Friday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 9.13.24

“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]

Senate Fall Voting Schedule

-- September 16, 17, 18, 30

-- October 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 21, 22, 23

-- November 13, 14

-- Committee Schedule

House Fall Voting Schedule

-- September 23 (non-voting), 24 (non-voting), 25 (non-voting), 30

-- October 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 21, 22, 23

-- November 12, 13

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

September 17-- NEW. House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee hearing on  House Bill 2189 (Matzie-D-Beaver) reauthorization of PA One Call underground utility notification program (sponsor summary) [Almost all conventional natural gas, oil gathering pipelines excluded].  Room G-50 Irvis Building. 10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch live.  Read more on agenda here.

September 17-- House Republican Policy Committee hearing on “Opportunity Lost - Bureaucracy’s Battle Against Fracking.”  Hempfield Township Building, 1132 Woodward Dr., Greensburg.  2:00 p.m.  Click Here to watch live.

September 17-- Virtual.  Center for Coalfield Justice, Physicians for Social Responsibility - Pennsylvania, Mountain Watershed Association, Environmental Health Project, and FracTracker Alliance Press Conference On One Year After The Pitt Shale Gas Development Health Impact Studies And Failure To Fulfill Essential Promises To Residents.  2:00 p.m.  Click Here for full advisory.

-- Sand County Foundation Selects 3 Finalists For Pennsylvania Leopold Farm Conservation Award  [PaEN] 

-- Senate Hearing: Landowner Concerns About Liability For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells May Be Impediment To Plugging Leaking Wells; Need To Make Plugging Programs More Effective To Deal With ‘Growing Problem’  [PaEN] 

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: State’s $100,000+ Cost To Plug Abandoned/Orphan Wells ‘Outrageously Enormous;’ Taking Care Of Problem No Simple Task  

-- DEP Reports Subsurface Release Of An Estimated 1,000 Gallons Of Wastewater At Hebron Gas Storage Field Conventional Well In Hebron Twp., Potter County; Water Supplies Impacted, Report Well Problems To DEP Near This Facility  [PaEN] 

-- House Committee Sets Sept. 17 Hearing On PA One Call Underground Utility Notification Program Reauthorization; Almost All Conventional Gas/Oil Pipelines Specifically Excluded  [PaEN]

-- PUC Publishes Final Public Utility Owned Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards In Sept. 14 PA Bulletin  [Read background here ]

-- WITF StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Shale Gas Drilling Slowed In 2024, Prices Expected To Rise This Winter

-- Governing Magazine: Oil & Gas Towns Don’t Need Help Now, But They Will As World Shifts To Clean Energy 

-- WITF StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Methane Emissions Much Higher Than Gas Industry Targets, EDF Study Says  

-- Vote Solar, Solar United Neighbors, 60+ Groups Urge PA Senate To Unlock Community Solar Energy Benefits By Taking Action On Bipartisan Legislation  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: US Dept. Of Labor Electric Vehicle Apprenticeship Program Coming To Pittsburgh

-- Volunteer Gary Grahl Finds Next 'Career' As A Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward In Berks County  [PaEN] 

-- Gettysburg Times: What’s In Your Water? - By Adams County Master Watershed Stewards

-- Warren Times: Weather Cooperating For 16th Allegheny River Cleanup

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Sept. 13 RiverWatch Video Report

-- The Allegheny Front: West Virginia Residents Filing Lawsuits Against Mining Companies For Contaminated Water

-- Williamsport Sun: Biden Signs Federal Disaster Declaration For Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, Union Counties Due To Flooding From Tropical Storm Debby  

-- Williamsport Sun Letter: Stream ‘Cleaning’ Could Be Key To Flood Prevention - By Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming)  [Senate Bills 689 & 690  Read real story here.]

-- CNHI News: PPL Finalizes Award For Up To $72 Million In Federal Funding For Carbon Capture Research Project In Kentucky From US DOE Office Of Clean Energy

-- PUC Approves General 11% Increase [Down From 19%] In Peoples Natural Gas Rates; Merging Rate Districts Within The Company Will Result In Other Adjustments

-- PUC Efficiency Audits Identify Over $7 Million In Savings For Utilities, Customers

-- WESA: Pittsburgh Environmental Charter School’s New CEO Goes Back To School

-- September 14 - Pennsylvania Bulletin Now Available

-- MCall: PA Fall Foliage Forecast: Will Weather Make For Brighter Colors?

-- Forests For The Chesapeake Bay News: Planning For Resilience; Loblolly Pine; Upcoming Events; News Around The Watershed

-- Penn State Extension Field Crop News: Managing Damage By Flooding; Upcoming Events

-- Post-Gazette - Mary Ann Thomas: Re-Introducing The Extinct Guam Kingfisher One Chick At A Time, Pittsburgh National Aviary

-- NextPittsburgh: After 87 Years, Zebra Swallowtail Butterflies Return To Pittsburgh Thanks To Pawpaws

-- NextPittsburgh: How My Backyard Project Helped Bring Zebra Swallowtail Butterflies Back To Pittsburgh

-- Game Commission Board To Meet In Harrisburg Sept. 20 [Agenda]

-- Game Commission: Getting Ready For Deer Season In Pennsylvania

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: 230,000 More Pheasants To Be Stocked This Year

Other States/National/International

-- Utility Dive: Illinois Power Plant Reverses Plan To Shut Down 540 MW Power Plant Amid Record PJM Electric Prices

-- NPR: Natural Gas Stoves May Soon Come With A Tobacco-Style Health Warning

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Shapiro Rule Limiting State Employee Speech Rights Must Be Rescinded

-- TribLive: Local Election Officials Confident Mail-In Ballots Will Be Delivered On Time Despite National Concerns

-- PA Capital-Star: Dauphin County Will Allow Voters To Correct Mail-In Ballot Errors; Advocates Hope More Will Follow 

-- MCall: Voter Registration Letters Cause Confusion, What To Do If You Get One

-- Spotlight PA/Votebeat: Errors Undermine Tool Designed To Help Pennsylvanians Find Their Election Polling Places

-- AP: Presidential Debate Opened Voters’ Eyes In Suburban Philadelphia, Harris Getting Closer Look

-- Shapiro-Davis Administration Announces $56.4 Million In Grants To Combat Gun Violence; Create More Afterschool, Out-Of-School Opportunities

-- Gov. Shapiro Signs Executive Order Creating PA’s First Housing Action Plan

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Signs Executive Order to Create Plan To Address PA’s Housing Shortage

-- AP: Brothers, Including PA Man, Charged With Assaulting NY Times Photographer During Assault On US Capitol

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[Posted: September 13, 2024]  PA Environment Digest