DEP’s Pennsylvania Clean Water Academy Hosts March 18 Webinar On Updates To Growing Greener, Section 319 And Other Watershed Restoration Grants

The Pennsylvania Clean Water Academy is hosting a March 18 webinar on Updates to the Growing Greener, Section 319, County Action Plan Block Grant Programs from 9:30 a.m. to Noon.

DEP will do a presentation on updates to the County Action Plan Implementation Block Grant and review tools to support county partners.

DEP will also present on the new features of the upcoming Growing Greener Plus and Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants Programs.

Click Here for the agenda.

Click Here to join this webinar.  The webinar is also available by telephone: +1 267-332-8737, ID: 433396259# 

This webinar is part of a series providing an opportunity for state, local county partners, and guest speakers to come together to exchange information and learn more about partnerships, projects, and progress in support of Phase 3 WIP Countywide Action Planning.

Click Here for Upcoming DEP Clean Water Academy educational programs in this series.

To sign up for reminders of the webinars in this series, send your email to James Spatz, DEP Environmental Planner, at: jspatz@pa.gov. 

Visit the Pennsylvania Clean Water Academy website to learn more about many other education opportunities.

Resource Link:

-- Also visit the Penn State Extension website to learn more about other educational opportunities.

[Posted: February 23, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

Monday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 2.23.26

“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]

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Pennsylvania's Margaret Mead, World Renowned Cultural Anthropologist

Senate Voting Schedule

Budget Hearings: February 24 to March 5

March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

April 20, 21, 22

May 4, 5, 6

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

-- Committee Schedule

House Voting Schedule

Budget Hearings: February 25 to March 12

March. 23, 24, 25

April 13, 14, 15, 27, 28, 29

May 4, 5, 6

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

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

NOTICE: PA House Cancels Budget Hearings Monday, Tuesday

NOTICE: PA Senate Cancels Budget Hearings Monday

February 26-- Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Department of Environmental Protection.

March 2-- House Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources. Click Here to watch live.

March 3-- Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Public Utility Commission.  

March 5-- House Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Public Utility Commission. Click Here to watch live.

March 18--  CANCELED. Rescheduled for April 30. DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Todd M. Wallace twallace@pa.gov.  (formal notice)

April 16-- DCED PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council meeting.  Penn State, State College.  10:00.  Contact: Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov. 

-- February 16+23 - Weekly PA Environment Digest Now Available  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 7 to 20 - Conventional Well Owners Abandoning More Than 1 Well A Day; No Approval For Disposal Of Shale Drill Cuttings  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold March 19 Meeting, April 7 Hearing On Shell Petrochemical Plant Air Quality Plan Approval For Ground Flares, Wastewater Treatment Plant, As-Built Air Pollution Equipment In Beaver County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issues Water Quality Permits For Major Longwall Coal Mining Damage Prevention Project Covering 4 Texas Eastern Natural Gas Pipelines In Greene County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - February 14 [PaEN]  

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - February 21 [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 76 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In February 14 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 63 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In February 21 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

-- The Derrick: Aqua Pennsylvania Boil Water Advisory Remains In Effect For Venango Water Company Customers In Reno, Venango County Since Feb. 14 [Water System Impacted By 2023 Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill]  [PaEN] 

-- PennLive: State Officials Warn Federal ICE Detention Centers In Warehouses Could Overwhelm Sewer, Other Critical Services  

-- Altoona Mirror: DEP Looks To Cleanup PCB Contaminated Soil At Altoona Water Authority Westerly Sewer Treatment Plant As Part Of Monsanto $100 Million PCB Settlement  [PDF of Article]

-- Post-Gazette: Decades After Betrayal, Displacement, Seneca Nation Seeks A Voice In The Future Of Kinzua Dam 

-- PA Capital-Star: Legislation Seeks To Reform Right-To-Know Requests In Pennsylvania During The Age Of A.I.

-- TribLive: Bald Eagles Near US Steel/Nippon Plant Welcome First Egg Of Season

A.I. /Data Centers

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: PA Doesn’t Need To ‘Bend Over Backward’ To Lure A.I. Data Centers With Giveaways; Strict Standards Needed To Protect Communities, The Environment To Outlast Boom; ‘Unless A.I. Kills Us All’  [PaEN]   [A.I. Commercial] 

-- PA Capital-Star: Nuclear Regulatory Commission Hears Worries, But Mostly Support For Restarting Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant To Feed Microsoft A.I. Data Centers

-- WENY: Team PA Industry Nonprofit Gets $2 Million To Study Electric Grid As Energy Demand Rising From A.I. Data Centers

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last 2 Weeks - February 16 & 23   [PaEN]

Today’s Oil & Gas Violations

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 7 to 20 - Conventional Well Owners Abandoning More Than 1 Well A Day; No Approval For Disposal Of Shale Drill Cuttings  [PaEN]

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: We Don’t Need Voter ID Because Voter Fraud Isn’t A Problem - By Bruce Ledewitz, Duquesne Law Schools

-- Spotlight PA: False Claims Laws In Other States Have Brought In Millions, Why Hasn’t It Passed In PA?

-- LancasterOnline: As New PA Taxes Are Weighed, Democrats Say Tax On Wealthy Should Still Be Considered

-- AP: As Antisemitism Rises And Strife Over Israel Continues, Josh Shapiro Turns Toward His Jewish Faith 

-- AP: Josh Shapiro, In His Own Words, On Political Violence And Antisemitism 

-- York Daily Record: National Democrats Go All-In On Janelle Stelson To Challenge Republican Con. Scott Perry

-- Post-Gazette: Federal Funding Freeze Stalls Growth For Western PA Small Businesses

-- Beaver Times: PA Has A Skilled Worker Shortage, What’s The Plan For Filling It?

-- Inquirer: After 5 Quakertown Teens Bloodied, Arrested During Protest Of President’s ICE, Petitioners Call For Police Chief To Resign

-- TribLive: Debate Over Contract For President’s ICE Detention Center Heats Up As Vote Approaches In Clearfield County

-- PA Capital-Star: Governors Say President Told Them He Won’t Force Immigration Enforcement Surges On States Where It’s Not Wanted 

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[Posted: February 23, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

The Derrick: Aqua Pennsylvania Boil Water Advisory Remains In Effect For Venango Water Company Customers In Reno, Venango County Since Feb. 14 [Water System Impacted By 2023 Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill]

On February 21, Aqua Pennsylvania announced a boil water advisory originally issued on February 14 is still in effect for customers of the Venango Water System in the Village of Reno, Venango County.

Aqua customers in the affected area are advised to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation until further notice.

An apparent water main break has resulted in a loss of pressure in the system. Aqua crews are actively working to isolate and repair the problem. 

Aqua customers in the affected area are advised to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation until further notice. If you have questions, please call Aqua Pennsylvania at 877.987.2782.  

You will be notified when this Boil Water Advisory is lifted.  

We thank customers for their patience and understanding as we work to resolve this issue. 

Aqua Pennsylvania is currently operating the system as receiver under order from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.  

Visit the Aqua Pennsylvania Rhodes Estate Water/Wastewater Customers webpage for the latest information.

Aqua Buying Venango Water

Aqua Pennsylvania has notified the Public Utility Commission it has reached a “settlement in principle” with the Rhodes Estate and Randal and Kevin Rhodes to purchase the Venango Water Company and other water systems owned by the Rhodes Estate.

The notification was included in a February 3 status report by Aqua to the PUC on its temporary operation of the seven Rhodes water systems under emergency receivership orders issued by the Commission dating back to August 11, 2023. Read more here.

In a status report to the PUC last July, Aqua said the Venango Water Company and the six other Rhodes Estate water systems need more than $5.5 million in capital improvements over the next three years to meet state regulations.  [Read more here.]

Wastewater Spill

Aqua Pennsylvania was ordered to take over operation of the Venango Water Company after a July 2023 spill of conventional oil well wastewater from wells owned by Petro Erie, Inc. that contaminated Bellows Spring, one of two water resources used by the company to serve the Village of Reno, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

The circumstances surrounding this spill have been the subject of a criminal investigation by the state Office of Attorney General since March 2025. Read more here.

(Photos: Top- Petro Erie, Inc. Reno conventional well wastewater spill; Bottom- Aqua Pennsylvania hauling water to Venango Water Company to make up losses from contaminated spring.)

Resource Links - Conventional Wastewater Spill: 

-- DEP Investigates Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Leak As Possible Source Of Village Of Reno Water Supply Contamination In Venango County; Customers Under Do Not Consume Advisory For 2+ Weeks  [8.5.23]

-- Mayor Of Sugarcreek Asks For Donations To Refill Village Of Reno Water Tank After Contamination In Venango County; Emergency Water Distribution Resumes; Contamination From Conventional Oil Wastewater Tanks Suspected  [8.12.23]

-- The Derrick: DEP Issues Order To Petro Erie, Inc. To Restore Village Of Reno Water System, Cleanup Contamination Caused By Its Conventional Well Wastewater Release; 1 Month Without Clean Water  [8.19.23]

-- The Derrick: Public Utility Commission Starts Investigation Into Possible Order For Another Utility To Permanently Acquire Venango Water Company Impacted By Conventional Oil Well Spill [3.12.24]

-- The Derrick: PUC Judge Issues Emergency Order Appointing Aqua Pennsylvania As Temporary Operator For 6 Rhodes Estate Water Companies [Serious Community Impacts Continue From Conventional Oil Well Spill In Venango County]  [10.19.24]

-- The Derrick: State Attorney General Launches Criminal Investigation Into Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill That Contaminated Venango Water Company Spring  [3.8.25] 

-- The Derrick: Aqua Pennsylvania Details $5.5 Million Upgrade Costs For Rhodes Estates Water Systems In Venango County Area; Fallout Continues From Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill  [7.10.25]

-- The Derrick: Aqua PA Spells Out Venango Water Co. Expenses Since Its PUC-Ordered Emergency Role [Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill Cost Water Customers $900,000, So Far, In Venango County]  [2.22.25]

-- The Derrick: Aqua Pennsylvania Reports ‘Settlement In Principle’ To Purchase Venango Water Company [Fallout From Public Water Supply Contamination By Conventional Oil Wastewater Spill Continues]  [2.12.26]]  

[Posted: February 23, 2026]  PA Environment Digest