In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - October 5

Here are Articles and NewsClips on A.I. and data center issues from last week you may have missed--

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - October 5  [PaEN]

Energy Costs

-- WTAE: Heating Oil Costs Projected To Jump Nearly $900 This Winter

-- ABC6/Philadelphia: Heating Costs Expect To Rise Sharply This Winter, With Home Heating Oil Seeing Biggest Increase 

-- PUC Approves UGI Gas Rate Increase Of 5.7%; Increase In Monthly Residential Customer Care From $16.25 to $20; Add A Weather Normalization Surcharge Pilot Program  [PaEN]

-- Morning Call: Settlement Reduces UGI Gas Rate Increase, Spreads Out Impact To Customer Bills

-- AP: US Households Will Pay More For Energy Because Of President’s Policy Changes, Nonpartisan Think Tank Says [What President’s Policies Cost Pennsylvanians ]

Legislation

-- PA Capital-Star: PA House Committee Passes Proposals On A.I. Data Center Costs, Utility Company Profits Intended To Keep Electricity Bills Lower

-- The Center Square: PA House Committee Backs Bill To Spare Communities From ‘Fake’ Data Center Proposals

-- Tribune-Democrat: PA House Acts On A.I. In Health Care, Urges Feds To Let States Regulate A.I.

-- Tribune-Democrat: PA Lawmakers Advance Ban On Data Center Nondisclosure Agreements [Senate], Prohibit Public Utility Status [House]

-- The Center Square: PA Senate Committee Backs Ban On Governments Signing Data Center Nondisclosure Agreements

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Senate Republican Leader Makes No Commitment On Moving Data Center Legislation, Weighs In On Midterm Elections, Reforming Unconstitutional Felony Murder Convictions, Skill Grams, Gift Ban 

-- Utility Dive: US Senate Permitting Bill Gives FERC Authority To Issue Permits For Electric Transmission Projects; Reduces Authority Of States For Section 401 Water Quality Permitting For Gas Pipelines 

-- Inside Climate News: Long-Awaited US Senate Deal To Speed Energy Facility Permitting Faces Familiar Hurdles

-- TribLive/AP: Data Center Bill Falls Short In US Senate As Lawmakers Take Final Votes Before Midterm Elections

Grid

-- PUC To Seek Comments On Regulations To Give Electric Utilities New Tools To Manage Data Centers During Periods Of Strained Electricity Supplies And Curtailments To Maintain Grid Reliability  [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw Urges PJM To Start Approving Connections For New Electric Generation Quickly  To Make Sure There Is Enough Power For A.I. Data Centers Driving Demand

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Has The Energy And The Workers - Now It Needs The Electric Grid - By Terrance J. Fitzpatrick, Former Chair Of The PA Public Utility Commission

Generation

-- PUC Holds Oct. 7 Meeting To Hear Presentation On Recommendations For Grid Modernization To Develop New Electric Generation At 21 Deactivated Energy Sites To Support Large Loads  [PaEN]

-- Scranton Times: PPL Joint Venture Invitium Energy Could Acquire More Than A Quarter Of Fell Twp. For Natural Gas Data Center Power Plants In Lackawanna County 

-- TheDerrick.com: DEP Issues Violations To KEEL Infrastructure For Failing To Remove Coal Ash Pile At Scrubgrass Coal Waste-Fired Data Center Power Plant In Venango County 

-- TribLive: West Deer Township Residents Grapple With KEEL Infrastructure Digital Mining Scrubgrass Coal Waste-Fired Power Plant Pollution And Erratic Coal Trucks In Allegheny County

-- Utility Dive: PJM Delays Backstop Power Supply Auction After FERC Decides To Approve Only Part Of PJM’s Plan Tuesday; FERC Chair Slams PJM ‘Mess’ 

Land Use

-- Scranton Times: Archbald Boro To Hear More Information On 7 Data Centers, Natural Gas Power Plant In Lackawanna County

-- Scranton Times: Essential Energy, Stop Archbald A.I. Data Centers Continue Debate Over Proposed Natural Gas Data Center Power Plants

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Standing Room Only Crowd Gathered Sunday To Discuss 15 Proposed Data Centers, 3 Natural Gas Power Plants Issued Zoning Approvals In Newport Twp., Luzerne County

-- Standard Speaker: Newport Twp. Residents Hold Meeting On 15 Proposed A.I. Data Centers, 3 Natural Gas Power Plants In Luzerne County 

-- Wall Street Journal: Every Household In Hazle Twp., Luzerne County Receives $10,000 If An A.I. Data Center Gets Built; Residents Pushing Back Despite Lure Of Cash

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Sugarloaf Twp. Supervisors Table Resolution To Write New Rules For A.I. Data Centers After Residents Ask If It Would Hurt Their Active Legal Case Involving A Challenge By A Data Center Developer

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Bear Creek Twp. May Restrict A.I. Data Centers To Current Industrial Zone In Luzerne County

-- TheDerrick.com: Data Center Developer KEEL Infrastructure VP Tries To Quell Concerns About Data Center Plans In Venango County

-- Williamsport Sun: Appeal Filed In Commonwealth Court Against ‘Deemed Approval’ Of Data Center Proposal In Muncy Township, Lycoming County

-- Altoona Mirror: Taylor Township Plans Oct. 8 Hearing On Proposed A.I. Data Center In Blair County

-- Altoona Mirror: Antis Township Plans A.I. Data Center Ordinance In Blair County

-- WITF: Central PA Residents At Cumberland County Forum Raise Concerns About Growing A.I. Data Center Development

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Data Center Foes In Middlesex Twp. Ask Court To Halt Site Work While Appeal Plays Out In Cumberland County

-- LancasterOnline: More Lancaster County Municipalities Adding Rules Regulating Data Centers 

-- Republican Herald: Kline Twp. Planning Commission In Schuylkill County Approves Amazon Data Center Plans With Conditions Over Public Objections; Twp. Supervisors To Vote On Plans Wednesday [Sept. 30]

-- WNEP: Kline Township Supervisors Vote To Approve Amazon Data Center Project In Schuylkill County; Residents Want More Restrictions

-- Morning Call Guest Essay:  Open Space Preservation Will Stop A.I. Data Centers In Lehigh County And So Much More - By Lamont McClure, Former Northampton County Executive

-- Post-Gazette: Forward Twp., Butler County Residents To Developers: No A.I. Data Centers 

-- TribLive: Springdale Boro Oversteps In Restricting Media, Public During Meetings, Legal Experts Say In Allegheny County 

-- Observer-Reporter: Developers Of Starpointe A.I. Data Center/Power Plant Proposal In Hanover Twp. May Need To Further Investigate Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells On The Site In Washington County 

-- PennLive/LehighValleyLive: Amazon Behind 3,200 Homer Center A.I. Data Center/Power Plant Complex In Indiana County

-- The Allegheny Front: In Upper Burrell Twp., Westmoreland County Where Fracking And A.I. Data Center Industries Converge Residents Look To Regulation Data Centers, Mad The Township Doesn’t Regulate Shale Gas Facilities

-- TribLive: A.I. Data Center Critics Want Upper Burrell Township To Also Regulate Natural Gas Data Center Power Plants In Westmoreland County

-- Tribune-Democrat: Somerset County Unveils Proposed A.I. Data Center Ordinance: Public Hearing Tuesday [Sept. 29]

-- Tribune-Democrat: Somerset County Resident Pack Hearing To Urge Officials To Strengthen Proposed A.I. Data Center Regulations

-- Pittsburgh Media Partnership: Pennsylvania A.I. Data Center Proposals Map

Court Actions

-- PennLive - John Beauge: A.I. Data Center Project In Muncy Twp., Lycoming County Focus Of Court Challenge To PA’s ‘Deemed Approval’ Planning Code Provision

Permits/Approvals

-- SightLine: NRC Clears Environmental Review For Three Mile Island Data Center Nuclear Power Plant Restart

Impacts

-- PennLive Guest Essay: A.I. Data Centers Are Rebuilding Careers In Northeastern Pennsylvania - By Jillian Henderson, IBEW Union Local 163

-- Scranton Times Guest Essay: Northeast PA Must Seize The Opportunity Of A Digital Future - By John Yudichak, Luzerne County Community College President, Former State Senator

-- Utility Dive (Deep Dive): A.I. Data Center Boom Continues, But Projects Face Mounting Obstacles: Equipment, Labor Shortages; Utility Infrastructure; Cost/Reliability Of Power & Natural Gas Supplies And Mounting Public Opposition  

-- Utility Dive (Deep Dive): Efforts To Curb A.I. Data Center Speculation Gain Ground Across The US 

Public Participation/Meetings

-- 27+ Citizen, Environmental Groups To Hold No Data Center Rally Oct. 6 Main Capitol Rotunda In Harrisburg [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Permit For Operating Natural Gas Boilers, Backup Generators At TECfusions Keystone LLC New Kensington Data Center In Westmoreland County; Stormwater Permit Issued  [PaEN] 

-- PA Data Center Hearings & Meetings - Physicians For Social Responsibility PA

Politics

-- Inquirer: ‘Data Senator’ Ad Prompts Republican State Sen. Frank Farry To Send A Cease-And-Desist Letter To His Democratic Challenger In Bucks County

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Data Center Developers, Unions Form National Alliance - Target Pennsylvania, 6 Other States As Data Center Battle Heats Up

A.I. Policy

-- AP: President Said He Will Never ‘Stifle’ Growth Of A.I.; Promotes Voluntary Self-Policing Of A.I. Development

-- Financial Times: Anthropic Warns Of ‘Existential Risks To Humanity’ In IPO Prospectus

-- The Guardian: White House ‘Superintelligence’ Self-Policing Accord Document Includes Spelling Error On President’s Signature Line: ‘President Of The Unites States’

[Posted: October 3, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Snapshot - September 26 to October 2

Here is a snapshot of oil and gas compliance actions taken by the Department of Environmental Protection from Sept. 26 to October 2--

-- FracTracker Alliance/DEP Report Owners Of Over 81,000 Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Did Not Report How Much Waste They Produced In 2025; DEP Proposes Changes To Eliminate Failure To Report Waste information  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Issues 22 More Violations For Abandoning, Not Plugging Conventional Oil & Gas Wells To 19 Companies In 12 Counties; Total Of 47 Abandoned Well Violations In September  [PaEN]  

-- DEP: Equipment Failure At Catalyst Energy Injection Well Results In Contaminated Water Discharges In Keating Twp., McKean County [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 202: Ows Acquisition Co Conventional Well Site Still Discharging Contaminated Water In the City Of Hermitage, Mercer County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 873: Contaminated Water Still Leaking From Stonehaven Energy Conventional Oil & Gas Well Storage Tank In Clearfield County  [PaEN]  

-- DEP: Pipeline Excavation Hits Conventional Oil & Gas Well Drill Cuttings Disposal Area At Eastern Gas Transmission Oakford Gas Storage Area In Westmoreland County  [PaEN] 

-- Marcellus Drilling News: 2 EQT Shale Gas Subsidiaries Lose Bid To Toss West Virginia Kids Health Lawsuit From Federal Court  [PaEN]

-- 86 Abandoned Conventional Wells Inspected For Federal Well Plugging Program

-- Click Here for violations issued Sept. 26 to Oct. 2

-- Click Here for inspection entries Sept. 26 to Oct. 2

Weekly Workload Report - 9.25.26

-- NOVs Issued In Last Week: 57 conventional, 6 unconventional

-- Year To Date - NOVs Issued: 4,206 conventional and 922 unconventional

-- Enforcements 2026: 357 conventional and 139 unconventional (orders, agreements)

-- Inspections Last Week: 384 conventional and 369 unconventional

-- Year To Date - Inspections: 15,687 conventional and 19,494 unconventional

DEP’s Weekly Oil & Gas Program Workload Report - Most Recent

Report Violations

To report oil and gas violations or any environmental emergency or complaint, visit DEP’s Environmental Complaint webpage.

Text photos and the location of abandoned wells to 717-788-8990.

Check These Resources

Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database and Inspection Reports Viewer webpages to search their compliance records by date and owner.

Sign up for DEP’s eNOTICE service which sends you information on oil and gas and other permits submitted to DEP for review in your community.

Use DEP’s Oil and Gas Mapping Tool to find if there are oil and gas wells near or on your property and to find wells using latitude and longitude on well inspection reports.

[Note: If you believe your company was listed in error, contact DEP’s Oil and Gas Program.]

[Note: These may not be all the NOVs issued to oil and gas companies during this time period.  Additional inspection reports may be added to DEP’s Oil and Gas Compliance Database.]

PA Oil & Gas Industry, Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - October 3 [PaEN]

      -- DEP Publishes Formal Notice Announcing Issuance Of Shell Petrochemical Plant Air Quality Plan Approval For Beaver County Facility  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Posted 49 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In October 3 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

     -- DEP Invites Comments On Air Permit For Operating Natural Gas Boilers, Backup Generators At TECfusions Keystone LLC New Kensington Data Center In Westmoreland County; Stormwater Permit Issued  [PaEN] 

     -- DEP: Cleanup Of The Sharon Steel Corp Farrell Works Disposal Area Superfund Site Is Now Complete In Mercer County  [PaEN] 

     -- PUC Holds Oct. 7 Meeting To Hear Presentation On Recommendations For Grid Modernization To Develop New Electric Generation At 21 Deactivated Energy Sites To Support Large Loads  [PaEN]

     -- PUC To Seek Comments On Regulations To Give Electric Utilities New Tools To Manage Data Centers During Periods Of Strained Electricity Supplies And Curtailments To Maintain Grid Reliability  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- House Environmental Committee To Hold Oct. 5 Hearing On New DEP Conventional Oil & Gas ‘Mineral Brine’ Permit Allowing Unrestricted, Unlimited Road Dumping Of Contaminated Water [PaEN] 

-- 500 Feet Isn't Enough! The Protective Buffers PA Coalition Will Hold A Rally At The State Capitol In Harrisburg Oct. 7 Calling For Increasing Setbacks From Shale Gas Drilling To Protect Public Health, The Environment [PaEN] 

-- DEP Solid Waste Advisory Committee Meets Oct. 7 To Review Draft Changes To Co-Product Determination Process For Reclassifying Materials As Not Waste; It Became Controversial In Debate Over Road Dumping Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells  [PaEN] 

-- State Fire Commissioner Now Accepting Applications For Act 13 Unconventional Gas Well Emergency Response Grants  [PaEN] 

-- PUC Approves UGI Gas Rate Increase Of 5.7%; Increase In Monthly Residential Customer Care From $16.25 to $20; Add A Weather Normalization Surcharge Pilot Program  [PaEN]

-- PUC PaOneCall Damage Prevention Committee Assesses $220,000 In Penalties For Violations Of Underground Utility Notification Requirements

NewsClips:

-- WTAE: Heating Oil Costs Projected To Jump Nearly $900 This Winter

-- ABC6/Philadelphia: Heating Costs Expect To Rise Sharply This Winter, With Home Heating Oil Seeing Biggest Increase 

-- Morning Call: Lehigh Valley Farmers Under Pressure As Fuel, Other Prices Rise: ‘There’s Not Much Of A Profit To Be Made’

-- Observer-Reporter: Farmers Face Higher Costs As Price Of Diesel Skyrockets: ‘It Could Get Ugly’

-- Inquirer: Affordability Is On Voters’ Minds In PA Swing Districts As The Cost Of Gasoline, Groceries Skyrockets 

-- Financial Times: US Oil Industry Warns Diesel Prices Will Not Return To Normal For A Year 

-- Financial Times: US Refiners Reap Windfall Profits As Wars Push Up Fuel Prices For Consumers

-- AP: US Households Will Pay More For Energy Because Of President’s Policy Changes, Nonpartisan Think Tank Says [What President’s Policies Cost Pennsylvanians ]

-- AP: President’s Administration Reduces Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards [At The Same Time President’s War Continues Keeping Gasoline, Diesel Prices High]  

-- Utility Dive: US Senate Permitting Bill Gives FERC Authority To Issue Permits For Electric Transmission Projects; Reduces Authority Of States For Section 401 Water Quality Permitting For Gas Pipelines 

-- Utility Dive: PJM Delays Backstop Power Supply Auction After FERC Decides To Approve Only Part Of PJM’s Plan Tuesday; FERC Chair Slams PJM ‘Mess’ 

[Posted: October 2, 2026 ]  PA Environment Digest