DEP Announces Public Outreach Workshops On Pennsylvania's 2024 Priority Climate Action Plan To Qualify For Federal Funding That Is Now At Risk

On February 18, the Department of Environmental Protection outlined its outreach plan to educate the public, business, industry and labor on the 2024 Pennsylvania Priority Climate Action Plan at the DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee meeting.

The Plan is a prerequisite to obtaining federal funding under EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program established under the federal Inflation Reduction Act.

[NOTE: Federal funding for programs outlined in the PA Priority Climate Action Plan and RISE PA are at risk as a result of executive orders issued by the President.  Gov. Shapiro has filed a lawsuit to release federal funding. Read more here.]

The purposes of the workshops are to--

-- Educate the community on the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan     

-- Gather valuable feedback on the proposed emissions reduction sectors and strategies

-- Explore how these strategies will directly affect your community 

-- Offer resources and guidance to support local involvement and action

Eight regional public workshops and one virtual session will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on--

-- March 17: Wysox Fire Company, 111 Lake Rd, Wysox, PA 18854   

-- March 18: Brightside Opportunities Center, 515 Hershey Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603   

-- March 19: Hazleton Integration Project, Inc., 225 E 4th St, Hazleton, PA 18201   

-- March 20: ACCESS Chester Community Center, 701 Booth St, Chester, PA 19013

-- March 24: Erie County Public Library - Blasco Memorial Library, 160 E Front St, Erie, PA 16507  

-- March 25: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Clarion, an IHG Hotel, 325 Perkins Rd, Clarion, PA 16214   

-- March 26: Johnstown Area Heritage Association, 201 6th Ave, Johnstown, PA 15906   

-- March 27: Fayette County Building, 2 W Main St, Uniontown, PA 15401 

Click Here to register for the in-person workshops.

-- April 17: Online Public Workshop: 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Click Here to register.

Sector Workshops

In addition to the public workshops, DEP will also be holding sector workshops for--

-- Local Governments: April 3 (6:00 to 7:30 p.m.); April 7 (Noon to 1:30 p.m.)

-- Industrial Sector: March 13 (Noon to 1:30 p.m.)

-- Utilities: April 1 (Noon to 1:30 p.m.)

-- Labor: April 14

Questions on any of these workshops should be directed to: ra-epclimate@pa.gov. 

Click Here to review the DEP slides on the outreach plan.

Visit DEP's Climate Change webpage for more background.

For more information and available handouts, visit the DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee webpage.  Contact: Lindsay Byron, lbyron@pa.gov or (717) 772-8951.

Resource Links:

-- EPA: Pennsylvania One Of 45 States, MSAs To Submit Priority Climate Action Plans As Part Of $5 Billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program  [PaEN] 

-- Gov. Shapiro Files Lawsuit Challenging President's Unconstitutional Federal Funding Freeze In Order to Protect PA Interests; Mine Reclamation, Conventional Well Plugging, Many Other Funds At Risk  [PaEN] 

[Posted: February 18, 2025]  PA Environment Digest