149 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 149 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!

-- The Derrick: List Of Nearly 300 Military Veterans Who Have Died In Venango, Clarion And Forest Counties Since Last Memorial Day

-- KYW: Body Of Tyler State Park Ranger Alec Campbell Recovered After Kayak Accident In Bucks County

-- Courier Times: Tyler State Park Ranger’s Body Recovered 3 Days After Kayak Mishap In Bucks County

-- PA Environmental Council Honors Cynthia Carrow With Lifetime Achievement Award, Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority, DEP's RISE PA Industrial Decarbonization Program  [PaEN] 

-- PA Statewide Envirothon: Penncrest High School (Delaware County) Placed First, Carmichaels High School (Greene County) Placed 2nd 

-- DEP Supports 68 Environmental Education Projects Across PA With $1.1 Million In Grants [PaEN] 

-- Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Graduates Class Of 2025 Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania; Apply Now For Class Of 2026   [PaEN] 

-- TribLive: PennDOT Worker Taken To Hospital After Driver Hits Litter Cleanup Truck In Allegheny County  

-- Save The Date! PA Park & Recreation Professionals Day Is July 18  [PaEN] 

-- DCNR Welcomes New Class Of Rangers And Park Managers To Protect And Serve Pennsylvania’s Public Lands 

-- NextPittsburgh: Rachel Carson EcoVillage Residents Eye Move In After 5 Tumultuous Years Of Development

-- WeConservePA/Lancaster Farming: Conservationist Troy Firth Wants To Keep Pennsylvania Forests Strong 

-- Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership Honored With A Foxwynd Foundation $10,000 Visionary Leadership Award  [PaEN] 

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: PA’s Trail Of The Year - Path Of The Flood Trail- Combines Optimistic Future With Past Tragedy  

-- PA Wilds Announces 2025 PA Wilds Champion Award Winners To Be Recognized At July 24 Dinner Celebration 

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Parks Rank 15th Nationally, Research Says

-- PublicNewsService.org: Protecting Pennsylvania’s Eastern Hellbender On Endangered Species Day 

-- Environmental Hearing Board Agrees There Is ‘Acute’ Danger In CNX Misusing A Deposition In An Appeal Before The Board To ‘Punish’ An Environmental Advocate For Her Advocacy Against CNX  [PaEN]

-- Late Night Dumping II:  Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Dumping Continues On Roads, This Time With Bigger Trucks; New Research On Harmful Wastewater Impacts  [PaEN] 

-- PA American Water Begins Construction Of Pipeline To Provide Replacement Water For Dimock Township Residents Who Had Wells Contaminated By Shale Gas Drilling 20 Years Ago In Susquehanna County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 17 to 23 -- Failure To Comply With Shale Well Plugging Order; 28 Months Without 3 Conventional Well Cleanups; 206 Abandoned Conventional Wells; Road Dumping Continues  [PaEN] 

-- City & State PA Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Must Energize Efforts To Regulate Its Oil And Gas Industry - By By Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) Majority Chair House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: 9 In 10 Pennsylvanians Support Stronger Health Protection From Oil & Gas Fracking - By Joanne Kilgour, Ohio River Valley Institute,  and Alison Steele, Environmental Health Project  [PDF of Article]

-- The Citizens Voice Letter: Plan To Extract Lithium From OIl & Gas Wastewater Without A Full Accounting Of Its Hazards Is Not A Solution - By Tonyehn Verkitus, Physicians For Social Responsibility-PA  [PDF of Article]

-- May 29 Webinar: Introduction To Community Benefit Agreements For Energy, Other Industrial Projects [PaEN]  

-- EPA Alumni Association: An Open Letter To EPA Administrator & Congress - We’re Not Done Yet!  [PaEN] 

-- The Hill Guest Essay: No One Voted For More Pollution So Why Is EPA Trying To Cut Half Its Budget? - By Natural Resources Defense Council

-- TribLive: PA Republican Legislators Vow No Tax Increases To Cover Federal Funding Cuts

-- CBF: White House Proposes To Eliminate Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education Training (B-WET) Program  [PaEN] 

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: DOGE Slashed AmeriCorps - Why The National Service Program Cuts Matter In PA - By State Rep. Dan Miller 

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Organizations Reeling After AmeriCorps Cuts

-- Evangelical Environmental Network: US House-Passed Budget Bill Raises Costs, Increases Health Risks; Eliminates PA’s MERP Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging Funding  [PaEN]

-- Physicians For Social Responsibility-Colorado, FracTracker: Oil & Gas Fracking Chemicals Still Secret In Colorado, Little Compliance With 2022 Law Designed To Prevent Toxic Exposures

-- The Guardian: Colorado Oil & Gas Drilling Companies Not Complying With Fracking Chemicals Disclosure Law, Ban On Use Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’

-- Bloomberg: New Fortress LNG Exporter Disqualified from Puerto Rico Auction; Company Value Has Fallen 80% This Year  [Company Pursuing LNG Projects In PA]

-- US DOE Releases Response To Comments On 2024 LNG Gas Export Study Saying No Discernible Impact On Climate Emissions, Minimizing Impacts On Prices [DOE Said The Opposite In December ] 

-- The Hill: US DOE Now Says LNG Gas Export Environmental Impacts ‘Outside’ Its Authority

-- House Committee Told PA Needs An Energy Policy, Doing Nothing Means We Are Going To Run Out Of Power; Overreliance On One Fuel-- Gas-- Is Raising Electricity Prices [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: Lawmakers Hear Testimony On Meeting PA Power Demand: ‘Huge Amount Of Growth’  

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: As Pittsburgh Faces Electricity Rate Hike Of 15%, PA Lawmakers Ratchet Up Debate On Energy Sources

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: As Pittsburgh Faces Electricity Rate Hike Of 15%, PA Lawmakers Ratchet Up Debate On Energy Sources

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: With Soaring Summer Temps Ahead, A.I. Data Centers Could Strain Electricity Supplies In The Delaware Valley

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: TECfusions Unveils Plans For Massive Data Center, A.I. Campus, Up To 3 Gigawatt Natural Gas Power Plants At Former Alcoa Site In Westmoreland County  [PDF of Article]  

-- WPost - Salena Zito: I Have Seen The Future Of A.I. Data Centers, It’s In Western Pennsylvania  [Homer City Project] 

-- Scranton Times: A.I. Data Centers Could Reshape Landscape In NE PA

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Data Centers Can Be A Boon, But Shouldn’t Go Unchecked Locally

--  Bloomberg: Natural Gas Power Plants Cheaper To Buy Than Build To Satisfy A.I. Data Centers’ Thirst For Energy [Taking Power Off The Grid For ‘Ordinary People’]

-- The Center Square: Electric Transmission Upgrades At Crucial Turning Point 

-- WITF The Spark: Legal Battle Over Carbon Pollution Cap Could Shape Pennsylvania’s Energy Future 

-- Kleinman Center For Energy Policy Blog: Fact-Free US Energy Policy Portends Long-Term Damage To The US - By John Quigley

-- Utility Dive: ICF Consulting Sees 25% Electricity Load Growth By 2030 Driving Up To 40% Increase In Residential Electricity Rates

-- The Conversation Guest Essay: Why Your Electricity Bill Is So High And What Pennsylvania Is Doing About It - By Hannah Wiseman and Seth Blumsack From Penn State University  [Data Center Demand, Rising Fuel Costs] 

-- Utility Dive Guest Essay: Is Your Electric Bill Too High?  Thank LNG Gas Exports - By Lt.. General Russel L. Honore (Retired)  [Stop Selling LNG To Our Competitors]

-- PUC Urges Electricity Customers To Start Shopping, Conserve Energy To Help Avoid Impact Of June 1 Rate Increases Of Between 5% and 16% On Most Electric Bills  [PaEN]

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 18.4% Rate + 37.5% Customer Charge Increase By Wellsboro Electric; 18% Gas Increase + 13.4% Customer Charge Increase For Valley Energy Gas; 11% Rate + 26% Customer Charge Increase For Citizens' Electric  [PaEN] 

-- LancasterOnline: How PPL, Met-Ed Customers May Be Able To Duck June 1 Electricity Price Hikes

-- The Citizens Voice: Local Electric Rates To Increase June 1; PUC Offers Cost-Saving Tips

-- MCall Guest Essay: Congress Must Protect Federal Programs To Lower Energy Costs - By Molly Parzen, Conservation Voters Of PA  [Energy Star, Weatherization, Clean Energy]

-- Solar Energy Advocates, Business Owners Urge PA Lawmakers To Unlock $156 Million In Solar For All Federal Funding  [PaEN] 

-- DCED Awards $22.6 Million To 74 Schools To Help Schools Lower Electricity Costs, Create Jobs Under Solar For Schools Program  [PaEN] 

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Awards $22.5 Million In Solar for Schools Grants To Help 74 Schools Reduce Energy Costs

-- Observer-Reporter: Southwest PA Schools Among Those To Receive Funding To Install Solar Panels

-- The Citizens Voice: Hanover Area School District Gets $400,000 Grant For Solar Energy Facility

-- Erie Times: $400,000 Grant Will Help Fund Solar Energy Facility At Erie County Technical School

-- Tribune-Democrat: Cambria County Commissioners Take Steps Toward Solar Energy Project At Prison

--  Centre Daily Times Guest Essay: Pennsylvania State Senators Attack Solar Energy - By Dan Alters & Dorothy Blair, Nittany Valley Environmental Coalition  [PDF of Article]

-- USDA Extends Deadline 30 Days To Rural Energy For America Program Funding Applicants To Make Changes To Realign Their Applications To New Administration’s Priorities

-- Energy Future PA Co-Chairs: Federal Budget Proposal That Eliminates Clean Energy Tax Credits Puts Billions In Private Investment, Thousands Of Jobs At Risk In PA  [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: US House Republican Budget ‘Worse Than Feared’ For Clean Energy - Analysts 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: The Future Is Nuclear, The US, Pittsburgh Must Be Ready

-- MCall Guest Essay: Climate Change Negatively Affects Our Children’s Health - By Citizens’ Climate Lobby - Lehigh Valley

-- E&E News/Politico: Bucks County Judge Rejects Bucks County Climate Lawsuit Against Fossil Fuel Industry

-- WHYY: Bucks County Climate Lawsuit Against Big Oil Tossed By County Judge

-- The Center Square: Legal, Energy Experts Praise Dismissal Of Bucks County Climate Lawsuit

-- PA Capital-Star: US Senate Vote To Nix California Tailpipe Emissions Standards Blocks PA, 16 Other States

-- Erie Times: Erie Coke [Coal] Corp. Scheduled For Change-Of-Plea Hearing In June On Federal Environmental Charges 

-- WHYY: Looming SEPTA Cuts Could Increase Climate Pollution In The Philly Area

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Residents Are Tracking Air Quality And Pollution From Their Rowhouses In Real Time

-- Inquirer: DEP: SPS Technologies Warehouse Fire Had No Impact On Drinking Water Or Air Quality

-- Attorney General Sunday Joins Coalition Urging Congress To Address Healthcare Budget Shortfall For ‘Heroes’ Who Responded To 9/11 Attacks  

-- PEMA: Multi-Agency Resource Center Opens May 22 For Flood Survivors In Somerset County  [PaEN] 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Flood Relief Resource Center Planned In Meyersdale 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Somerset County Commissioners Outline Disaster Recovery Fund Plan, Make $10,000  Donation 

-- Gov. Shapiro Requests Federal Small Business Administration Disaster Aid For Flood Survivors In Somerset County [PaEN] 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Emergency Services Keep Eye On What FEMA Revisions Could Mean: ‘Do The Most Amount Of Good’

-- AP: FEMA’s Acting Chief Says Agency Will Shift More Disaster Recovery Responsibilities To States; Disaster Aid To Be Reduced 

-- NYT: President’s Efforts To Downsize Threaten Essential Functions Americans Rely On Before, During And After Natural Disasters 

-- Bloomberg Guest Essay: We’ve Seen FEMA Unprepared Before, It Didn’t End Well - By Mark Gongloff

-- RollingStone: FEMA Denies North Carolina’s Request For Continued Hurricane Helene Aid For Debris Removal   [PDF of Article]

-- RollingStone: Republican US Senator From Missouri Begs For Disaster Aid As FEMA Snubs Another Republican State 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Johnstown Flood National Memorial To Hold 1889 Flood Anniversary Activities

-- TribLive: Duquesne Light, West Penn Power Officials Grilled At Hearing Over Days-Long Power Outages  

-- WESA: PA Lawmakers Question Pittsburgh-Area Utilities On April 20 Storm Response, Power Outages

-- WESA: Allegheny County Council Launches Committee To Review Storm Preparedness

-- PUC Marks National Electrical Safety Month With Urgent Storm Safety Message 

-- Inside Climate News: Federal Judge Orders President To Restore USDA Climate-Smart Commodities Funding  [Pasa Sustainable Agriculture Was Party In Lawsuit]

-- NPR: Federal Judge Further Halts President’s Executive Orders Shutting Down Offices, Laying Off Thousands Of Workers

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: Erie’s Urban Farms Dig In To Counter Federal Cuts To Food Aid - By Liz Allen, Retired Erie Times Editor

-- The Allegheny Front - Kara Holsopple: Fmr Erie County Gravel Mine Gets 2nd Chance As Forestland; Bosland Growth Planting 70,000 Trees This Spring 

-- WNEP: Supporting Reforestation After Carbon County Packerton Wildfire 

-- GantNews: US Endowment For Forestry & Communities Receives $298,000 Grant From Susquehanna River Basin Commission  To Support Clearfield County Mine Reclamation

-- Tribune-Democrat: Cambria County Conservation And Recreation Authority Talks Test Site For Washout Prevention 

-- CBF Blog: Big Spring High School Is Getting Kids Outdoors To Investigate Their Local Environment, Thanks To NOAA Grant  [PaEN]

-- PA Environmental Educators: June 4 Connecting Youth To Local Watersheds & Other Professional Development Opportunities 

-- Headwaters To The Ohio Water Network Hosts May 29 Webinar On The Changing Landscape Of Federal Clean Water Funding & Policy  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Seeks Participants For Survey Study On How People Perceive The Safety And Trust Of Their Water  [PaEN] 

-- Courier Times: EPA Rolls Back PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Regulations: What It Means For Bucks County 

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Here’s What We Must Do In Pennsylvania To Keep Our Water Safe - By Justin Ladner, President PA American Water

-- PUC Sets June 5 Hearings On Proposed Acquisition Of Elizabeth Boro Wastewater System By PA American Water In Allegheny County

-- Inquirer Editorial: Regional Public Partnership, Not A Push To Privatize Is Better Bet For City Of Chester Water Customers

-- Centre Daily Times: How To Recycle Electronics, Tires And More In Centre County

-- PA Recycling Markets Center Hosts 3-Part Business Fundamentals For Compost Operations Webinars Starting June 17  [PaEN] 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: New Too Good To Go App Aims To Reduce Food Waste In Pittsburgh

-- DCNR Kicks Off Summer Outdoor Recreation Season At Bald Eagle State Park In Centre County  [PaEN]

-- Centre Daily Times: New Centre County Campsites Highlighted As PA Summer Recreation Season Kicks Off

-- WESA/WPSU: New Campground Opens At Bald Eagle State Park As Reservations Spike At PA Campgrounds

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: PA’s Trail Of The Year - Path Of The Flood Trail- Combines Optimistic Future With Past Tragedy  

-- DCNR: 600-Mile Northcentral Regional ATV Trail Reopens For This Season; Riding Permit Applications Being Accepted

-- DCNR, PennDOT, DCED Celebrate Opening Of Christian To Crescent Trail Connector Linking Center City To South Philadelphia

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster County Updating Parks And Trails Plan After 33 Years; Seeking Public Input

-- The Derrick: UTV, ATV Street Use Request Lacks Support In Titusville  [PDF of Article]

-- WNEP: Woman Dies After ATV Crash In Bradford County

-- Susquehanna Greenway Partnership: Health Benefits Of Outdoor Recreation - By Darian Jones, Communications & Outreach AmeriCorps Assistant for the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership  [PaEN] 

-- Penn’s Stewards: Miles Of Beauty - Hiking Pennsylvania’s State Forest Hiking Trails [PaEN]

-- May 23 Take Five Fridays With Pam, PA Parks & Forests Foundation [PaEN] 

-- Erie Times: Get Ready For Summing, Summer At Presque Isle State Park

-- Erie Times: Can You Fly A Drone At A State Park In Pennsylvania? [Spoiler - Only In 6 Parks] 

-- Lehigh Valley’s Wildlands Conservancy Highlights June Events - Lehigh River Sojourn, Stream Team Volunteer, Other Events 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Davidsville Man Rides Great Allegheny Passage Trail To Raise Awareness For Easterseals

-- Williamsport Sun: Area Doctor Hiking Mid State Trail To Raise Money For Nonprofits

-- PA Wilds Conservation Shop In Marienville Hosting Food Trucks, Vendors During Bigfoot Festival June 7 In Forest County

-- KDKA: New Signs Posted At Blue Hole Creek Warn Of High Lead Levels In Westmoreland County 

-- WHYY: Bartram Garden’s Mile Trail Still Closed More Than A Year After Chemical Spill

-- Allentown Parknership To Build Full -Court Basketball Court At Stevens Park  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Parks Rank 15th Nationally, Research Says

-- Republican Herald: West Nile Testing Starts In Schuylkill County

-- North Branch Land Trust Completes 220 Acre Conservation Easement On Huntsville Reservoir In Luzerne County [PaEN] 

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: North Branch Land Trust Completes Huntsville Reservoir Conservation Easement

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Editorial: Diamonds To North Branch Land Trust

-- WeConservePA: Berks Nature Preserves 71.97 Acres Of Forest Land In Rockland Township 

-- WeConservePA: North American Land Trust Acquires Historic 16-Acre Joseph Davis Tract Within Brandywine Battlefield National Historic Landmark

-- Williamsport Sun - Guest Essay: White House’s Approach To Tariffs May Bring Serious Consequences To PA Hardwood Industry - By Scott Seyler, Northland Forest Products, Inc. 

-- PA/NY Chapter The American Chestnut Foundation Unveils New Website

-- Warren Times: Audubon Community Nature Center - Symmetry In Nature 

-- DCNR State Parks Environmental Educator News Blooming With PA Native Species Day; Pollinator Activities; Educator Workshops  [PaEN] 

-- York Dispatch Editorial: A Homegrown Way To Counter Invasive Species, Replace Them

-- ABC27: Spotted Lanternflies Starting To Hatch In Pennsylvania

-- TribLive: Cicadas To Surface In Pennsylvania For 1st Time Since 2008 

-- Watch Replay Of Rachel Carson Building Peregrine Falcon Banding

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Report Calls For Pennsylvania To Promote Safe Passage For Wildlife

-- Penn State Extension: June 10 Tap Talk: The Susquehanna River Fish Assemblage, Collusion Tap Works, York, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

-- Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Berks Sinfonietta To Perform June 7 At Music On The Mountain

Visit the PA Environment Digest website to learn more.

REAL Leadership:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-- 5,895 Stories In 2024 - Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

-- 4,258 Stories In 2023 - Environmental & Conservation Leadership PA 

-- 3,190 Stories In 2022 - Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

[Posted: May 25, 2025]   PA Environment Digest