Thursday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 3.9.23

Are You Telling Your Story?

House holds Regular Session April 24, 25, 26

     -- Committee Schedule

     -- House Budget Hearing Schedule - March 20, 21, 22

Senate holds Regular Session April 24, 25, 26

     -- Committee Schedule

     -- Updated Senate Budget Hearing Schedule - March 20, 21, 22

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

TODAY 9:15: Agenda Posted. DEP Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee meeting.  9:15 a.m. Visit the Committee webpage for options to join the meeting remotely. Contact: Joseph Martini martjos@pa.gov or (717) 772-5619. [Presentation on methane emissions monitoring overflight study of 91 oil & gas, coal mine landfill sources.] (Click Here to read more about agenda.)

TODAY 10:00: U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works will hear from the CEO of Norfolk Southern on March 9 starting at 10:00 a.m.  Read more here.

TODAY 1:00: Senate  Transportation Committee hearing on charging electric vehicles.  University of Pittsburgh, Alumni Hall, Room 121, Pittsburgh. 1:00 p.m. Click Here to watch live.

-- Rep. Greg Vitali Named Majority Chair Of House Environmental Committee; House Appoints Committee Members  [PaEN]

-- Norfolk Southern CEO To Appear March 20 Before PA Senate Committee To Answer Questions About Ohio/PA Train Derailment; Committee Subpoenas Documents [PaEN]

-- Moms Clean Air Force: Impacted Parents From Ohio, PA Will Raise Concerns About Chemical Pollution From The Train Derailment, Petrochemical Industry In The Ohio Valley During U.S. Senate Hearing Today  [PaEN] 

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: I Live In Beaver County Near East Palestine, OH, After The Train Derailment, My Head Aches With Anxiety And Vinyl Chloride

-- Ohio/PA Train Derailment, Pipeline Explosions, Uncontrolled Releases Put Spotlight On Public Health, Safety Threats Posed By Petrochemical, Natural Gas Industrial And Pipeline Infrastructure In PA  [PaEN] 

-- Senate Passes Bill Blocking Local Elected Officials From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Combat Climate Change [PaEN]

-- Republicans On Senate Committee Report Out Bill Allowing General Assembly To Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing  [PaEN]

-- Rep. Fiedler, Labor Leaders, Educational, Environmental Leaders Announce Bill To Create Grant Program To Invest In Solar Energy Facilities At Schools  [PaEN]

-- Bill Setting Decommissioning Rules For Utility-Scale Solar Energy Facilities Passes The Senate  [PaEN]

-- U.S. Senate Hearing: Energy, Environmental Impacts Of Cryptocurrency Mining In Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: U.S. Senate Panel Probes How Cryptocurrency Mining Increases Energy Consumption

-- Save Our Streams PA Hosting April 28-30 Abandoned Well Weekend Workshop In Bradford County  [PaEN]

-- AP: Audit Says Surplus In Senate, House Legislative Expense Accounts Jumped To A Record $261 Million In FY 2022; Spending Reached $392 Million On Themselves 

-- DCNR Blog: Gov. Shapiro’s Budget Supports Outdoor Recreation Economy, Park And Forest Infrastructure 

-- Erie Times: Shapiro Didn’t Mention These Topics In His Budget Address, Why That Matters

-- MCall - Paul Muschick: 6 Proposals In Shapiro’s Budget You May Not Have Heard About, But Should

-- DEP Took Action On 749 Permits, 95% Within Permit Decision Guarantee Deadlines; Conducted 1,726 Inspections; Responded To 7 Environmental Emergencies Last Week 

-- Penn State PA Technical Assistance Program Accepting Applications For ISO 50001 Energy/Sustainability Readiness Cohort  

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: This Is The Time For Pennsylvanians To Pipe Up On Lead Water Service Line Removal - By PA American Water

-- MCall: Bethlehem Won’t Join Lawsuits Against Landfill Expansion, Officials Say

-- NRCS-PA Accepting Applications For People’s Garden Initiative; Deadline April 21

-- DCNR State Parks Environmental Education Update - Vernal Equinox Edition  [PaEN]

-- Forests For Chesapeake Bay: Forests Responding To Unseasonable Conditions; Volunteer Tree Plantings, Tree Talk - Black Cherry; More! 

-- LancasterOnline: Fritz Schroeder Named President Of Lancaster Conservancy

-- The Center Square: PA’s Outdoor Recreation Boom Persists, Data Shows 

-- LebTown.com: Lebanon Valley Trail Trail Breaks Ground On Phase 6; City Trail And Park Underway

-- Observer-Reporter: ADA-Accessible Trail Coming To Washington Park

-- York Daily Record: Closed Since 2020, Heritage Rail Trail Will Soon Reopen At Blackbridge With New Structure

-- York Daily Record - Brian Whipkey: Students Across PA Are Raising Catfish In Classrooms

-- Warren Times: Tamarack Wildlife Center Returns Eagle To Wild After 5-Month Rehab

-- ABC27: Two PA Freshwater Mussels Listed As Threatened Under Federal Endangered Species Act

-- AP: Longsolid, Round Hickorynut Freshwater Mussels Granted Federal Protection

Ohio/PA Train Derailment

-- Norfolk Southern CEO To Appear March 20 Before PA Senate Committee To Answer Questions About Ohio/PA Train Derailment; Committee Subpoenas Documents [PaEN]

-- Moms Clean Air Force: Impacted Parents From Ohio, PA Will Raise Concerns About Chemical Pollution From The Train Derailment, Petrochemical Industry In The Ohio Valley During U.S. Senate Hearing Today  [PaEN] 

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: I Live In Beaver County Near East Palestine, OH, After The Train Derailment, My Head Aches With Anxiety And Vinyl Chloride

-- Ohio/PA Train Derailment, Pipeline Explosions, Uncontrolled Releases Put Spotlight On Public Health, Safety Threats Posed By Petrochemical, Natural Gas Industrial And Pipeline Infrastructure In PA  [PaEN] 

-- Erie Times: What We Know And Don’t Know About The Hazards Of PA Rails

-- AP: Norfolk Southern CEO ‘Deeply Sorry’ For Train Derailment, As U.S. Senators Ready Probe

-- Norfolk Southern CEO Testimony Before U.S. Senate Committee

-- WPost Guest Essay: Norfolk Southern Committed To Helping East Palestine Recover From Train Derailment - By Alan Shaw, Norfolk Southern, CEO

-- AP:  Railroads Propose Safety Reforms After Fiery Ohio/PA Train Derailment

-- WPost: The Testing Of East Palestine Ohio

6th Oil/Natural Gas Spike: True Energy Independence Means Renewables

[There Is No Limit To What Oil/Natural Gas Industry Can Make You Pay]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: What A Top Analyst Sees For Shale Gas Industry In Near-Term: Surplus Of Natural Gas Will Continue, Prices Remain Lower Sending A Chill Thru The Industry   

-- Bloomberg: EU To Propose Extending Cuts In Natural Gas Demand Until Next Year

Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

-- DOE Now Accepting Proposals For $6 Billion In Funding To Decarbonize energy-Intensive Industries

Federal FY 2024 Budget Proposal

-- Reuters: Biden Budget To Target U.S. Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Other States/National/International

-- Post-Gazette/WPost: More Coal Plants Could Shut Down Under EPA’s New Water Polllution Rule

-- EPA: Proposes Stronger Limits On Water Pollution From Coal-Fired Power Plants

-- Utility Dive: EPA Proposes Stricter Wastewater Discharge Limits For Coal-Fired Power Plants

-- EPA: $16 Million In Pollution Prevention Grants Available In Environmental Justice Communities

-- AP: Business Backlash Pushing Congressional Republicans To Weaken Anti-ESG Proposals

-- Financial Times: U.S. Solar Power Installations Slow In Setback For Climate Goals

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: Audit Says Surplus In Senate, House Legislative Expense Accounts Jumped To A Record $261 Million In FY 2022; Spending Reached $392 Million On Themselves 

-- AP: PA School Allies Criticize Shapiro’s Education Budget Plan

-- Erie Times: Shapiro Didn’t Mention These Topics In His Budget Address, Why That Matters

-- MCall - Paul Muschick: 6 Proposals In Shapiro’s Budget You May Not Have Heard About, But Should

-- PennLive - John Baer: Gov. Shapiro’s Long Budget Speech Sure Isn’t What We’re Used To

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: More State Government Workers Making $200,000+ Pay

-- Michelle Henry Confirmed By PA Senate As Attorney General

-- AP: PA Senate OKs Shapiro Picks For Attorney General, State Police Commissioner

-- AP: Democratic Rep. Zabel Resigns Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

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[Posted: March 9, 2023]  PA Environment Digest