Friday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 7.17.26

“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 Voting Schedule

September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

​​September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 17, 18

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

July 21-- Agenda Posted. DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee meeting. Rachel Caron Building, Harrisburg. 9:00 a.m.  (formal notice)

July 22-- Agenda Posted. DCNR Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council meeting.  Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 10:00 a.m.   Read more here on agenda.

July 23-- Agenda Posted. DEP Mining and Reclamation Advisory Board meeting. Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg. 10:00 a.m.

July 27-- Virtual. Outdoor Business Alliance Of PA Hosts Webinar On Outdoor Participation Trends And What They Mean For Your Business.  Noon to 1:00 p.m.

August 4-- DEP: Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority meeting. Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg. 10:00 a.m.

August 5-- Penn State Extension Hosts Webinar On Forested Headwaters And Drinking Water Quality, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

August 6-- DEP Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson. 9:15 a.m. 

August 6-- DEP Agricultural Advisory Board meeting. DEP Southcentral Regional Office, Harrisburg. 1:00 p.m. (formal notice)

-- DEP Declares Statewide Code Purple Air Quality Alert For Friday, July 17 Due To Wildfire Smoke From Canada, Minnesota  

-- York Daily Record: EPA Administrator Blamed Canadian Forestry Management Practices For Wildfire Smoke During York Visit [Forgot Minnesota]

-- TribLive: Unhealthy Air Quality Conditions In Western PA Prompt Cancelations And Warnings 

-- Scranton Times: How To Protect Yourself From The Bad Air Caused By Wildfires

-- The Allegheny Front: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself From Wildfire Smoke [2023]

-- PUC To Seek Public Comment On Proposed Settlement With UGI Utilities Over Alleged Shortcomings In Plastic Natural Gas Pipeline Construction  [PaEN]

-- Fox43: EPA Administrator Tours Watershed Alliance Of York Projects

-- Governor’s Budget Office Announced 2025 List Of Approved Redevelopment Assistance Capital Projects

-- July 18 Pennsylvania Bulletin Now Available

-- TribLive: Westmoreland Land Trust Buys 23 Acres Along Heritage Trail, Expands Protected Habitat 

-- Republican Herald: Student Campers Explore Wildlife Care At Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

 A.I. /Data Centers

-- Morning Call: Allentown Residents Get First Look At A.I. Data Center Planned In City At Packed Meeting 

-- Morning Call Guest Essay: A.I. Data Center Development In Lehigh Valley Can Be Controlled - Rep. Mike Schlossberg (D-Lehigh)

-- Williamsport Sun: Republican Rep. Joe Hamm Explains Role Of Township Ordinances Will Play In A.I. Data Center Development

-- Courier Times: Amazon Proposed To Install 286 Backup Generators At Falls Twp. A.I. Data Center

-- Courier Times: Public Overwhelmingly Opposed To Amazon A.I. Data Center In Falls Twp., Bucks County

-- Courier Times: Amazon’s Proposed A.I. Data Center In Falls Twp., Bucks County: What You Need To Know [PDF of Article]

-- Inquirer: Philadelphia Planning Commission Considers How And If A.I. Data Centers Should Be In Philly

-- Quinnipiac University Poll Finds 74% Of PA Voters Would Oppose Building An A.I. Data Center In Their Community; 76% Are Following Data Center News Closely  [PaEN] 

-- WITF: New Poll Finds Opposition To A.I. Data Centers Is Growing Among PA Voters 

-- PJM Board Approves Changes To Transmission Line Projects, Substations To Support Data Center Development  [PaEN] 

-- Wash Post: President Has Spent Billions On Fossil Fuels, Nuclear While Canceling Wind, Solar Generation That Were Ready To Go - His Electricity Boom Has Yet To Materialize  

Today’s Oil & Gas Violations

-- Today’s Violations: DEP inspection of Equitrans Inc. [EQT] conventional well in Allegheny County, Jefferson Hills Boro found the well abandoned, not plugged and owner failed to submit annual reports since 2023. Violations issued. DEP inspection report.

-- Today’s Violations:  DEP follow-up inspection of  Big Dog Energy LLC shale gas well in Westmoreland County, Hempfield Twp. found no action taken to cleanup spills, put contaminated water tanks in secondary containment since violations discovered on April 27-- 79 days and counting.  DEP Inspection report 

-- Today’s Violations: DEP monitoring of casing/cementing failure at 3 Expand Operating LLC shale gas wells in Susquehanna County, Springville Twp. found no gas leaking. Monitoring and July 13, 2016 violations continued-- 3,653 days and counting.  Example DEP inspection report.

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- July 17: PA Average AAA Gasoline Prices Jump 11 Cents To $4.11/Gallon - $1.01/Gallon Higher Than On Feb. 27 [Greene County Average Price Highest at $4.28]  

-- July 17: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.98  Ohio- $3.89  PA- $4.11

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

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- The Center Square: PA Leaders Delay $1.3 Billion In Payments To Medical Care Organizations Help Create Balanced State Budget Illusion

-- Post-Gazette: Fetterman Warns Democrats He’d Leave The Party If It Turns Its Back On Israel, Most Democrats Are Fine With That

-- PennLive: State Sen. Mastriano Grilled About President’s Election Subversion, Partisanship At US Senate Confirmation Hearing As US Ambassador To Slovak Republic

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Diversity - Equity - Inclusion

[Posted: July 17, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

Quinnipiac University Poll Finds 74% Of PA Voters Would Oppose Building An A.I. Data Center In Their Community; 76% Are Following Data Center News Closely

A new Quinnipiac University poll released on July 15 found 74% of Pennsylvania voters surveyed would oppose building an A.I. data Center In their community, compared to 16% who would support it.

A Quinnipiac poll in February found 68% said they would oppose A.I. data centers.

The poll also found 76% of voters say they are following news about A.I. data centers closely.

Only about 24% of voters approve of the way Gov. Shapiro is handling A.I. Data centers in Pennsylvania, while 34% disapprove and 42% did not offer any opinion.

Alex Beauchamp, Northern Regional Director for Food & Water Watch, issued the following statement in response to the results--

“AI data centers only benefit billionaires, not the people who have to live with the behemoth facilities. It’s no surprise Pennsylvanians want nothing to do with this destructive industry.

“Time and time again, Governor Shapiro has proven willing to give away water, energy, land — and even tax breaks — to corporate developers who don't care about Pennsylvanians. 

“The budget was a chance for him to rewrite the record — he failed, leaving Pennsylvanians out to dry, again. 

“This poll provides even more evidence that this approach  will not fly with people of all political persuasions. Pennsylvanians want better — we need a statewide data center moratorium, to develop strong, commonsense regulations that actually protect communities.”

Click Here for the poll results.

Resource Links:

-- Budget First Look: At Best A Cost To Carry Environmental Budget, Supports Oil & Gas Program Operations, Several Data Center Provisions But Not A Moratorium Or Pause  [PaEN]

-- A.I. Data Center Legislative Scorecard: Pennsylvania Failed To Finalize Meaningful Legislation On Energy Affordability, To Increase Electric Generation And Give Communities The Tools They Need To Cope With A.I. Proposals  [PaEN] 

-- Environmental/Energy Groups: Final State Budget Fails To Address Critical A.I. Data Center Issues And Skyrocketing Energy Bills  [PaEN] 

-- PA Environmental Council: New State Budget Leaves A.I. Data Centers Unresolved, Big Win For Advanced Transmission Line Tech, Modest Progress On Other Energy Issues  [PaEN]

-- More Reactions: Final State Budget Fails To Take On Growing Concerns About Energy Affordability And Keeping The Lights On  [PaEN] 

Related Articles This Week:

-- PJM Data Center-Driven Power Auction Prices Limited By $325/MW-Day Cap; Without Cap Would Have Been 70% Higher In PA, Most Areas; Missed Reliability Target By 6,831 MW  [PaEN] 

-- Gov. Shapiro's Legal Action To Impose Price Cap On PJM Interconnection Generation Capacity Auctions  Results In Saving Consumers $13.3 Billion In Latest Power Auction  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Issues Hot Weather Alert For July 14 - 17; PJM Confirmed It Reached New All-Time Peak Load Demand 2,595 MW Over Previous Record [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Maximum Generation Alert For July 15; Requested & Received DOE Order To Put Data Centers On Backup Generators, Exceed Environmental Standards If Needed From July 15 To 21  [PaEN]  

-- PJM Extends Maximum Generation Alert To July 16; Hot Weather Alert To Continue Thru At Least July 17  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Board Approves Changes To Transmission Line Projects, Substations To Support Data Center Development  [PaEN]  

-- Quinnipiac University Poll Finds 74% Of PA Voters Would Oppose Building An A.I. Data Center In Their Community; 76% Are Following Data Center News Closely  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- Reuters: PJM Power Grid Auction Hits Prices Limit, Falls Short Of Reliability Goal

-- Utility Dive: PJM Generation Capacity Auction Prices Hit Price Cap, Reserve Shortfall Grows 

-- PA Capital-Star: PJM Interconnection Electricity Price Hits Cap Again In Latest Auction

-- New York Times: A.I. Data Centers Add Billions In Power Costs In PJM Region

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: PA State Budget Saves $500 Million Data Center Sales Tax Exemption Amid Growing Opposition To A.I. Boom 

-- WITF: New Poll Finds Opposition To A.I. Data Centers Is Growing Among PA Voters

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: RISE PA Decarbonization Grants Expected To Reduce Industrial Air Pollution In Pennsylvania

-- The Allegheny Front: Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Authorize Balcony Solar To Offset Electricity Bills

[Posted: July 17, 2026]  PA Environment Digest