Wednesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 4.2.25

“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

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

April 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 

April 7-- House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee meets to consider House Bill 109 (Vitali-D-Delaware) establishing an environmental justice permit review program in DEP to consider cumulative impacts of pollutants on communities;  House Bill 969 (Pielli-D-Chester) requires outdoor night lighting practices that reduce light pollution from public facilities. Room 205 Ryan Building. 11:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.   Read more here.

April 8--  Agenda Posted. Environmental Quality Board meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson Building.  9:00 a.m. Check webpage for options for joining the meeting remotely. Contact: Laura Griffin, laurgriffi@pa.gov  or (717) 772-3277. [Note: Will consider accepting for study rulemaking petition increasing setbacks from shale gas wells.]  Read more here.

April 8-- Agenda Posted. DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting.  Room 105 Rachel Carson Building.  12:30 p.m. Check webpage for options for joining the meeting remotely.  Contact: Ian Irvin, Executive Director, iirvin@pa.gov or (717) 787-8171.

-- Environmental Health Project Releases New White Paper: PA's Shale Gas - What We Can Do Now To Better Protect Public Health  [PaEN] 

-- Environmental Health Project: Lois Bower-Bjornson Shares Her First-Hand Experiences With Shale Gas Health, Environmental Impacts In Washington County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Use General Permit To Implement New Federal Oil & Gas Facility Methane Reduction Regulation  [PaEN] 

-- Energy Choice Matters: Peoples Natural Gas Rate For Gas To Increase Another 14% April 1  

-- Altoona Mirror: Peoples Natural Gas Raises Gas Rate Another 14% April 1 

-- TribLive: East Huntingdon Twp. Solar Farm  Ordinance Faces Court Challenge From Erie-Based Company In Westmoreland

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Report Says Pennsylvania Poised To Be Geothermal Energy Leader

-- MCall: Bethlehem Area School District Keeps Clean Energy Rolling With Electric Buses

-- The Center Square: Critics: Climate Change Lawsuit Against Oil & Gas Companies On Tenuous Legal Grounds  [Bucks County Example]

-- EPA To Finalize Water Quality Standards To Protect Critical Fish Species, Clean Up The Water In The Delaware River   [PaEN]

-- Scranton Times: EHB Rules DEP Erred When Approving Keystone Landfill Expansion Without Addressing Leachate, Odor Issues

-- Keep PA Beautiful Updates Popular Litter Education Series: Open Your Eyes To Litter In A Watershed  [PaEN] 

-- WHYY: Philly DA Launches Cleaner, Greener Enforcement Unit To Target Illegal Dumping, Other Quality-of-Life Crimes 

-- PA Resources Council Blog: Join Celebration Of Earth Month By Attending April Events 

-- Pike Conservation District: The Connection Between Groundwater And Geology

-- Pike Conservation District: April 26 Hikes In Pike Spring Hike On Fossil Trail At Pocono Environmental Education Center

-- Western PA Conservancy Now Accepting Grant Applications For Canoe, Kayak Access Projects In Western PA [PaEN] 

-- Reading Eagle: Registration Open For 2025 Schuylkill River Sojourn

-- Spotlight PA: Proposed $25 Million Cut To State Bird Flu Aid For Farmers Could Leave PA Unprepared For Surge, Republican Lawmakers Fear

-- Patch: Doylestown Environmental Advisory Council Urging Property Owners To Turn ‘Lights Out’ For Migratory Birds In Bucks County 

Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Restart

-- Wall Street Journal: Homer City Coal Power Plant Was Just Imploded To Make Way For An A.I. Data Center, The Country’s Largest Natural Gas Power Plant [PDF of Article] 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Homer City Coal Power Plant Site To Become A.I. Data Center With Massive Gas-Fired Power Plant 

-- Utility Dive: FERC Review Of PJM Colocation Rules For Data Centers, Large Loads May Extend Past Mid-Year: Analysts 

New Federal Administration

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Federal Mine Safety Research, Respirator Certification Staff At NIOSH Being Cut ‘To Make America Healthier’

-- WESA: Federal HHS Layoffs Hit NIOSH Mine Safety Research Facility Near Pittsburgh

-- TribLive: Mass Firing Of Federal Health Workers Includes Pittsburgh Region [Mine Safety Research]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Federal National Institute Of Occupational Safety & Health’s Pittsburgh Mining Research Division Lays Off 200 Employees; Studies Worker Safety, Health Issues In Mining Industry

-- The Guardian: National RiverKeeper Network On EPA Cuts: ‘A Pandemic-Level Shock To The System’

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: PA Lawsuit Claims Musk Failed To Make Promised Payments Over 2024 Petition Signatures 

-- TribLive Editorial: Why Won’t The Dated Mail-In Ballot Lawsuits Die?

-- Spotlight PA: Records Reveal Shapiro Administration Stopped Tracking Why Older Adults Die During Abuse, Neglect Investigations

-- Inquirer: Pennsylvania Has Agreed To Monitoring Youth Institutions To Settle Abuse Allegations

-- Spotlight PA: Proposed $25 Million Cut To State Bird Flu Aid For Farmers Could Leave PA Unprepared For Surge, Republican Lawmakers Fear

-- PA Capital-Star: Gov. Shapiro Wants You To Know He’s Pushing Back On President’s Policies That Are Hurting Pennsylvania 

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Joins Other Democratic States In Suing Over Sudden Cancellation Of $11 Billion In Federal Health Funding  

-- Beaver Times: Funding Cuts, Tariffs: What Federal Shakeups Could Mean For PA Agriculture

-- Beaver Times: Rural PA Hospital CEO Talks About How Medicaid Cuts Would Pinch Healthcare System 

-- WESA: Hospitals Grapple With President’s ‘Order’ Banning Gender-Affirming Care Ban For Youth Under Age 19, Young People Caught In The Middle

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Federal SBA Ends COVID-Era Hardship Program, Thousands Of Businesses Could Face Higher Payments

-- WTAE: Hundreds Of CDC Workers Laid Off In Pittsburgh Region: ‘The Work That Was Done Here Is To Keep Everybody Safe’

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Federal Mine Safety Research, Respirator Certification Staff At NIOSH Being Cut ‘To Make America Healthier’

-- WESA: Federal HHS Layoffs Hit NIOSH Mine Safety Research Facility Near Pittsburgh

-- TribLive: Mass Firing Of Federal Health Workers Includes Pittsburgh Region [Mine Safety Research]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Federal National Institute Of Occupational Safety & Health’s Pittsburgh Mining Research Division Lays Off 200 Employees; Studies Worker Safety, Health Issues In Mining Industry

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Mayor Blasts President For Targeting East Liberty Social Security Office For Closure

-- Inquirer: Some Philly-Area Schools Are Sticking With Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Policies Despite President’s Executive ‘Orders’

-- TribLive: Faculty, Staff, Alumni Letter Calls On Carnegie Mellon To Denounce Higher Ed Actions By President

-- PennLive: Authorities In Nepal Arrest At Least 4 Bhutanese Men From PA Deported By Federal ICE

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports March Tax Collections $70 Million (1.1%) More Than Governor’s Estimates; Year-To-Date Collections $34.3 Million (0.1%) Below Estimates

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports March State Revenue $27 Million (0.4%) Higher Than IFO Estimates; Fiscal-Year-To-Date Up $171 Million (0.5%) Over IFO Estimates

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[Posted: April 2, 2025]  PA Environment Digest