Saturday, July 31, 2021

Saturday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips 7.31.21

Senate
returns to session September 20, 21, 22

     -- Committee Schedule

House returns to session September 27, 28, 29

     -- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events


-- Gov. Wolf: Highlights Need For State Parks To Be Welcoming To All In Penn’s Parks For All Initiative  [PaEN]

-- AP: Governor Releases Plan For Pennsylvania’s 121 State Parks; Parks Face $500 Million In Maintenance Backlog

-- Bay Journal: Pennsylvania High Court Ruling Shores Up State’s Environmental Rights Amendment

-- Keep PA Beautiful: Invites Residents To Partner With Municipalities To Adopt A Road Or Area To Help Reduce Litter And Associated Cleanup Costs  [PaEN]

-- WTAJ: Illegal Dumping Reports Show Major Increase Within Last Year

-- PA Resources Council: To Hold Sept. 11 Reuse Fest In Erie Providing Opportunity For Public To Donate Items For Reuse By Local Nonprofits  [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg Law Guest Essay: Legal Gaps Leave Fracking A Radioactive Mess

-- AP: Forgotten Oil & Gas Wells Linger, Leaking Toxic Chemicals  [PA Included]

-- Seneca Resources And U.S. Well Services Announce All-Electric Natural Gas Well Completion

-- Allegheny Front: EPA Takes Up Environmental Justice Complaint Against SEPTA’s Permit For Natural Gas Power Plant

-- ScrantonT: Scranton Mayor, Others Call For Bold Federal Investment In Electric Vehicle And Clean Transportation Infrastructure 

-- Delaware River Basin Commission: Holds Aug. 11 Hearing, September 9 Business Meeting [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Weather Service Confirms EF1 Tornado Hit Along Fayette-Westmoreland Border

-- ErieT: Weather Service Confirms 1 Tornado In Crawford County Damaged Buildings

-- MCall: Bucks County Tornado Was An EF3, Among 7 Confirmed So Far In PA, NJ From Thursday’s Storms

-- CourierT: Powerful EF3 Tornado Cuts Wide Trail Through Bucks County

-- CourierT: Bucks County Residents Had Seconds To Make Life Or Death Decisions As EF3 Tornado Hit

-- Inquirer: Tornado Counts Have Spiked Dramatically Around Philly, Elsewhere, Here’s What’s Behind The Surge 

-- WHYY: Businesses, Residents Reeling In Aftermath Of Tornadoes, Floods In SE PA

-- Pike County Conservation District/Penn State Extension: August 18 - Spotted Lanternfly Seminar. 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation: July 30 Take Five Fridays With Pam 

-- Stroud Water Research Center: Clean Water Paddle Push - Explore Your Watershed This August! 

-- PA Wilds Center: Abbi Peters Graduates As Fellow Of Appalachian Regional Commission’s Appalachian Leadership Institute

-- ReadingE: Songbird Death Event Still Has No Answers:  Updated Game Commission Advisory 

-- Outdoor Discovery Center At Crooked Creek In Armstrong County: Hosts Aug. 17 Learn About Elk Program [PaEN]

PA Politics

-- PennDOT: Transportation Revenue Options Commission Submits Report To Gov. Wolf, General Assembly

National/International

-- AP: U.S. Senate Work On Infrastructure Plan Slides Into Saturday

-- PG/Daniel Moore: In Climate Push, Federal Reviews to Nudge New Infrastructure Projects Toward Clean Energy

-- EcoWatch: Earth Overshoot Day - The Day Humanity Exceeds Its Yearly allotment Of the Planet’s Biological Assets-- Moves Forward By Nearly A Month

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[Posted: July 31, 2021]  PA Environment Digest

Friday, July 30, 2021

Delaware River Basin Commission Holds Aug. 11 Hearing, September 9 Business Meeting

The
Delaware River Basin Commission holds a virtual August 11 hearing on water withdrawal requests and a business meeting on September 9.

Click Here for details on the agenda and how to join these meetings.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Delaware River Basin Commission website.  Click Here to sign up for regulator updates.  Follow DRBC on TwitterVisit them on YouTube.

[Posted: July 30, 2021]  PA Environment Digest

Gov. Wolf Highlights Need For State Parks To Be Welcoming To All In Penn’s Parks For All Initiative

On July 30, Gov. Tom Wolf visited
Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Cumberland County to highlight the importance of outdoor spaces to our well-being during the pandemic and announce a plan for Pennsylvania’s state parks of tomorrow.

“Pennsylvanians can be proud that our state park system is among the best in the nation, and our Constitution guarantees our right to a clean environment, now and in the future,” Gov. Wolf said. “The opportunity to enjoy the beauty and recreational opportunities in state parks and forests was critical to our mental and physical health during the pandemic. As we get back on track, we need to ensure generations to come will have the same opportunities, and that all Pennsylvanians feel connected to their state parks.”

Penn’s Parks for All – A Plan for Pennsylvania’s State Parks of Tomorrow was developed with extensive public input and includes a set of strategies to move state parks forward over the decades ahead.

“More than a century of thoughtful acquisition, development and stewardship leave us well positioned to rise to new challenges and different public needs for our state parks, including that they are accessible and welcoming to all, that the aging system is well-cared for, and that it adapts to climate change and the changing recreation needs of visitors,” said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. “As economic drivers for nearby communities, state parks and outdoor recreation also are an important part of our recovery.”

This blueprint will help guide Pennsylvania’s state park professionals in carrying out the important work of caring for the 121 state parks in our system for the next 25 years.

The plan was built on a series of surveys conducted by Penn State in 2017 and 2018 to assess the attitudes and opinions of Pennsylvania state park visitors and the public regarding key issues affecting the future of the state parks.

There are 87 strategies that DCNR will begin to act on, including:

-- Promote state parks as safe and welcoming;

-- Evaluate and update visitor information and programs to include untold stories and improve inaccuracies of cultural stories;

-- Improve transportation options to state parks to broaden access;

-- Improve accessibility to all water-based recreation;

-- Ensure state parks are adequately funded including reducing costs and improving efficiencies, demolishing buildings that are costly and have no historical significance, modernizing maintenance plans, minimizing duplication of outdoor recreational services, and increasing annual state appropriations for general operations so that fees collected in state parks can be used for maintenance;

-- Identify the need for additional trails and trail connectivity from state parks to communities;

-- Enhance river and stream-based recreational access;

-- Work with stakeholders and communities on solutions to address high-density visitation and evaluate options to add to state park lands to meet growing demands;

-- Partner with outdoor recreation businesses and organizations to pilot new activities;

-- Meet increased demand and changing overnight accommodation needs;

-- Work with concession operators to improve service including more environmentally sustainable operations and flexible options such as food trucks;

-- Designate more areas that conserve ecological, geological, and cultural resources;

-- Plan for ecological connectivity and species migration that responds to climate change;

-- Eliminate mowed turf to improve habitat; and

-- Develop a night sky management program and enhance night sky viewing.

“At the same time that visitation and demand for park services have grown to their highest levels, we recognize the need to fully understand and address safety and accessibility for all Pennsylvanians,” Director of the DCNR Bureau of State Parks John Hallas said. “Parks are the common property of all the people, and we need to provide a welcoming environment and reach in the highest levels of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our programs, services, and workforce.”

“Pennsylvania state parks are free and open to all, but that doesn’t mean that everyone can get to them, feels welcome, or uses them in the same ways,” said Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation Ambassador Margarita Caicedo. “Our pride in our state parks will grow as we work to make them more inclusive, meet the recreation needs of diverse and new recreational users of all abilities, and provide information and programming to correct and tell new cultural stories.”

Pennsylvania’s 121 state parks total almost 300,000 acres. Together with DCNR’s state forest system, they are one of the largest expanses of public lands in the eastern United States.

With a state park within 25 miles of nearly every Pennsylvanian, information about the remarkable variety of types and sizes of parks located throughout the Commonwealth is available on the DCNR website.

  For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit DCNR’s website, Click Here to sign up for the Resource newsletter, Visit the Good Natured DCNR Blog,  Click Here for upcoming events, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

NewsClips:

-- StateImpactPA/Rachel McDevitt: In Boost For Environmental Rights, PA Supreme Court Rules Drilling Revenue From State Forests Must Be Used For Conservation

-- TribLive Editorial: PA Supreme Court Is Right To Protect Oil & Gas Fund

-- ScrantonT Editorial: State Is Steward Of Public Land, Not A Developer

-- Vote Today! USA Today Nature Inn At Bald Eagle Best Eco-Friendly Hotel

-- Pittsburgh Quarterly: The Perfect Antidote, Appreciation Of Nature is Soaring And The Recreation Business Is Booming

-- First Lady Frances Wolf: Celebrates PA Tourism During Visit To Northeast PA

-- DCNR: Accepting Application For ATV, Snowmobile Grants Starting August 2

-- Susquehanna Greenway Partnership: Announces Winners Of 10th Annual Photo Contest [PaEN]

-- ClearWater Conservancy: Schedule Of August Tours Of Local Parks, Natural Areas In Centre County Area

-- PA Environmental Council: Public Lands Rides - PA’s Grand Canyon In Tioga State Forest

-- PennLive/Marcus Schneck: State Parks Cut Cigarette Butt Trash Nearly 70%

-- TribLive: Pandemic Leaves Western PA Bike Shops Struggling In Shortage 

-- Patch: New Hope Man Is Next Director Of Friends Of The Delaware Canal

-- Health, DEP, DCNR: Prevalence Of Ticks In Pennsylvania Is High, Take Steps To Prevent Tick Bites And Tick-borne Diseases

Related Articles:

-- Growing Greener Coalition: American Rescue Plan For Water & Green Infrastructure

-- PA Supreme Court Again Declares Transfers From DCNR Oil & Gas Fund Unconstitutional Under Environmental Rights Amendment

-- New Poll: 86% Say Parks, Trails, Outdoors Are Essential To Their Physical, Mental Health During Pandemic; State Parks Saw 26.6% Increase In Visitors

-- 90% Of PA Voters Want Senate, House To Provide More Funding For Critical Environmental, Conservation Programs; That Didn’t Happen In 2020

-- Growing Greener Coalition: 93% Of Pennsylvanians Say We Have A Moral Obligation To Care For Our Environment - Don’t Cut Dedicated Funding

-- 13 Hunting, Angler Groups Urge Senate, House Members, Gov. Wolf To Maintain Local Conservation Project Funding Critical To Stewardship Of Wildlife Resources, Public Lands

-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation Opposes Any Effort To Cut Dedicated Funds To Support State Park, Forest, Recreation Projects

-- House Republicans Introduce Bills To Raid Dedicated Environmental Funds, Cripple Solar Energy, Shield Violators From Enforcement

[Posted: July 30, 2021]  PA Environment Digest

Outdoor Discovery Center At Crooked Creek In Armstrong County Hosts Aug. 17 Learn About Elk Program

The
Keystone Elk Country Alliance, the Outdoor Discovery Center at Crooked Creek in Armstrong County will hold a live and interactive "Learn About Elk" program for people of all ages on August 17 at 7:00 p.m.

A live and interactive program for all ages, conservation educators with the Keystone Elk Country Alliance will utilize green screen technology and video conferencing to provide participants with a multi-sensory learning experience.

The program will be held at the Outdoor Discovery Center, 142 Kerr Rd., in Ford City.

Click Here to register. Questions should be directed to Rachel Filippini by email to: rachel@armstrongcenter.org.

For information on programs, educational resources, other upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Outdoor Discovery Center at Crooked Creek webpage.

[Posted: July 30, 2021]  PA Environment Digest

PA Resources Council To Hold Sept. 11 Reuse Fest In Erie Providing Opportunity For Public To Donate Items For Reuse By Local Nonprofits

Clean out the garage…the basement…the overflowing closets throughout the house because a regional large-scale collection of materials to be REUSED by local nonprofits will return to Erie on September 11.

The Pennsylvania Resources Council’s “ReuseFest” – a one-of-a-kind drop-off event for gently used materials destined for reuse by numerous local nonprofit organizations – will accept a wide variety of materials including bedding/bath, clothing, furniture, kitchen items, medical supplies, usable building materials and more.

PRC’s third annual “ReuseFest” in Erie will take place on Saturday, September 11, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in the parking lot of UPMC Health Plan, 380 E. Bayfront Pkwy.

“This one-of-a-kind collection event provides area residents with an opportunity to conveniently donate a variety of unwanted but still usable items to multiple local nonprofits at one location,” according to PRC Recycling Operations Specialist Josh Schuneman.  “All materials donated at ReuseFest will be reused in some fashion, whether resold, repurposed or given to those in need in our region.”

“Since launching ReuseFest in Pittsburgh in 2012, PRC has collected and diverted tens of thousands of pounds of materials from local landfills,” said Schuneman. “To streamline the process at PRC events, we ask participants to pack all materials in their car trunks or truck beds and then stay in their vehicles while staff unloads the materials.” 

Nonprofits collecting materials at the September 11 event will include Chosen International Medical Assistance, Dress for Success Erie, Erie City Mission, Greater Erie Area Habitat for Humanity and Green Scene Thrift. 

Glass Recycling

PRC, in partnership with Bayfront Glass, will also collect all colors of glass bottles, jars and jugs at this event.  While there is no need to separate colors of glass, all caps and lids should be removed.

Sponsors

ReuseFest is sponsored by UPMC, UPMC Hamot and The Erie Community Foundation in collaboration with Erie County Recycling Program and City of Erie.

Pittsburgh Reuse Fest Oct. 16

The PA Resources Council will also be holding a Reuse Fest in Pittsburgh on October 16.  More details to follow.

For a complete list of participating organizations and materials collected, visit PRC’s Reuse Fest webpage or call the Pennsylvania Resources Council at 412-488-7490 x7. 

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Resources Council website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates, follow PRC on Twitter or Like them on FacebookClick Here for PRC’s Events Calendar.  Click Here to support their work.

PRC is Pennsylvania’s oldest grassroots environmental organization founded in 1939.  PRC has worked to protect resources for future generations through environmental education, recycling, waste diversion programs, anti-litter campaigns and other initiatives. 

[Posted: July 30, 2021]  PA Environment Digest

Keep PA Beautiful Invites Residents To Partner With Municipalities To Adopt A Road Or Area To Help Reduce Litter And Associated Cleanup Costs

While littering and illegal dumping are often discussed as social or environmental problems, rarely do we think about their economic impact. 

Over five years, 2014 through 2018, the Department of Transportation (PennDOT) spent over $65 million removing litter from within highway rights-of-way. 

The costs of dealing with litter and illegal dumping are quite large for communities as well, but are often obscured because they are dispersed across various governmental departments, community-based organizations and volunteer groups. 

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful documented in their 2019 study, The Cost of Littering and Illegal Dumping in Pennsylvania, that just nine cities in Pennsylvania spend $68 million annually on cleanup, education, enforcement and prevention efforts to address litter and illegal dumping throughout their respective communities.  [Read more here.]

Eighty percent of that went towards cleaning up. 

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has a program that helps mitigate municipal cleanup costs. Their road and area adoption program equips local residents with the tools and resources they need to be stewards of their neighborhoods. 

Adoption Program

With the support of local municipalities, the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful adoption program is available statewide for municipal roads, parks, neighborhood blocks, greenways, waterways and trails. 

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful provides a sign recognizing the volunteers’ efforts and seeks the support of the local entity, usually the municipality, to provide the sign post, install the sign and provide trash disposal options as needed. 

Once an adoption is approved, the volunteer individual or group receives gloves, bags and safety vests to get them started. Additional supplies are available each spring and fall through Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Pick Up Pennsylvania cleanup initiative.

“Litter cleanups divert municipal personnel from other, more essential tasks. Litter affects neighborhoods environmentally, socially and economically. Supporting volunteers who want to help by adopting roads or areas benefits the health and safety of the whole community,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. We are grateful for the municipalities who continue to support our program and for the tenacious volunteers who continue to strive for a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania.” 

While not littering in the first place is the best scenario, cleanups are critical, and in a sense serve as a preventative function through engaging the community around the littering issue and simply because people are less likely to litter in an area that is kept free of trash. Trash attracts trash.  

For more information about adopting a municipal road, park, trail or waterway, visit the KPB Adoption Program webpage or contact Stephanie Larson at slarson@keeppabeautiful.org or 877-772-3673 x104. 

For information about adopting a state maintained road, visit PennDOT’s Adopt and Beautify webpage..

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website. Click Here to become a member.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, Discover them on Pinterest and visit their YouTube Channel.

Also visit the Illegal Dump Free PA website for more ideas on how to clean up communities and keep them clean and KPB’s Electronics Waste website.

Keep PA Beautiful helps mobilize over 100,000 volunteers a year to pick up litter, clean up illegal dumping and beautify Pennsylvania.

NewsClip:
[Posted: July 30, 2021] 
PA Environment Digest

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