164 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 164 new stories in the PA Environment Digest about individuals, groups, local governments, farmers, businesses, watershed groups and many more working all across Pennsylvania to restore and protect the environment and show others the beauty that surrounds us.

Thank you for your leadership!

-- Lt. Gov. Davis, DEP, Community Celebrate The Opening Of Federal/State Funded Blacklick Creek Mine Drainage Treatment Plant To Clean Up 25 Miles Of Waterways In Cambria, Indiana Counties  [PaEN]

-- Indiana Gazette: Blacklick Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Facility Celebrated Near Vintondale

-- Berks County-based Rodale Institute Named One Of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies For 2025 

-- PEMA: PA’s Silver Jackets Team Recognized Nationally For Collaborative flood Risk Reduction Efforts

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill Commissioners Thank Schuylkill Haven Teacher, Hydro-Extrusions Are Leaders In Litter Pickup

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: PA Budget Should Fully Fund Environmental Protection - By Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), Majority Chair House Environmental & Natural Resources Committee   [PDF of Article]

-- PennLive Letter: Where Did $100 Million In State Conservation Funds Go? - By Richard Martin, PA Forest Coalition

-- Environmental Health Project To Hold April 1 Webinar On What The Shapiro Administration Can Do To Better Protect Public Health From The Impacts Of Shale Gas Development  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project Seeking Communities To Participate In HealthWatch Program To Better Understand Local Health Impacts Of Shale Gas Development  [PaEN] 

-- Capital And Main - Audrey Carleton: The Little Town Of Cecil Township, Washington County That Stood Up To Big Shale Gas And Set More Protective Setback Distances And Now Faces Legal Challenges From 2 Shale Gas Drillers  

-- Center For Coalfield Justice To DEP: Harmon Natural Gas Processing Plant Should Be Required To Apply For A Full Title V Air Quality Permit As They Originally Proposed In Washington County [PaEN] 

-- Presentations Posted From 2025 Shale Gas & Public Health Conference Featuring Health Experts, Scientists, Advocacy Groups, Workers On Health, Environmental Impacts Of Shale Gas Development  [PaEN] 

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: PA Attorney General Launches Criminal Investigation Into Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipeline Spill In Bucks County 

-- Dallas-based Law Firm Wins $51.98 Million Judgment Against Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipeline Company In Beaver County Court In Contract Dispute; Court Also Found Negligent Construction Of Revolution Pipeline Contributed To Its Explosion In Beaver County

-- DEP Invites Comments At April 30 Hearing On RACT 3 Air Quality Permit For Tennessee Gas Pipeline Compressor Station 307 In Howe Twp., Forest County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - March 15 to 21: 42 More Conventional, 7 More Shale Gas Abandoned Wells; Mine Subsidence Under Compressor Station; Conventional Gas Well Explosion; 2 Shale Gas Companies Fail To Report Shale Gas Waste Generation, Production In 12 Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Mine Subsidence Found Under Olympus Energy/Hyperion Natural Gas Compressor Station Construction Site In Penn Twp., Westmoreland County  [PaEN] 

-- Volunteer Firefighters, DEP Respond To Conventional Gas Well Explosion, Fire In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- Citizens Voice: Wilkes-Barre Fire Chief Calls FEMA Canceling National Fire Academy Classes ‘Demoralizing’

-- DEP Issued Violations To Range Resources, LPR Energy For Not Filing Shale Gas Production And Waste Generation Reports In 12 Counties  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues One Conventional Well Owner 36 Violations For Abandoning Their Conventional Wells; 7 More Violations Issued To Shale Gas Drillers For Abandoning Wells  [PaEN] 

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Shapiro Administration Plugs 300 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells Across PA

-- Spotlight PA: Federal Money To Plug PA’s Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Their Owners Is Unfrozen, But Federal Uncertainty Plagues Contractors 

-- The Derrick: Hearing Dates Set On Rhodes Estates Water Companies; PUC Judge Urges Parties To ‘Seriously Explore’ Settlements [Venango Water Co. Impacted By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill]   [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Host April 1 Webinar On New Program To Reduce Methane Pollution From Oil And Gas Operations  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension: April 2 Webinar: Gravity Energy Storage -  Giving Inactive Oil Wells A Second Life  [PaEN]  

-- Penn State Research: Reusing Old Oil And Gas Wells For Energy Storage Using Compressed Air Technology  [PaEN] 

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer/Kristen Graham: Philadelphia Gas Works Explores Heating, Cooling Philly School And City Rec Center With Geothermal Energy

-- House Adopts Rep. Matzie’s Resolution Celebrating PA’s Natural Gas Utility Workers

-- PUC To Hold Hearings Starting April 7 On Proposed UGI Gas Rate Increase Of Up To 10.8%

-- Bipartisan Group Of 51 Former EPA Officials Send Letter To Congress Saying Deep Cuts To The Agency Would Threaten 50 Years Of Environmental Progress   [PaEN] 

-- PASA Sustainable Agriculture Joins Lawsuit To Restore Federal Funding To Farmers; March 26 Online Town Meeting  [PaEN] 

-- Reading Eagle: Federal Funding Uncertainties Affecting Farming Community In Berks 

-- Inquirer: PA Mushroom Industry Faces Urgent Labor Shortage; New Restrictive Immigration Policies Will Make It Worse 

-- DEP Now Accepting Applications For First Round Of Federally-Funded Local Abandoned Mine Reclamation Grants, Deadline April 25  [PaEN] 

-- Abandoned Mine Post: Foundation For PA Watersheds Offers Help To Groups With Projects Caught In Federal Funding Freeze  [PaEN] 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Federal Office Of Surface Mining In PA To Close, Staff Cut, May Significantly Impact Abandoned Mine Reclamation Efforts In PA  [PDF of Article] 

-- WTAE: DOGE Targets Shutdown Of Federal Offices In Western PA, Including 3 Mine Safety & Health Administration Offices 

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Program Healthy Waters Update Highlights Many Partner Accomplishments; Critical Federal Support For Bay Cleanup; 2,100 More Best Management Practices Installed Than In Previous Year   [PaEN] 

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal Forum: Our Charge Is Clear - Focus On What People And Nature Need For Chesapeake Bay Restoration - By Hilary Harp Falk, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

-- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Now Accepting Proposals For Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants; March 31 Webinar  [PaEN]

-- Coming Soon: National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund Request For Proposals   [PaEN] 

-- WITF/StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: US Supreme Court Ruling Could Affect Pollution Entering PA Waterways [But State Law Still Applies]

-- DEP Now Accepting Applications For First Round Of Federally-Funded Local Abandoned Mine Reclamation Grants, Deadline April 25  [PaEN] 

-- Abandoned Mine Post: Foundation For PA Watersheds Offers Help To Groups With Projects Caught In Federal Funding Freeze  [PaEN] 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Federal Office Of Surface Mining In PA To Close, Staff Cut, May Significantly Impact Abandoned Mine Reclamation Efforts In PA  [PDF of Article] 

-- WTAE: DOGE Targets Shutdown Of Federal Offices In Western PA, Including 3 Mine Safety & Health Administration Offices 

-- TribLive: Schedule Set For Demolition Of Fmr Homer City Coal-Fired Power Plant Stacks, Towers [Power Plant Is Converting To Gas] 

-- DEP Invites Comments On Individual Stormwater Permit For Mass Grading Of 513 Acre Data Center Project Site In Pittston Twp., Luzerne County  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension: Using Live Stake Nurseries To Engage Communities In Stream Health  [PaEN] 

-- Volunteers Needed! Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy April 11-12 Stream Clean-Up At 200 Sites In Montgomery County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Sea Grant, Partners Host April 16 Storm Drain Marking Workshop In Delaware County  [PaEN] 

-- MCall: Rock Salt’s Impact On Lehigh Valley’s Water Will Linger Long After Winter Passes

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Soak Up Science - Be A Stream Doctor Day Camp For Youth 8-12 July 29 To Aug. 1 At The Southeast Agricultural Research Farm In Centre County  [PaEN]

-- Erie Times: Republican Candidate For Governor In Ohio Wants To Rename Lake Erie Lake Ohio  [Warning]

-- Observer-Reporter: Troubled East Dunkard Water Authority Can’t Change Hands Quickly Enough

-- Spotlight PA - Marley Parish: Customers Of Rural Centre County Water System May See New Investments As Temporary Takeover Begins By PA American Water 

-- Courier Times: Buckingham Twp. Water Systems Above Legal Limit For PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Bucks County

-- York Daily Record: Why The Drought In York County Could Get Worse In The Coming Months 

-- PUC Highlights 2025 Fix A Leak Week Awareness

-- TribLive Editorial: PA Fire Hydrants Should Be Flow Tested Regularly

-- House Energy Committee Reports Out Bill To Unlock A State Freeze On $156 Million In Federal Funding For Solar For All Program  [PaEN] 

-- Our Solar PA Coalition Highlights How Community Solar Energy Legislation Is A People-Centered Solution For Clean Energy  [PaEN] 

-- The Allegheny Front: PA House Committee Takes First Step To Access Federal Low-Income Solar Funds

-- Guest Essay: Solar Power Can Propel Pennsylvania Towards Meeting Energy Demands -  By Sharon Pillar, Pennsylvania Solar Center  [PaEN] 

-- PA Solar Center: Westmoreland County Businesses, Tax-Exempt Organizations Can Learn How to Save Money On Electric Bills At March 27 In-Person Meeting  [PaEN]

-- Philadelphia Solar Energy Assn.:  Solar Panel Recycling, Refurbishment Now Available In Philly Area  [PaEN] 

-- Community Advocates For Clean Energy To Introduce Green Schools Campaign In Southeast PA During April 1 Webinar  [PaEN] 

-- Warren Times Editorial: Solar Energy Has Benefits For Schools 

-- House Environmental Committee OK’d Bills Expanding C-PACE Financing For EV Charging; Study Lake Erie Renewable Energy; Promoting Invertebrate Biodiversity [PaEN] 

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Clean Energy, Strong Economy: PA’s Proposed Budget Seeks Both - By Fmr Rep. Kate Harper (R)  and Fmr Cong. Conor Lamb (D), Energy Future PA

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: How Pittsburgh Airport’s Microgrid Prevents Heathrow-Like Outages

-- City & State PA Hosts April 22 Energy Summit - The Future Of Energy In Pennsylvania  [PaEN] 

-- Pittsburgh Youth For Climate Action Summit Set For March 29  [PaEN]  

-- NextPittsburgh: Prototype Pittsburgh’s New Job Training Program Creates Pathway To Growing Clean Manufacturing Sector 

-- PA Assn. Of Environmental Professionals Now Accepting Applications For Environmental Science Scholarships  [PaEN]   

-- Physicians For Social Responsibility PA, Climate Action Campaign Host March 24 Webinar On Impacts Of Climate Change On Women's Health  [PaEN] 

-- TribLive Letter: Unfreeze The Energy, Climate Benefits Of Federal Inflation Reduction Act - By Bruce Cooper, Slippery Rock Chapter Of Citizens’ Climate Lobby

-- LancasterOnline - Rachel McDevitt: Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Begins Evaluating Environmental Impacts Of Restart  [PDF of Article] 

-- PA Capital-Star: Nuclear Regulators Hear Concerns About Plan To Restart Three Mile Island Reactor

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Westinghouse Mulls Beaver County For Major Microreactor Factory

-- Washington & Jefferson College To Host April 9 Webinar On Energy, Economy And A.I. - Data Centers And Pennsylvania's Future  [PaEN] 

-- York Dispatch: Groups Take Proposed Susquehanna River Pump-Storage Hydroelectric Decision To Federal Court 

-- First Student, School Transportation Company, Pittsburgh Public Schools Roll Out 16 New Electric School Buses 

-- Williamsport Sun: Williamsport Police Add 2 Electric Bicycles: ‘Increasingly Helpful’

-- Planet Philadelphia Radio Show: Friday, March 21 - Regional Environmental Legal And Regulatory Issues, 4:00 p.m.

-- Attorney General Dave Sunday Names Darryl Lawrence To Serve As PA Consumer Advocate For Public Utility Issues  [PaEN] 

-- WESA: AG Sunday’s Pick For PA Consumer Advocate Appeals To Some Who Worried About Office’s Direction

-- PUC’s Be Utility Wise Conference Attracts About 150 Community Providers, Empowers Frontline Advocates

-- Group Against Smog & Pollution: Details On The US Steel $6.1 Million Lawsuit Settlement Over Edgar Thomson Steel Facility Air Pollution Violations 

-- Environmental Health News Guest Essay: We Should Empower Youth To Fight For Environmental Justice In Their Own Neighborhoods - By Layla Johnson, Howard University Student, Braddock, Allegheny County [Edgar Thomson Steel Mill Air Pollution]

-- WillowGroveNow.com: DEP To Conduct Soil Testing At Site Of SPS Technologies Industrial Fire In Montgomery County 

-- WHYY: Montgomery County Releases Community Health Assessment Report: Environmental Safety, Mental Health, Chronic Disease Among Top Health Concerns

-- The Allegheny Front - Kara Holsopple: How Lead Pollution Impacts Infrant Health

-- House Committee OKs Increase In Per Ton Recycling Fee To Support Local Recycling Programs, Waste Disposal Planning  [PaEN] 

-- NextPittsburgh: Is Hyperlocal Recycling The Future? 2 Pittsburgh Companies Say Yes

-- Volunteers Needed! Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy April 11-12 Stream Clean-Up At 200 Sites In Montgomery County  [PaEN] 

-- The Daily Herald: ClearWater Conservancy Seeks Volunteers For April 12 Watershed Cleanup

-- PA Resources Council Launches 2025 Household Chemical Collection Campaign April 12 In Butler County  [PaEN]

-- Beaver Times: Free Electronics Waste Recycling Event Coming To Riverside School District April 1

-- Tribune-Democrat: Electronics Recycling Event Set For May 3 At Windber Public Library

-- TribLive: South Hills Nonprofit Seeks To Recycle, Reuse Old Yard Signs

-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: Penn State Scientists Found Microplastics In Freshwater Environments Across Pennsylvania

-- KRUNK Movement Goes Global: A Cross-Cultural Music Collaboration Creates Suubi A Global Anthem For Change To Amplify Sustainability, Hope, And The Arts Linking Allegheny County And Uganda  [PaEN] 

-- TribLive: Fox Chapel Area High School Fishing Club Stocks Trout In Allegheny County

-- WHYY:  Philly’s Fox Chase Farm Program Aims To Grow Student Entrepreneurs In Agriculture

-- Post-Gazette: Carlow Community Garden Helps Feed Students, Neighbors In Pittsburgh

-- TribLive: Billboards Still Of Great Concern For East Deer Twp. Residents In Allegheny County

-- Natural Lands Preserves 2 Forested Properties Totaling 151 Acres In Berks, Lancaster, Lebanon Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: $1.8 Million Federal Grant To North American Land Trust To Help Preserve Historic Farm In Chester County 

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill Commissioners OK Submission Of Grant For Frog Hollow Nature Area

-- TribLive: Upscale, Nature-Inspired Housing Plan Progresses In Fox Chapel, Allegheny County

-- Warren Times: PA Wilds Ends Wilds Are Working - A Remote Lifestyle Experience Program Having Introduced 27 Remote Workers To Life In PA Wilds 

-- With Some Federal Recreation Facilities Closed Due To Staff, Funding Cuts, DCNR Encourages Pennsylvanians To Explore Options At State Parks, Forests  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: 425+ Campsites Across PA Are Closed Indefinitely Due To Federal Cuts At Raystown Lake, Seven Points, Susquehannock, Nancy’s Boat-to-Shore Campgrounds, Tompkins Campground on Tioga-Hammond and Cowanesque Lakes 

-- LancasterOnline: Raystown Lake Federal Recreation Area Campgrounds To Close Due To Federal Hiring Freeze In Huntingdon County  

-- Altoona Mirror: Part Of Raystown Lake Federal Recreation Area Camps To Close Due To Staff Cuts  

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Our National Parks Are National Treasurers DOGE Must Not Cut - By John Plonski

-- DCNR Unveils New Plan To Connect People To Pennsylvania’s Forests And More Outdoor Recreation Opportunities 

-- DCNR Grants News: Grants Director Tom Ford Retires; Mapping For Meaningful Outreach; Last Call For Grant Applications

-- Lancaster Conservancy Now Accepting Applications For Susquehanna Riverlands Conservation Landscape Mini-Grants  [PaEN]

-- DCNR Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council To Hear Update On State Budget, Chesapeake Bay Program March 26  [PaEN] 

-- DCNR: Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps Creating Job Training, Conservation Opportunities For More Young People

-- DCNR State Parks Environmental Ed Newsletter Blooming With Spring Teaching Ideas, Exploring Outdoors, Educator Workshops  [PaEN] 

-- DCNR Trails Advisory Committee To Hold Public Forums April 10 On Trails In And Around Centre County, Boalsburg, 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. 

-- Scranton Times: 23-Year-Old Man Dies In Fall On Rocks At Scranton’s Nay Aug Park

-- Let’s Go 1-2-3 And Let’s Go Outdoors Offer Free ‘Let’s Go Neighborhoods’ Mobile Activities In Philadelphia On Water, Urban Wildlife, Pollinators, Forests  [PaEN] 

-- Registration Open!  PA Interfaith Power & Light May 1 to 31 Caring For Every Body Moving Through Nature Bike & Hike

-- Lehigh Valley’s Wildlands Conservancy Highlights April Educational Programs; Tree Planting; Hikes; Summer Camps 

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: It’s Spring!  Enjoy The Outdoors And Learn Too With Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Activities, Events

-- Friends Of Drake Well: Registration Open For May 17 Oil Creek 5 & 13 Stacked Trail Races In Crawford County  

-- Inquirer: An Invitation To Walk 100 Miles Around Perimeter Of Philadelphia Combines Lessons In Ecology, Infrastructure, Civis, History

-- Warren Times: DEP, Corps Of Engineers Permits For Warren Allegheny River Recreation Access In Hand 

-- PA Wilds Artisan Collaborative to Hold Pre-Launch Celebration In Saint Marys, Elk County On April 8 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Cambria County Brush Fires Keep Crews Busy

-- KDKA: Washington County Fire Chiefs Asking People To Avoid Burning Amid Increased Fire Risk

-- WVIA: Maple Farmers Celebrate Nearly 190 Years Of PA Agriculture As Possible State Funding Boost Looms

-- Tribune-Democrat: Long Timeline Ahead To Revitalize Struggling Tree Areas At Flight 93 National Memorial

-- Beaver Times - Katie Claber, Master Gardener: Hemlocks Are Worth Protecting

-- Master Gardeners Of Lancaster County Now Taking Orders Online For Live Native Plants

-- Citizens Voice: Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus Detected In Luzerne County; What You Need To Know

-- Inquirer: Philadelphia Planting 250 New Cherry Blossom Trees For Its 250th Birthday

-- LancasterOnline: 10 Spring Wildflowers To Find And 2 To Avoid In Lancaster County

-- Delaware River Greenway Partnership: April 24 Webinar Heritage Lecture: Protecting The Jewels Of The Night - How You Can Support Fireflies  [PaEN] 

-- Erie Times: Spotted Lanternfly Egg Sac Discovered In Millcreek; How To Remove The Invasive Species

-- Penn State Research: Natural Insect Predators May Serve As Allies In Spotted Lanternfly Battle 

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: Invasive Rusty Crayfish, Sometimes Called Gladiators, Monitored In Various PA Waterways 

-- Williamsport Sun: Fmr Fish Commission Executive Director John Arway Spoke At Susquehanna Chapter Of Trout Unlimited

-- Game Commission Presents Annual Report On 2024 Activities, Accomplishments

-- LehighValleyLive: Game Commission Reports 72% Drop In Shale Gas Royalties 

-- PA Capital-Star: Freedom, Farming, Free-Time Factor Into Latest Sunday Hunting Debate In PA

-- Inquirer: MAGA, Musk Are After The Game Commission For Taking Away Deer Domesticated By PA Woman As Government Overreach

-- PennEnvironment Releases New Report On The Success Of Wildlife Corridors In Reconnecting Habitat To Protect Native Species, Prevent Vehicle Collisions  [PaEN]

-- WPSU: New Report Advocates For More PA Wildlife Corridor Projects

-- DEP, DCNR, Game Commission: Nesting Season Is Here For Peregrine Falcons On Rachel Caron Building In Harrisburg [Watch Online] 

-- DEP: Third Peregrine Falcon Egg Arrives At Rachel Carson Building Nest In Harrisburg 

-- WESA: Peregrine Falcons Nesting Atop Pitt’s Cathedral Of Learning Lay First Egg [Watch Online] 

-- MCall/Reading Eagle: Snow Goose Migration Winds Down At Middle Creek Wildlife Area And With It Increased Threat Of Avian Influenza In Eastern PA  

-- MCall: How Lehigh Valley Development Is Threatening The Birds That Flock To Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Every Year  

-- LehighValleyNews.com: Bird That’s Extinct In The Wild Gets Surprise Layover At Lehigh Valley International Airport 

-- PennLive: Carlisle Declares War On Vultures In Cumberland County: ‘It’s A Health And Safety Issue’ 

-- WNEP: Pocono Wildlife Gears Up To Care For More Baby Animals

-- Pittsburgh-Based Wild Excellence Films Launches Jackson Hole Birding Festival May 22-25 In Wyoming 

-- Williamsport Sun: US Bird Populations Are Continuing An Alarming Decline

Visit the PA Environment Digest website to learn more.

REAL Leadership:

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-- 104 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

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[Posted: March 23, 2025]   PA Environment Digest