Tuesday Evening PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 5.19.26

NOTICE: PA Environment Digest Will Be Closed Thru May 25

“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

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

September 28, 29, 30

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

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

May 20-- Agenda Posted. DEP Aggregate Advisory Board meeting. Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg. 10:00 a.m.

May 21-- In-Person. DEP Informal Conference To Take Comments On The Proposed Addition Of 7,154 Acres To The Rosebud Mining Company Penfield Coal Mine In Clearfield County  

May 21-- Agenda Posted. DEP Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee meeting. Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg. 10:00 a.m.

May 27-- DEP Hearing [If Requested] On RACT III Title V Air Quality Permit For the Domtar Paper Company Johnsonburg Mill In Elk County. DEP Northwest Regional Office, 230 Chestnut Street, Meadville. 10:00 a.m.

May 27-- Agenda Posted. DCNR Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council meeting. Berks Nature Nature Place, 575 St. Bernadine Street, Reading. 10:00 a.m. to Noon.  Read more here on agenda.

May 27-- Virtual. Delaware RiverKeeper Network Hosts Webinar On Biosolids And Sewage Sludge Impacts On Farms In Pennsylvania.  7:00 p.m.

June 2-- In-Person. DEP To Host Informal Conference, Hearing On Permit To Add 4,342 Acres To Rosebud Clymer A Coal Mine In Cherryhill Twp., Indiana County

June 3-- Agenda Posted. DEP Storage Tank Advisory Committee meeting. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Randy D. Martin ramartin@pa.gov.  (formal notice)

June 4-5-- In-Person. Penn State Extension: Mid-Atlantic Agroforestry Conference. Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon County.

June 9-- Environmental Quality Board meeting. 9:00 a.m. Contact: Laura Griffin, Regulatory Coordinator, laurgriffi@pa.gov,  (717) 772-3277.

-- Utility Dive: US Dept. Of Energy Grants PJM Request For Emergency Order To Curtail A.I. Data Center Use Of Electricity From The Grid And Go To Back-Up Generators To Cope With May 18-20 Hot Weather Alert  [PaEN] 

-- Bloomberg: Heat Strains US Power Grids That Need Off-Season Repairs; PJM Asked All Generators To Remain Online To Help Prevent Blackouts, But Some Plants Remained Offline  

-- PJM Interconnection Extends Maximum Generation Alert To May 20

-- North American Electric Reliability Corp Summer Reliability Outlook Says Record Additions Of Generation- Solar, Batteries And Some Natural Gas- Have Strengthened Readiness, But Elevated Risks Remain  [PaEN] 

-- PUC PaOneCall Damage Prevention Committee Announces $183,750 In Penalties For Underground Utility, Pipeline Violations; Next Meeting June 9 

-- York Daily Record: Firefighters Respond To Dumpster Fire At J&K Junkyard, Scene Of Massive Fire In February

-- EPA Announces $39.2 Million For Pennsylvania To Address PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals,’ Emerging Contaminants In Drinking Water  [PaEN] 

-- Nominations Now Being Accepted For 2026 Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program Con Awards [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension June 1 Webinar On New Features Of PAOneStop Manure Management Planning Tool, 10:00 a.m. to Noon

-- The Allegheny Front: President To Eliminate US Forest Service Research And Close 4 Facilities In Pennsylvania 

-- DCNR: Trail Rehabilitation Work To Start On Glen Onoko Falls In Lehigh Gorge State Park, Carbon County

-- Tribune-Democrat: Somerset County Seeking Great Allegheny Passage Trail Maintenance Funds, Aiming To Update Sections Of The Trail

-- Brandywine Conservancy's Penguin Court Preserve, Westmoreland Pollinator Partners Seek To Certify 250 Properties As Monarch Butterfly Waystations In The Laurel Highlands  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Deer Research Center Buck Tests Positive For Chronic Wasting Disease

-- Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Music On The Mountain - Berks Sinfonietta, Returning June 13 

A.I. /Data Centers

-- Concerned Citizens Of Montour County: Another A.I. Data Center Developer Reached Out To Tell The Group They Will Have A Proposal To Discuss; Few Details Available; Same Group Developing In Cumberland County [Video Update] 

-- Montour Area Recreation Commission, Talen Energy Announce Actions To Support The Current, Long-Term Operation Of The Montour Preserve  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: East Deer Twp. Commissioners Look To Regulate Potential A.I. Data Centers In Allegheny County 

-- Reps. Fiedler, Burgos Introduce Legislation To Curb Excessive Profits By Utility Companies, Safe Consumers Money

-- Fortune Magazine: Americans’ A.I. Hate Wave Might Just Be Gathering Steam: Data Centers Could Hike Power Costs In Some States Over 50% By 2030 

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- May 19: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Same As Yesterday, Now $1.52/Gallon Higher To $4.63 Since Feb. 27 [Armstrong County Average Price Still Highest at $4.89] 

-- May 19: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $4.53 Ohio- $4.61  PA- $4.63

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

-- Reuters: Four US LNG Gas Vessels Sailing To China After President’s Summit 

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: In IRS Settlement With President, Agency Is ‘Forever Barred’ From Examining Or Prosecuting President, His Family And His Company In Existing, Not Future Tax Examinations 

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[Posted: May 19, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

North American Electric Reliability Corp Summer Reliability Outlook Says Record Additions Of Generation- Solar, Batteries And Some Natural Gas- Have Strengthened Readiness, But Elevated Risks Remain

On May 19, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. released its 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment which finds record generation additions-- in particular solar, batteries and some natural gas-- have strengthened readiness for the summer season, even as elevated risks remain in some areas.

“The pace of change across the North American grid continues to accelerate, but industry is working diligently to construct the necessary generation and transmission needed to power the future,” said John Moura, director of Reliability Assessments and Performance Analysis. 

“We are seeing a record-breaking amount of on-peak capacity being interconnected in a single year strengthening system readiness for summer conditions. However, increasing risks for early fall and winter seasons reinforce the need for additional firm and dispatchable resources to maintain reliability and meet rising electricity demand.”

All areas are projected to have adequate resources for normal summer conditions. 

This is due in part to the large expansion of bulk power system resource additions, including a substantial influx of solar and battery and some new natural gas-fired generators over the past year. 

Summer resource capacity has risen by over 58 GW, which is more than three times the amount of resource growth observed going into the prior summer. These additions are helping strengthen reserves across many areas.  

Despite the improved outlook, the assessment identifies ongoing challenges that could strain the grid this summer. 

Accelerated demand, rapid growth of large loads, periods of low wind output, and the overlap of early summer heat with maintenance outages may challenge reliability.

NERC’s recommendations, described fully in the report, outline actions to help reduce reliability risks, including reviewing operating plans and outage coordination procedures, preparing for extreme weather and potential generator outages and ensuring sufficient resource availability. 

The recommendations also emphasize planning for region-specific challenges, including low wind conditions, reduced hydro availability and output, and large computational load disconnects, while encouraging continued coordination across industry, regulators, and policymakers.

Click Here for the Summer Reliability Assessment.

Click Here for the NERC announcement.

NewsClips:

-- PJM Interconnection Extends Maximum Generation Alert To May 20

-- Bloomberg: Heat Strains US Power Grids That Need Off-Season Repairs; PJM Asked All Generators To Remain Online To Help Prevent Blackouts, But Some Plants Remained Offline 

Resource Links:

-- Utility Dive: US Dept. Of Energy Grants PJM Request For Emergency Order To Curtail A.I. Data Center Use Of Electricity From The Grid And Go To Back-Up Generators To Cope With May 18-20 Hot Weather Alert  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection: Extends Maximum Generation Alert To May 19; Issues Pre-Emergency Demand Response Call To 3 Utilities; Hot Weather Alert Extended To May 20 For Mid-Atlantic Zone  [PaEN] 

[Posted: May 19, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

Brandywine Conservancy's Penguin Court Preserve, Westmoreland Pollinator Partners Seek To Certify 250 Properties As Monarch Butterfly Waystations In The Laurel Highlands

On May 19, the Brandywine Conservancy’s Penguin Court Preserve in Westmoreland County and the Westmoreland Pollinator Partners are spearheading an initiative to certify 250 properties in the Laurel Highlands as Monarch Waystations this year.

The Laurel Highlands encompass Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland counties.

A Monarch Waystation is a place that provides the resources necessary for monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) to reproduce and sustain their migration. 

Milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.) are essential components of a Monarch Waystation, as monarch caterpillars can only eat milkweed. 

Nectar plants like asters (Eurybia spp.), goldenrods (Solidago spp.), Joe-pye weeds (Eupatorium spp.), mountain mints (Pycnanthemum spp.), and native sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) are necessary, too, to feed adult monarch butterflies, especially in the fall, when monarchs in the Eastern United States are migrating south to Mexico. 

Eliminating the use of insecticides and similar sprays is important, since these chemicals harm beneficial insects as well as “pests.”

Penguin Court is one of over two dozen groups that form the Westmoreland Pollinator Partners (WPP), a coalition of nonprofit organizations, schools, and community gardens that are dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving native pollinators and their habitats.

In 2023, when Westmoreland County celebrated its 250th anniversary, WPP set a goal to see that 250 Monarch Waystations were certified in the county by the end of that year.

That goal was met by August! 

Interest in the program was high, even from landowners outside of the county and so, to honor America’s 250th anniversary this year, WPP wants to certify 250 new properties in the Laurel Highlands as Monarch Waystations. 

Penguin Court and WPP will be promoting Monarch Waystation certification by educating the public about the importance of native plant species, especially milkweeds and nectar plants, as well as the need to implement best management practices like not using insecticides or herbicides on your property.

Submitting Applications

Penguin Court will receive Monarch Waystation applications from people within the Laurel Highlands, ensure certification requirements are met, and then assign a Monarch Waystation identification number to participants who will be able to pick up their certificate and garden sign at a Monarch Waystation Reunion event in Greensburg on July 22 and then select locations throughout the region.

Click Here to fill out an application.

Globally, Monarch Waystations are overseen by Monarch Watch, a program based at the University of Kansas; however, Penguin Court will receive applications from within the Laurel Highlands until the 250 goal is met. 

Afterwards, participants’ information will be shared with Monarch Watch to be added to the Monarch Waystation Registry.

There is no fee to participate as these activities are supported in part by a grant awarded to Brandywine Conservancy from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program Environmental Stewardship Fund under the administration of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation administered through the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Laurel Highlands Mini Grant Program. 

Pollinator Photo Contest

Penguin Court and Westmoreland Pollinator Partners will also be accepting entries to the annual Pennsylvania Pollinator Photo Challenge through August 2.

Click Here for all the details.

Monarch Celebration Events

Events celebrating monarch butterflies and their habitats are planned. 

The evening of July 22, a Monarch Waystation Reunion will be held in Greensburg as a fun, casual, and educational gathering of new and established Waystation owners. 

On August 15, “Wings Over Westmoreland” will serve as an umbrella for Hummingbird Day, which will be held from 9:00 a.m. until Noon at Powdermill Nature Reserve in Rector, and Monarchs, Milkweed and More, which will be held from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier. 

Sponsors

Brandywine Conservancy, Discover Westmoreland, and FirstEnergy are supplying matching funds to support this initiative, while Westmoreland Pollinator Partners are providing in-kind contributions.

[Posted: May 19, 2026]  PA Environment Digest