139 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 139 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!

-- Smithton Borough Council Honors Mayor Christine Tutena With Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Community Pride Award In Westmoreland County  [PaEN] 

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Hanover Area Students, Teachers Tout Trout Release As Triumph For Science In Luzerne County

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Pennsylvania Photos Win First And Second Place In Save The Bay Photo Contest  [PaEN] 

-- Game Commission, DEP, DCNR Host May 22 Live Banding Of Young Peregrine Falcons; Connection To PA’s Rachel Carson [PaEN]

-- Environmental Defense Fund Blog: Another Study Identifies Health Risks During Unconventional Oil & Gas Production Even For Those Living Within 1,000 Feet Or More Of Wells  [PaEN] 

-- The Allegheny Front - Julie Grant: PA Senate Bill Would Cut Drilling Impact Fees For  Communities That Restrict Fracking   

-- Farm And Dairy: PA Bill Could Pull Funding From Communities That Restrict Oil And Gas Activity

-- PublicSource.org - Jake Vasilias: Peering Into A Shale Gas Driller’s Pledge Of ‘Radical Transparency’  [CNX Resources]   

-- FracTracker Alliance: CNX Not-So-Radical Transparency Provides Incomplete Information, Heavily Downplays Dangers Of Shale Gas Development  

-- DEP Issues Air Quality Plan Approval For Expansion Of Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 10 to 16 -- 18 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Failure To Comply With Plugging Order; 2,000 Gallon Wastewater Spill; Consol Still Cleaning Up Water Supply Contamination  [PaEN] 

-- Olean Times Herald: EPA Hears Concerns About 2nd Proposed Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In McKean County 

-- CBSNews: Residents Say Jet Fuel Pipeline Leak In Bucks County Went Undetected For Months, Poisoned Their Drinking Water 

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Truck Hauling Shale Gas Wastewater Overturns Loses 2,000 Gallons In Stream, Driver Not Injured  [PDF of Article]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Fracking Halted At Encino Shale Gas Well Pad In Ohio Linked To Earthquakes  [PDF of Article]

-- WFMJ: Fracking Halted At Ohio Shale Gas Well Pad Following Earthquakes In The Area 

-- DEP Issues RFP For Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging Services On Time & Materials Basis As Needed  [PaEN] 

-- US House Republicans Eliminate Funding For The Federal Methane Emissions Reduction Program, Including PA's MERP Grant Program To Plug Conventional Oil & Gas Wells  [PaEN]

-- Politico: House Republicans On Committee Eliminate Funding For Federal Methane Emission Reduction Program, Including PA’s MERP Grant Program To Plug Conventional Oil & Gas Wells  

-- Avonlea Environmental Technologies Reports Success Of Oil & Gas Wastewater Lithium Extraction Pilot Plant In Susquehanna County  [PaEN]

-- Scranton Times: NE PA Could Become Major Supplier Of Lithium For Batteries

-- PA Capital-Star: Is Congress Trampling On State Laws Protecting Property Rights Against Pipelines [Warning]

-- PUC Sets June Hearings On Proposed 11.4% Natural Gas Rate Increase By Columbia Gas  [PaEN]

-- PennLive: PPL Customers Will See Another Rate Increase June 1 - 16% [Due To Regional Electric Market Issues]

-- US EIA: US Natural Gas Prices Double Last Year Due To LNG Exports, Demand Driving Electricity Prices Higher This Summer  [PaEN] 

-- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Summer Electricity Assessment Sees Adequate Generating Resources To Meet Normal Operating Conditions; Higher Natural Gas Prices Driving Electricity Prices Higher  [PaEN]

-- North American Electric Reliability Corp.: Record Load Growth From Data Centers, High Temperatures Expected To Strain Electric Grid This Summer [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Regional Power Grid Operator Sees Manageable Summer Peak Load, But A Slight Risk Of ‘Running Short’

-- WTAE: Duquesne Light Reflects On Storm Response, Aims For Improvement

-- Centre Daily Times: Climate Watch: As Federal Climate Action Dominates Headlines, What’s Happening In PA?

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Supreme Court To Hear Arguments Tuesday Over RGGI

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Lawyers Spar Over Whether DEP Has Authority To Issue Carbon Pollution Allowances To Power Plants [RGGI]

-- The Center Square: RGGI ‘Carbon Tax’ Goes Before Skeptical PA Supreme Court

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Supreme Court Justices Ask: Is RGGI A Tax, A Fee Or Something Completely Different?

-- Kleinman Center For Energy Policy Blog: How Proposed EPA Changes Could Reshape US Clean Energy Markets  [Warning]

-- WHYY: President Wants To End LIHEAP, 300,000 PA Households Could Struggle To Pay Heating Bills

-- Gov. Shapiro: Lightning Plan Tax Credit Bill, Community Energy Pass PA House  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA House Approves Shapiro’s Energy Plan Tax Credit Bill

-- Bucks County Beacon: Bucks County Audubon Society Showcases Its Rooftop Solar Panel Project At The honey Hollow Education Center 

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Allegheny County Power Outages Make Case For Solar And Energy Storage In Public Housing - By Blawnox Apartments Tenant Council & Allegheny County Decarbonization Coalition

-- Penn State University To Host Online Solar Law Symposium Aug. 21  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: President’s Planned EPA Overhaul Jeopardizes Energy Star Appliance Program

-- TribLive: New Kensington’s Re:Build To Boost US Production Capacity For Renewable Hydrogen In Westmoreland County 

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Hydrogen Future Begins In Western PA - If We Seize It - By ConservAmerica

-- Rise Of The Machines:  Senate, House Members Express Concern That Demand For Power To Run Computers Is Impacting The Price And Availability Of Electricity For ‘Ordinary People’  [PaEN] 

-- The Center Square: PJM Power Demand Surge Inevitable, But Not Insurmountable  

-- Utility Dive: Only A Fraction Of Proposed Data Centers Will Get Built; Utilities Are Wising Up 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: NRG Buys 5 PA Gas Power Plants To Meet ‘Supercycle’ Of Demand By Data Centers; Refitted To Run As Baseload Plants 

-- Vistra To Acquire 2 Natural Gas Power Plants In PA, Other States

-- Bloomberg: Vistra Buys Power Plants From Lotus Infrastructure Partners In PA, Other States To Power A.I. Data Centers 

-- Financial Times: Constellation Energy, Other Companies Abandon Almost Half the Projects In $5 Billion Texas Program To Fund Natural Gas Power Plants Due To Costs, Supply Chain Delays  [Sen. Yaw Wants A Program Like This In PA] 

-- John Quigley: Are Merchant Fossil Fuel Plants Uneconomical? - Comments By Chief Fossil Officer For Talen Energy  [Twitter]

-- Better Path Coalition Hosts May 21 Webinar On Regional Water Use Policy And Siting Data Center Facilities  [PaEN]

-- ABC27: Lancaster County Residents Encouraged To Participate in Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Evacuation Survey

-- WTAE: Sky’s The Limit For Sustainability At New Pittsburgh Airport Terminal

-- Call For Presentations: PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference Oct. 14-16 In State College  [PaEN]

-- Trout Unlimited: US House Passes 'Good Samaritan' Legislation To Encourage Community Partnerships To Clean Up Abandoned Coal Mines  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette/Medill Investigative Lab: Plagued By Black Lung, Coal Miners Wage Long Legal Fights For Benefits To Pay Bills And To Stay Alive 

-- Observer-Reporter: Remembering The 1928 Mather Coal Mine Explosion That Killed 195 In Greene County 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Some Mining Safety Workers At NIOSH In Pittsburgh, Morgantown Spared Layoffs 

-- TribLive: Dozens Of Pittsburgh-Area Mine Safety Workers To Keep Jobs 

-- WESA: US Steel, Western PA Coal Power Plants Seek 2-Year Exemptions From Federal Air Pollution Rules  [Warning] 

-- MCall - Anthony Salamone: Despite Local Objections, DEP Allows Keystone Cement To Move Hazardous Waste Via Train Along A Lehigh Valley Creek

-- DEP Approves Tire Derived Fuel For Stronghold Digital Mining’s Panther Creek Coal Waste Power Plant In Carbon County  [PaEN] 

-- Halfmoon Creek Watershed Conservationists From Centre, Huntingdon Counties Visit The Chesapeake Bay  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension Backyard Stream Repair Series Now Available On Demand  [PaEN]

-- Shippensburg University, Chesapeake Bay Foundation Host South Mountain Climate & Land Use Exploration For Educators Aug. 4-8  [PaEN]

-- Lancaster Conservancy, Partners: Lancaster Water Week June 6-14 

-- Chesapeake Bay Conservation Landscaping Council Level 1 Certification Course Registration Now Open  [PaEN] 

-- Chesapeake Bay Program: Environmental Literacy Programming Rebounds Across Chesapeake Watershed Following COVID Pandemic

-- Meadville Tribune: Allegheny College Watershed Conservation Research Center Received Grant

-- Partnership For The Delaware Estuary: 2024 Annual Report 

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Why Is Wissahickon Creek Suddenly Fluorescent Green?  [Spoiler - Philadelphia Water Dept. Dye]

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Blog: PA Farmers Lament Conservation And Economic Consequences Of Losing Federal Climate-Smart Funding  [PaEN] 

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: President’s Budget Cuts Threaten Chesapeake Bay Restoration, Advocates Warn  [Warning]

-- Public News Service: President’s Proposed Budget Threatens Chesapeake Bay Restoration Efforts In PA

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Indigenous Tribes Ask For Seat In Chesapeake Bay Program 

-- National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: Republican House Ag Committee Congressional Budget Bill Steamrolls Farm Bill Future, Slashing Billions [Chaired By PA Republican Cong. Glenn Thompson] 

-- Inside Climate News: USDA Staffing And Funding Cuts Would Threaten Virginia’s Ability To Reach Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Goals

-- Erie Times: EPA Great Lakes Office Reeling From Surveillance, President’s Cuts: ‘Death By A Thousand Cuts’

-- PA Capital-Star: Dozens Of Members Of Congress, Including From PA, Plead With President To Unfreeze FEMA Resilient Infrastructure Grants 

-- PA National Guard Combat Aviation Partners With Coast Guard To Transport Buoys For Maintenance From Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay 

-- WJAC-TV: Somerset County Officials Assessing Damage Caused By Widespread Flooding 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Somerset County Residents Reeling As Floodwaters Recede; Officials Document Damage To Provide Aid 

-- WJAC-TV: Meyersdale Residents Ordered To Evacuate As Heavy Rains, Flooding Impact Somerset County

-- Tribune-Democrat: Homes Evacuated, Motorists Rescued As Flooding Hammers Southern Somerset County 

-- KDKA: Severe Flooding Leaves Meyersdale Borough Underwater After Heavy Rains In Somerset County

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: FEMA Cancels $1 Billion For Flood Prevention Projects In Chesapeake Bay Region; $2.7 Million In Scranton [Warning]

-- Reuters: FEMA Cuts Emergency Training As Hurricane Season Looms  [Warning]

-- PA Capital-Star: FEMA Leader Ousted, One Day After Publicly Opposing Agency’s Elimination By President  [Warning]

-- Inside Climate News: Should Pittsburgh’s Water Company Stay Public?  Residents Will Get To Vote On It 

-- TribLive: Tarentum Working To Resolve DEP Drinking Water Plan Violations In Allegheny County

-- AP: EPA Announces Rollback For Some Limits On ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Drinking Water  [Warning]

-- EPA Will Keep Existing Drinking Water Maximum Contaminant Levels For PFOA, PFOS ‘Forever Chemicals;’ Extends Compliance Dates  [Warning]

-- AP: New Jersey Says Chemical Maker 3M Agrees To PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Settlement Worth Up To $450 Million

-- MCall: Large Water Main Break Sends Water Gushing Into The Air, Closes Major Bethlehem Road

-- MCall: Is The Lehigh Valley Still In A Drought?  See What The Numbers Say

-- Beaver Times/RiverWise: Are Nonprofits Feel Losses From Termination Of Federal Thriving Communities Program

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Pittsburgh Innovation Economy - Rebuilding The Region One Brownfield At A Time

-- EPA Awards $12.3 Million In Brownfield Assessment, Cleanup Grants In Pennsylvania [PaEN] 

-- DEP Invites Comments On Proposed Alterra Energy LLC Thermochemical Plastics Recycling Plant Air Quality Permit Application For A Location In Luzerne County  [PaEN] 

-- Registration Now Open!  Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Annual Conference Oct. 15-16 In State College  [PaEN] 

-- Centre County Residents Safely Dispose Of 39,700 Pounds Of Hazardous Waste, Recycled 4,020 Pounds Of Tires At Annual Collection Events [PaEN]

-- PA Resources Council To Hold Household Chemical Collection Events In Cambria, Fayette, Washington Counties In June  [PaEN] 

-- WNEP: PPL Supports Small Appliance Recycling In Hazleton

-- Scranton Times: City Pride Volunteer Projects To Beautify Scranton

-- The Nature Conservancy PA Protects 1,158 Acres In Somerset County  [PaEN]

-- Planet Philadelphia Radio Show: May 16 - Protecting Our Land, 4:00 p.m. 

-- Warren Times: Sen. Hutchinson To Introduce Legislation To Require Local Approval Before State Agencies Can Purchase Land  [Warning]

-- DCNR Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council Meets May 28 On Economic Benefits Of Trails  [PaEN] 

-- DCNR Grants: Funding Protects Natural Areas; eDonate To Keystone Tree Fund; $1 Million To Expand motorized Recreation

-- Health, DCNR, DEP Recognize Student Art Promoting Lyme Disease Prevention To Raise Awareness

-- Scranton Times: Lackawanna County West Nile Virus Prevention Program Begins Mosquito Monitoring

-- Erie Times: No Federal Funds For Sand Replenishment Work At Presque Isle State Park 

-- PA Recreation & Park Society Blog: The Joyride That Is PRPS - How We Collaboratively Built Our Current-Day PRPS - By Tim Herd, President - PA People, Parks & Community Foundation  

-- Inquirer: New Schuylkill River Trail Extension Draws Hundreds In Its First Opening Hours

-- WHYY: Philadelphians Celebrate Schuylkill River Trail Extension

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: New $48 Million Trail Connector Bridge Connects Schuylkill Banks In Center City To Grays Ferry

-- WHYY: Schuylkill River Trail Expands To Grays Ferry With 650-Foot Cable Bridge

-- The Allegheny Front: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Opens Accessible Trail, Discovery Space In Frick Park  

-- TribLive: Almost $500,000 In Upgrades Return Kiskiminetas River Park To Point Of Pride For East Vandergrift, Westmoreland County  

-- PennLive: If You’ve Never Kayaked In PA, Here’s How And Why To Get Started 

-- Inquirer: Two Iconic Shelters On PA’s Appalachian Trail Will Be Demolished As ‘Nonconforming’

-- The Allegheny Front: Raystown Wildlife Watch Invites Visitors To Help Conservation Efforts With Mobile App 

-- Williamsport Sun: Pennsylvania Hardwoods Industry Worries About President’s Tariffs

-- Inquirer: Arboriculture Tree Climbing Competition Comes To Bucks County; Winner Will Go To International Championship 

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bowers: Reflections In Nature - Plenty Of Medical Use For Various Plants

-- The Derrick: Seneca Rocks Audubon Relaunching Backyard Bird Habitat Program

-- Forests For The Chesapeake Bay: Forests Are For The Birds; Upcoming Events

-- MCall: Part Of Lehigh Valley Forest Will Be Preserved For Songbirds By Natural Lands  

-- MCall: Tom Tatum Outdoors: Birds Not Of A Feather Nesting Together

-- Inquirer: Eagles Making Huge Gains In Pennsylvania, Major Bird Census Shows

-- PennLive: Rare Piebald Robin Spotted At Riverview Park In Pittsburgh

-- WHYY: Find Your Flock: Ways To Explore Birding In Philadelphia 

-- The Derrick: Mayfly Season Signals Healthy Waters And Happy Anglers  [PDF of Article] 

-- Beaver Times: Watch Hundreds Of Rattlesnakes Come Out Of ‘Mega Den’ Ahead Of New PA Webcam

-- Republican Herald: Red Creek Wildlife Center Contends With Influx Of Baby Wildlife 

-- Game Commission: Springtime Alert - Leave Young Wildlife Alone

Visit the PA Environment Digest website to learn more.

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[Posted: May 18, 2025]   PA Environment Digest