Shell Accountability Campaign Hosts Nov. 2 Shell Petrochemical Plant Town Hall Meeting On Emergency Response Plans In Beaver County

The Shell Accountability Campaign will host a November 2 town hall meeting on the Shell Petrochemical Plant and Emergency Response Plans starting at 5:00 p.m. at the Community College of Beaver County, Learning Resources Center, Room 9103, 1 Campus Drive in Monaca.

A virtual attendance option is available.

For months, Beaver County residents have been raising questions and concerns about the local government’s emergency response plans and notification procedures.

Community members worked hard to organize a Town Hall event on August 15, which should have been a space for residents to raise questions and concerns directly and openly with county leadership and staff — but just one week before the event, Beaver County Commissioners chose not to attend.

In response, community leaders have organized a series of town halls throughout Beaver County to educate neighbors about the Shell plastics plant in Potter Township, its health and safety impacts, and actions community members can take!

Join the town hall at 5:00 p.m. for food and refreshments, followed by presentation starting at 6:00 p.m.

Click Here to register for virtual attendance and for more information.

The Shell Accountability Campaign includes Beaver County residents and representatives from Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, Food & Water Watch, Clean Air Council, Moms Clean Air Force, Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment, Three Rivers Waterkeeper, Only One, Earthworks, Pittsburghers Against Single Use Plastic and more. 

Related Articles - Shell Petrochemical Plant:

-- DEP Signs Consent Order Including $10 Million In Penalties, Local Payments With Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County To Resolve Air Quality Violations; Plant To Restart May 24   [PaEN]

-- Steering Committee Releases Protocol To Allocate $5 Million Penalty Fund Related To The Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County   [PaEN]

-- Groups File Federal Lawsuit Against Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County For Air Pollution Violations  [PaEN]

NewsClips This Week:

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: PA Attorney General Files Criminal Charges Against Equitrans In 2018 Greene County Home Natural Gas Explosion Caused By Leaking Conventional Well At The Pratt Gas Storage Facility

-- WTAE: Criminal Charges Filed Against Equitrans After Natural Gas Explosion Destroyed Greene County Home In 2018 

-- Observer-Reporter: State AG Files Criminal Charges Against Equitrans, Faults Company For 2018 Natural Gas Explosion That Destroyed Home In Greene County

-- TribLive: Natural Gas Leak Forces Evacuation At New Store In Allegheny Twp., Westmoreland County

-- Reading Eagle: Lawmakers Propose Eliminating Pipe Linked To Natural Gas Explosion At Reading Factory

Related Articles This Week:

-- Attorney General Henry Announces Criminal Charges Against Equitrans For 2018 Natural Gas Explosion That Destroyed Home In Greene County  [PaEN]

-- House Committee Hearing On Increasing Safety Setbacks Zones Around Natural Gas Facilities Heard About First-Hand Citizen Experiences On Health Impacts, From Physicians On Health Studies And The Gas Industry On Job Impacts  [PaEN] 

-- Sen. Yaw, Republican Chair Of Senate Environmental Committee, Calls Bill To Reduce Shale Gas Industry Impacts On Health, Environment ‘Stupid’  [PaEN] 

-- University Of Pittsburgh Studies Of Shale Gas Development Health Impacts To Be Discussed At Nov. 14 Joint Meeting Of DEP Citizens Advisory Council, Environmental Justice Advisory Board  [PaEN]

-- PA League Of Women Voters, University Of Pittsburgh Graduate School Of Public Health Nov. 14 Shale Gas & Public Health Conference  [PaEN]

-- Protect PT Holds Nov. 11 Workshop On Living Near Shale Gas In Westmoreland County  [PaEN] 

[Posted: October 31, 2023]  PA Environment Digest

DCNR State Parks: Online Growing Up WILD Facilitator Training Starts Feb. 8

DCNR’s Bureau of State Parks is hosting Growing Up WILD facilitator training starting February 8 with an online session from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Growing Up WILD - Exploring Nature with Young Children is a national, award-winning, standards-based early childhood (ages 3-7) curriculum that builds on children’s sense of wonder about nature and invites them to explore wildlife and the world around them. 

The GUW Activity Guide includes 27 field-tested activities that include art, reading, music, math, snacks, & outdoor learning.

In Pennsylvania, Project WILD, Growing Up WILD, Project WILD Aquatic, and the extensive Project WILD family of curricula are coordinated by DCNR – PA State Parks with Carissa Longo designated as the State Coordinator. 

Click Here to register and learn more about this program.  Questions should be directed to Carissa Longo, Project WILD Coordinator at calongo@pa.gov or 717-772-1807.

Visit DCNR’s Conservation Education Opportunities webpage for more on programs and opportunities for people of all ages in all regions.

Visit the PA Parks & Forests Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events for activities happening near you.

Visit Explore PA Trails and Get Outdoors PA for recreation areas near you.

  For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit DCNR’s website, Visit the Good Natured DCNR Blog,  Click Here for upcoming events, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

[Posted: October 31, 2023]  PA Environment Digest

Tuesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 10.31.23

Pursue Your Constitutional Right To A Clean Environment In Pennsylvania

House next voting day October 30, 31, Nov. 1, 13, 14, 15, Dec. 11, 12, 13

-- Committee Schedule

Senate next voting day Nov. 13, 14, 15, Dec. 11, 12, 13

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

WEDNESDAY 9:30: House Philadelphia LNG Natural Gas Export Task Force meeting to consider Task Force Report.  Room 515 Irvis Building.  9:30.  Click Here to watch live. 

WEDNESDAY 5:00:- PennDOT Outreach Session On National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. H. O. Hirt Auditorium at Blasco Library, 160 E Front Street, Erie. 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.  Click Here to register and for more information.

WEDNESDAY 7:30: Virtual. Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community - Eyes On Shell  monthly meeting.  7:30 p.m.

-- House Committee Hearing On Increasing Safety Setbacks Zones Around Natural Gas Facilities Heard About First-Hand Citizen Experiences On Health Impacts, From Physicians On Health Studies And The Gas Industry On Job Impacts  [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw, Republican Chair Of Senate Environmental Committee, Calls Bill To Reduce Shale Gas Industry Impacts On Health, Environment ‘Stupid’  [PaEN] 

-- Warren Times: Population Exodus From PA Means Higher Taxes For Those Who Remain

-- Williamsport Sun: Old Lycoming Twp. Seeks Audit Of Act 13 Drilling Impact Fee Spending Discrepancies

-- Reminder: Nov. 13 DEP Hearing On Proposed River Pointe Warehouse In Northampton County 

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Watershed Renewal Project Accelerates Restoration Work In Halfmoon Creek, Centre County, Pequea Creek, Lancaster County  [PaEN] 

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition: Call For Submissions For Westminster College Student Symposium On The Environment Dec. 4 to 7

-- Quittapahilla Watershed Assn. Interns Present Stream Morphology Surveys On Lebanon County Streams   [PaEN]

-- Friends Of The Wissahickon Host Nov. 7 Climate Change In Our Watersheds Fall Valley Talk, In-Person, Online In Philadelphia  [PaEN]

-- Protecting Clean Water Together Series: Keeping The Gunk Out Of Your Water Supply - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association   [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Little Bull Creek Sewer Project To Ease Overflows In Harrison

-- PA Sea Grant's Tom Cermak Recognized With Great Lakes Sea Grant Individual Achievement Award  [PaEN]

-- Lancaster Farming: EPA Rolls Out Youth Advisory Council Led By PA 4-H’er

-- Pittsburgh’s Green Building Alliance Receives $500,000 Federal ARISE Grant To Establish A Green Building Product Supply Chain, Manufacturing Hub In Upper Appalachian Region   [PaEN] 

-- TribLive: US Steel Converts 2 Diesel Locomotives To Battery Power

-- EPA Launches Video Prize Challenge To Showcase Electric Transportation In Action, Entries Due Jan. 23  [PaEN]

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: We Have A Path To Reduce Climate Pollution, It Is Time To Launch market-Based RGGI - By Environmental Defense Fund & Ceres

-- 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Holds Nov. 8 Open Enrollment Meeting In Somerset County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Capital-Star: Bill In PA House Would Make It Easier To Recycle Electronics Waste

-- WESA/The Allegheny Front: Why Teaching People About Invasive Plants Can Get A Little Thorny

-- Fish & Wildlife Service: $36 Million For Fish Passage And River Restoration Grants Available, Deadline Dec. 31

-- TribLive: Fish Reefs To Be Built In The Monongahela River

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Lost Heritage: Bringing American Martens Back To PA

Natural Gas Explosions

-- TribLive: Natural Gas Leak Forces Evacuation At New Store In Allegheny Twp., Westmoreland County

-- Reading Eagle: Lawmakers Propose Eliminating Pipe Linked To Natural Gas Explosion At Reading Factory

Other States/National/International

-- AP: Earth Will Likely Lock Into Breaching Key Warming Threshold In Early 2029, Scientists Calculate

-- Inside Climate News: EPA To Fund Studies Of Toxic PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Agriculture

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: Spending Passes $17 Million In PA Supreme Court Race As Billionaires, Unions, Lawyers Dig In 

-- Spotlight PA: PA’s Voting Law Is Filled With Obsolete Provisions, Troublesome Conflicts

-- ABC27: PA House Leaders Point Fingers As State Budget, School Funding Remains Unresolved

-- PA Capital-Star: House Democratic Leader Calls Private School Vouchers ‘Very Problematic’ But Adds Democrats Didn’t Say ‘Hell No’

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Advocates, Lawmakers Renew Push To Relax Rule For Commuting Life Sentences

-- PA Capital-Star: Proposed Constitutional Amendment Would Change How Pardons Are Considered

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Nearly 70,000 PA School, Government Retirees Have Had No COLA Increase In 21 Years

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: We Are The Majority - Why Are We Permitting The Minority To Role And Increase Dissention, Racism, Inequality, Violence And Chaos?

-- AP: PA House Passes Bill To Increase Transparency Of PA’s Universities

-- Tribune-Democrat: Bill Repealing Ban On Teachers Wearing Religious Garb In Schools Clears General Assembly

-- TribLive: Nursing Home Rating System Needs Work, So Do Nursing Homes

-- PennLive: York County Man Makes Plea Deal On Federal Crimes Related To Assault On US Capitol

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[Posted: October 31, 2023]  PA Environment Digest

Protecting Clean Water Together Series: Keeping The Gunk Out Of Your Water Supply

By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association

A few years back, I was leading a group hike along the Cranberry Creek. It was a hot day, and the water looked sparkling clean and cold. 

Someone asked whether it was okay to drink from a creek. I debated for a minute, thinking how often I’d done just that. And then said, no, that’s not a great idea. You never know when there’s a dead deer in the creek upstream.

The ick-factor of a rotting carcass upstream from your water cup is pretty powerful. It’s also an easy-to-understand example of what water scientists mean by “point source pollution.”

Point source pollution comes from “any single identifiable source of pollution…such as a pipe, ditch, ship, or factory smokestack,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

You don’t have to be a water scientist to recognize that kind of pollution.

Non-point source pollution is a little trickier. The source isn’t a clear “point,” like a deer or a ditch. 

The source is diffuse — like oil, grease and toxic chemicals, fertilizers, insecticides and weedkillers; acid drainage from old mines; animal waste from livestock and pets; not to mention bad septic systems. 

It all gets picked up by stormwater and snow-melt, and spreads far and wide over and through the ground.

Whether point-source or non-point source, eventually all those hazards end up in rivers, lakes, wetlands, ground water — maybe even your well — fouling drinking water and fisheries, harming wildlife and recreation.

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) aims to control any discharge to waterways, say from a sewage treatment plant or a construction site. 

An NPDES permit defines what the “acceptable” level of a pollutant is for the specific location. The goal is to make sure that Pennsylvania’s mandatory standards for clean water (and federal minimum standards) are met.

There are also regulations — and NPDES permits — that address non-point source pollution which spreads over and through the ground by stormwater and snowmelt.

But none of these safeguards are foolproof. The best way to manage pollution is to avoid it in the first place.

That’s where you, as an individual, can make a difference. Never dump used motor oil — or any chemicals — “out behind the garage.” 

Direct downspouts away from the driveway and other hard-packed or paved areas. Take your car to the car wash instead of washing it in the driveway. 

This fall, get your septic system inspected and pumped regularly. And pick up after your pet — letting it “wash into the ground” is the same as letting it “wash into your well.”

One of the best ways you can help is to get involved with your township or borough. That’s where local decisions are made that affect your water. 

Go to meetings. Ask questions. And keep asking, until you get answers that make sense.

It’s your water, and your family’s health. And no matter how refreshing that creek looks, remember what could be lurking upstream.

For more information, visit EPA’s Nonpoint Source Pollution webpage.

Visit Brodhead’s Protecting Clean Water Together and Nature At Risk article series for more interesting information.

             For more information on programs, initiatives and other upcoming events, visit the Brodhead Watershed Association website or Follow them on Facebook.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Association.  Click Here to become a member.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

The draft 2024 report has an interactive report viewer that allows you to zoom in to your own address to see if the streams near you are impaired and why.

Click Here to check out your streams.  Click Here for a tutorial on using the viewer.

Related Article:

-- DEP 2024 Water Quality Report Shows 28,820 Miles Of Streams With Impaired Water Quality In PA (34%) - An Increase From 27,886 In 2022  [PaEN]

[Posted: October 31, 2023]  PA Environment Digest