plant Woes Continue

-- Creators.com - Salena Zito: Biden’s LNG Gas Export Embargo Hurts Farmers Too  [There Is No Embargo, Biden Paused Permits For NEW Export Facilities, Export Capacity Will Double During The Pause]

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- City & State PA: PA’s Structural Budget Deficit Could Shape Budget Battle For Years To Come

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports March Tax Revenue $289.9 Million (4.8%) Above Estimate; Fiscal Year-To-Date $366 Million (1.1%) Above Estimate

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports March Tax Revene $298 Million (5%) Above Their Estimates; Fiscal Year-To-Date $284 Million (.9%) Above Their Estimates

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[Posted: April 2, 2024]  PA Environment Digest

DEP, Keystone Landfill Sign Consent Order With $575,000 Penalty To Immediately Begin Mitigating Landfill Odors In Lackawanna County

On April 1, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it has entered into a Consent Order and Agreement (COA) with Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Lackawanna County for odor violations, including creating malodors, at its facility in the boroughs of Dunmore and Throop between November 2022 and February 2024, and impacting residents in several surrounding communities. 

The $575,000 civil penalty is the largest penalty DEP has issued to Keystone Sanitary Landfill in the last decade. 

Under the agreement, DEP has ordered Keystone to take corrective action to mitigate the potential for off-site odors from its leachate lagoons. 

Some of those measures include utilizing foam, implementing a new intermediate cover system, and submitting to the department a permit modification for the installation of two 2,500,000-gallon leachate storage tank systems. 

DEP has also directed the landfill to re-evaluate the effectiveness of its Reverse Osmosis (RO) system for treating leachate and make any necessary modifications. 

Under the agreement, Keystone is also required to mitigate landfill gas odors from the site. Keystone must implement additional surface monitoring and follow an accelerated capping schedule of at least 30 acres to minimize areas of intermediate cover. 

A $575,000 civil penalty will be split between DEP and the boroughs of Dunmore and Throop. 

DEP will receive $180,000 from the COA, plus $35,000 for cost recovery. The $180,000 will be deposited into the Solid Waste Abatement Fund, which is a statewide fund set up to eliminate potential hazards related to solid waste. 

DEP also worked to ensure that the boroughs of Dunmore and Throop will each receive $180,000, which Keystone Landfill is required to deposit into a separate bank account for both parties. 

This money will be used to fund projects which substantially improve, protect, restore, or remediate the environment, or improve, protect, or reduce risks to the public health or safety. 

Keystone must make those deposits within 30 days. 

“The Department of Environmental Protection made a commitment to residents to respond swiftly to address these odors and hold the responsible party accountable,” said DEP Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “That’s why DEP worked around the clock to investigate the odors and ordered Keystone Landfill to take corrective steps so a situation like this does not happen in the future. The Shapiro Administration will continue to protect every Pennsylvanian’s constitutional right to clean air, pure water, and a healthy environment.” 

“The Department thanks impacted Pennsylvanians for working with DEP staff over the past few months,” said DEP Northeast Regional Director Joseph J. Buczynski, PE. “The complaints we received were instrumental in helping to confirm the source of the odors and hold the landfill accountable.” 

Following an increase of complaints about off-site odors from the Keystone Sanitary Landfill, DEP staff worked around the clock to actively address hundreds of odor complaints and conducted odor patrols on weekdays, early mornings, evenings, and weekends. 

During complaint investigations and regular and after-hours odor patrols, from November 2022 through February 2024, there were at least 70 occasions where representatives of the Department detected landfill gas and/or leachate odors offsite and were able to attribute them to Keystone. 

During complaint investigations, staff also determined that Keystone had created odors, including strong malodors, from its facility, impacting the community. A malodor is defined by DEP regulation as: “[A]n odor which causes annoyance or discomfort to the public and which the Department determines to be objectionable to the public.” 

As part of its investigation into the odors, the Department determined that Keystone-- 

-- Failed to implement its Nuisance Minimization and Control Plan to minimize and control other conditions that are harmful to the environment or public health, or which create safety hazards, odors, dust, noise, unsightliness, and other public nuisances.

-- Permitted the emission of a malodorous air contaminant from the facility into the atmosphere in such a manner that the malodors were detectable outside the facility where the malodors were generated.

-- Failed to prevent and control air pollution.

-- Failed to implement the gas control and monitoring plan.

-- Failed to maintain a uniform intermediate cover that prevents odors.

-- Failed to properly conduct enhanced surface monitoring on intermediate slopes.  

The failures described above are a violation of the Solid Waste Management Act, the Air Pollution Control Act, DEP’s regulations, and conditions in the landfill’s existing permits it has with the Department. 

DEP will continue to monitor the landfill and to investigate complaints to ensure Keystone Sanitary Landfill is reducing odors, as is required by the COA. 

If Keystone Sanitary Landfill fails to comply with the terms of the COA, they could face further penalties. 

A copy of the COA with Keystone can be found on the DEP website.  

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Report Emergencies, Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

[Posted: April 1, 2024]  PA Environment Digest

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Seeking High School Students For Young Ambassadors Program

On April 1, the Department of Transportation and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful are invited 10th -12th grade students to help keep Pennsylvania clean and beautiful through the Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania program.  Deadline to apply June 10.

The program, now in its third year, builds community stewards and civic leaders by empowering young Pennsylvanians to become ambassadors in their community for a shared vision of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. 

Applicants should be passionate about the environment and committed to restoring and protecting Pennsylvania's ecological landscape through volunteerism and leadership.

Ambassadors will train and network with industry leaders, state agencies, local media and the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful network to prepare them to be difference-makers in their communities by building their leadership and problem-solving skills.

"Pennsylvania needs leaders. Like many other crises that require long-term change, we're looking to the youngest of us to help lead environmental sustainability into the future," said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. "I'm heartened to see the attention and diligence of the next generation of Pennsylvania's environmental caretakers"

"It has been enlightening to work with students from diverse backgrounds and cultures through our Young Ambassador program. They each bring their own experiences and aspirations that have helped shape the program. We know the students of today hold the key to a sustainable future and we're excited to work with and guide this new group of Young Ambassadors to implement change in their communities and the Commonwealth. We're grateful to continue to partner with PennDOT to provide even more opportunities for students to develop necessary skills for them to succeed," said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

Chosen candidates will commit to serve as an Ambassador from September 2024 through May 2025 and represent and uphold the mission and values of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

Other responsibilities include:

-- Attending 6 mandatory virtual education sessions;

-- Conducting a community assessment and creating a summary presentation;

-- Organizing and participating in at least one community cleanup event through Pick Up Pennsylvania and conducting one community education event or activity.

There will also be non-mandatory education sessions from a variety of topics.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful will provide education and training to program participants on such topics related to the impact of litter on roadways, litter prevention, waste management and recycling, civic engagement and related public policy, volunteer management, and social media marketing. 

The program will provide networking opportunities to not only build a sense of community within the program but also to promote professional development of the individual students. 

In addition, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has partnered with Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania funded by the NiSource Charitable Foundation to provide Job Shadow Days to select Ambassadors.

The Young Ambassadors program was recommended in the Commonwealth's Litter Action Plan announced by the Governor's Office in November 2021 and is funded by PennDOT.

Students will be chosen through a competitive application process. 

Students interested in applying should visit the KPB Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania program webpage or contact Kylie McCutcheon at 724-836-4121 x114 or kmccutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org. 

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, visit their YouTube Channel.

The 2024 Pick Up Pennsylvania Initiative runs through May 31!  Questions should be directed to Michelle Dunn at 1-877-772-3673 Ext. 113 or send email to: mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

Keep PA Beautiful helps mobilize over 100,000 volunteers a year to pick up litter, clean up illegal dumping and beautify Pennsylvania.

[Posted: April 1, 2024]  PA Environment Digest

Penn State PA Technical Assistance Program Highlights Upcoming Webinars On Sustainable Metals, Bioindustrial Manufacturing; Small Business, Ag Funding Opportunities

The Penn State PA Technical Assistance Program is highlight three upcoming webinars on sustainable metals and bioindustrial manufacturing and small business funding opportunities--

-- April 18:  Metals Reimagined: Sustainable Production Techniques for the Metal Fabrication and Manufacturing Industries: This webinar will highlight strategies that manufacturers can employ to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, the use of hazardous materials, and the pollution generated by their facility.

-- April 30: BioMADE: Strengthening the Domestic Bioindustrial Manufacturing Ecosystem: This webinar will review current trends in biomanufacturing with BioMADE, a non-profit Manufacturing Innovation Institute supported by the Department of Defense, which is working to enable domestic bioindustrial research, commercialization, and manufacturing at all scales.

-- May 2: Exploring Funding Opportunities for Ag & Small Businesses with USDA REAP Grant: This webinar, hosted by PennTAP and Penn State Small Business Development Center (SBDC), aims to empower PA Agricultural Producers and Small Businesses seeking guidance, support, and funding opportunities.

Click Here to register and for more information.

Visit the Penn State PA Technical Assistance Program website to learn more about the assistance available to small businesses.

[Posted: April 1, 2024]  PA Environment Digest