Wednesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 3.19.25

“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]

House Voting Schedule

March 19, 24, 25, 26

April 7, 8, 9, 22, 23, 24

May 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 24

June 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

March 24, 25, 26, 31

April 1, 2

May 5, 6, 7, 12, 13

June 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

TODAY 9:00: House Game & Fisheries Committee informational meeting on Fish & Boat Commission Annual Report.  Room 523 Irvis Building. 9:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

TODAY 10:00: House Local Government Committee meets to consider House Bill 620 (Isaacson-D-Philadelphia) would increase the state recycling fee from $2 to $5 per ton to support local recycling and waste disposal planning programs. Room 205 Ryan Building.  10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

March 20-- Agenda Posted. DEP Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting.  Room 105 Rachel Carson Building.  10:00 a.m. Visit the Board webpage for options on joining the meeting remotely.   Contact:  Todd M. Wallace, twallace@pa.gov or (717) 783-6395.  Read more here on agenda items.

-- 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

-- 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] 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-- 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

-- LancasterOnline: Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Owner Will Hold Virtual Public Meeting Thursday To Discuss Environmental Impact Of Plant Restart, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

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

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

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

-- 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]

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

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

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

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: PA American Water Issues Boil Water Advisory For Customers In Part Of Nanticoke Due To Water Main Break

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

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

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

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

 

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

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Thursday Public Meeting Will Outline Oliver Mills To Mountain Top D&L Trail Segment Project 

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

-- 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

-- WITF: World Wildlife Conservation Day, Why It’s Important And How You Can Make An Impact Year Round 

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

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

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

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

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

-- Utility Dive: PJM’s Capacity Price Floor, Price Ceiling Proposal Sparks Market Confidence Concerns 

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Up On Record Flows To LNG Gas Export Plants 

-- Bloomberg: ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Mantra Set To Make US LNG Gas Exports Less Competitive 

-- DailyMail: President Moves To ‘Immediately’ Open ‘Hundreds’ Of Coal-Fired Power Plants Across The US To Counter China  

New Federal Administration

-- DailyMail: President Moves To ‘Immediately’ Open ‘Hundreds’ Of Coal-Fired Power Plants Across The US To Counter China  

-- Bloomberg: President Vows To Authorize Coal-Fired Power Plants To Counter China 

-- AP: US Judge Blocks President From Clawing Back $14 Billion In Green Bank Climate/Energy  Grants

-- NYT: President Aims To Eliminate EPA’s Scientific Research Arm

-- The Guardian: EPA Aims To Cut Pollution Rules Projected To Save Nearly 200,000 Lives: ‘Real People Will Be Hurt’

-- Financial Times: Carbon Dioxide Levels In Atmosphere Reach 800,000 Year High

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: Majority Control Of PA House Hinges On Special Election March 25 In A District Near  Pittsburgh 

-- PA Capital-Star: Federal Cuts To Election Security Programs Make Elections Less Secure, PA’s Head Election Official Warns

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Bipartisan Bill To Abolish PA’s Death Penalty Must Be Passed

-- City & State PA: 5 Years After COVID, PA Health Care Is Still Absorbing Impact

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports February Revenue Was Down 4.38% From February 2024

-- TribLive Editorial: Political Attacks Are Shameful Slides To Gateway Violence

-- York Dispatch Editorial: The Politics Of Hate Has No Place In Our Schools; Nor Does The Far-Right PA Economic Growth PAC

-- MCall: Democrats To Hold Town Hall In Lehigh Valley, Calling On Cong. Mackenzie To Oppose President’s Agenda

-- WITF/WVIA: Demonstrators Outside US Sen. McCormick’s Scranton Office Say No One Answers Constituents’ Calls: ‘Where’s Dave?’

-- Centre Daily Times: Protesters At Republican Cong. GT Thompson’s Bellefonte Office Protest Disapproval Of His Support For President’s Actions

-- York Dispatch: In Absence Of A Town Hall By Republican Con. Scott Perry, Progressive Group Plans One Of Its Own

-- Post-Gazette: PA Advocates Warn Of Devastating Impacts As Federal Medicaid Health Insurance Coverage Cuts Loom

-- WPXI: Pentagon Cutting Up To 60,000 Civilian Jobs; About A Third Took Voluntary Resignations  [OPM Says 22,734 Civilian Jobs In PA]

-- WNEP/AP: Social Security Administration To Require In-Person Identity Checks For New And Existing Recipients; Instead Of Helping Recipients Over The Phone

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Lenders Say Millions In Small Business Funding, Tax Credits Are At Risk Because Of President’s Actions 

-- Post-Gazette/NYT: President Says A Recession Might Be Worth The Cost Because Economy Needs A ‘Detox Period’, Economists Disagree

-- WITF: Federal ICE Agents Arrest 6 Bhutanese Legal Permanent Residents In Dauphin, Cumberland Counties, No One Knows Why

-- Beaver Times: Federal Officials Have Put Some PA Colleges On Notice Amid Focus On Antisemitism, DEI

-- The Legal Intelligencer: President’s Nominee For Eastern District US Attorney Is Not Admitted To PA Bar, Does That Matter? 

-- Lehigh Valley-Based Crayola Celebrating International Colour Day March 21 By Bringing Back 8 Iconic Retired Crayola Colors  

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[Posted: March 19, 2025]  PA Environment Digest