PA Environment Digest Blog

Environmental Health Project, Food & Water Watch, Partners Host Nov. 10 Webinar On Shale Gas Fracking, Data Centers And Your Health

Join Food and Water Watch, Environmental Health Project, Environmental Integrity Project, and Mountain Watershed Association for a November 10 webinar on Shale Gas Fracking, Data Centers and Your Health from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The webinar is the first in a series about environmental concerns in Pennsylvania.

In this first session, you'll hear from a panel of speakers about the impacts that heavy industrial projects such as fracking wells and data centers can have on you and your family's health.

Speakers will share personal testimony, research findings, information about what you can do to protect yourself, and the latest updates on the proposed data center in Elizabeth Township, PA.

Speakers will include:

-- Dr. Ned Ketyer, MD, FAAP (Environmental Health Project)

-- Janice Blanock (MAD-FACTS)

-- Talor Musil, MSW (Environmental Health Project)

-- Joelle Whiteman (Food & Water Watch)

-- Lisa Graves Marcucci (Environmental Integrity Project)

Click Here to register and for more information.

[Posted: October 19, 2026] PA Environment Digest

Register Now! PA Forestry Association Annual Forest Symposium Nov. 7 In State College

The Pennsylvania Forestry Association is accepting registrations for the 140th Annual Forest Symposium and Annual Business Meeting on November 7 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College.

This milestone gathering brings together woodland owners, forestry professionals, conservationists, educators, industry partners, and friends of Penn’s Woods for a day focused on the past, present, and future of Pennsylvania’s forests.

The 2026 Symposium features keynote speaker Ethan Tapper -- forester, author, and conservation advocate -- along with networking opportunities, forestry and community exhibitors, the PFA Annual Business Meeting, lunch and refreshments, and the presentation of PFA’s annual awards.

As the Pennsylvania Forestry Association marks its 140th anniversary, we invite everyone who cares about Pennsylvania’s forests to come together, exchange ideas, celebrate accomplishments, and consider the small actions we can take today to create lasting forests for generations to come.

Click Here to register and for more information.

Visit the Pennsylvania Forestry Association to learn more about programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved.

[Posted: October 19, 2026] PA Environment Digest

Registration Open! Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental Summit Feb. 23-24 At University Of Delaware; Presentation Proposals Due Oct. 30

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is now accepting registrations for the 2027 Delaware Estuary Science and Environmental Summit February 23-24 at the University of Delaware Conference Center in Newark.

This year’s theme is “Rooted in Science, Growing with Innovation.”

Since 2005, the goal of the biennial Delaware Estuary Science and Environmental Summit has been to bring together scientists, managers, restoration practitioners, and educators from different sectors to share the latest scientific information, network, and make ecological linkages that promote a better understanding of the watershed.

The format is that of a conventional scientific meeting with abstracts, presentations and Q&A.

While the focus is on the watershed of the Delaware River and Bay, presentations are welcome from other areas if they help to inform our understanding of this system.

Click Here to register and for more information.

The Partnership is also still accepting presentation proposals until October 30.

Click Here to submit your proposal.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Partnership, Like the Partnership on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter, Join them on Instagram or Subscribe to their YouTube Channel.

[Posted: October 19, 2026] PA Environment Digest

Physicians For Social Responsibility PA, Protect PT Host Oct. 20 Webinar On Tracking Contaminated Radioactive Water, Waste From Oil & Gas Development

The Physicians for Social Responsibility PA and Westmoreland County-based Protect PT will host an October 20 webinar on Tracking Radioactive Oil and Gas Waste in Our Communities from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

What do you think of when you see a radiation warning symbol? Most people immediately associate the yellow and black trefoil with nuclear energy facilities, but few know that there’s another large source of radioactive waste in our communities: contaminated water from shale gas and oil and gas operations.

Physicians for Social Responsibility PA and Protect PT have produced a new guide to teach the public how to track this threat.

The webinar will teach you the rules of transport and disposal, what should be happening versus what often happens, what to keep your eyes on, how to keep yourself safe, and how to alert the proper authorities if you notice anything wrong.

Click Here to register and for more information.

Visit the Hunt For Yellow 7 Tracking Radioactive Oil & Gas Waste In Our Communities webpage for more information on this issue.

Visit the Physicians for Social Responsibility PA and Protect PT website for more background on initiatives, programs, upcoming events and how you can get involved.

Resource Links:

-- House Hearing I: DEP Allows The Use Of Contaminated Water From New 'Mineral Brine' Conventional Wells On Roads, While Prohibiting Contaminated Water With The Same Harmful Pollutants On Roads From Other Conventional Oil & Gas Wells [PaEN]

-- House Hearing II: Road Dumping Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Creates An Aerosol Mist Carrying Pollution Through The Air And Into My Lungs - By Siri Lawson, Warren County Resident [PaEN]

-- House Hearing III: Protect PT: For Too Long The Oil & Gas Industry Has Used Our Southwest PA Communities As Dumping Grounds For Their Waste - Road Dumping Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Must Be Banned [PaEN]

-- House Hearing IV: We Should Not Be Trying To Find New Ways To Dump More Contaminated Water From Conventional Oil & Gas Wells On Our Roads, It’s Obviously Not A Solution; We Need Safe Disposal Options - Here’s One [PaEN]

[Posted: October 19, 2026] PA Environment Digest

Monday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 10.19.26

“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

October 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

October 19, 20, 21

November 17, 18

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

October 19-- NEW. Penn State: EarthTalks Features Lara Fowler On Building Community-Led Solutions To Flooding Challenges. 4:00 p.m.

October 20-- DEP State Water Plan Ohio Regional Water Resources Committee meeting. 1:00 p.m. (formal notice)

October 20-- Agenda Posted. DEP Laboratory Accreditation Advisory Committee meeting. Rachel Carson Building, Harrisburg. 9:00 a.m. (formal notice)

October 20-- In-Person. Stroud Water Research Center Watershed Restoration Workshop - Stream & Buffer Ecology. Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale in Chester County. Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale, Chester County.

October 20-- Washington & Jefferson College In-Person New Horizons Infrastructure, Energy And Data In The Coming Decade In Southwest PA

October 21-- DEP State Water Plan Great Lakes Regional Water Resources Committee meeting. 9:00 a.m. (formal notice)

October 21-- In-Person. Cumberland County Water Forum At Dickinson College In Carlisle. 6:00 p.m.

October 21-- In-Person. PennFuture’s Legal Environmental Advocacy Fund Soiree. Brix Brewhouse, 128 PA-715, Brodheadsville, Monroe County. 5:30 p.m.

October 22-- DEP State Water Plan Upper/Middle Susquehanna Regional Water Resources Committee meeting. 9:00 a.m. (formal notice)

October 22-- In-Person. Stroud Water Research Center Watershed Restoration Workshop - Impairment & Strategies for Recovery. Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale in Chester County. Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale, Chester County.

October 24-- WeConservePA: 2026 Environmental Advisory Council and Municipal Sustainability Conference. Fort Washington, Montgomery County

October 24-- National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Events Planned

October 27-- DEP State Water Plan Statewide Water Resources Committee meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 9:00 a.m. (formal notice)

October 27-- Virtual. US EPA Invites Comments On Reissuance Of Expired EXCO Resources (PA) Oil & Gas Waste Injection Well Permit In Bell Twp., Clearfield County; Virtual Hearing Set For Oct. 27 [If Requested]

-- October 19-- Weekly PA Environment Digest Is Now Available [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Snapshot - October 10 to 16 [PaEN]

-- DEP: Investigation Of A ‘Frac Hit’ Between 3 Seneca Resources Co Shale Gas Well Pads In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County Leads To Contaminated Water Spill [PaEN]

-- WHYY: Federal Pipeline Regulatory Agency Says Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipelines Have A ‘System-Wide Risk” Of Leaks Similar To The One Discovered In Upper Makefield Twp., Bucks County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 57: More Water Seeps Break Out From INR OPR LLC Cooper Shale Gas Well Pad Possibly Related To Broken Pad Drainage System In Indiana County, Site Of 336,000 Gallon Frack Water Spill [PaEN]

-- DEP: Routine Inspection Finds Overflowing Contaminated Water Tank At Penn View Exploration Conventional Oil & Gas Well In Clearfield County [PaEN]

-- DEP - Day 71: Violations Continue At John D. Branch Conventional Well Site For Failing To Have Adequate Spill Containment Around Tanks Holding 42,000 Gallons On Contaminated Water In Warren County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Ruptured Underground Gathering Line Releases Crude Oil Near Bull Run Resources Conventional Well In Warren County [PaEN]