Thursday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 5.15.25

“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

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

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

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

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

May 19-- House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee hearing on House Bill 501 (Otten-D-Chester) establishes the PA Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard to modernize Pennsylvania’s outdated energy standards, incentivizing innovation in nuclear and renewable energy, including battery storage, to remain competitive with other states, part of Governor’s Lightning Energy Plan. Room G-50 Irvis Building. 10:00 a.m.

May 20-- Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority meeting.  Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Geoff Bristow, gbristow@pa.gov  or (717) 783-8411.  Click Here for options to join remotely.   (formal notice)  

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

-- 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]

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

-- PennLive: House Approves Bill Allowing Residents To Line-Dry Their Clothes 

-- 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

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

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

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

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

-- 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 

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

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

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

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

-- 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

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

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

-- Brandywine Conservancy & Museum Of Art Earns Reaccreditation By Land Trust Accreditation Commission 

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

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Restart/Data Centers

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

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

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

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

-- Reuters: US, Europe Drive Global Power Plant Emissions Higher So Far In 2025

New Federal Administration

-- 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 

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

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

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

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: Gov. Shapiro Warns Pennsylvanians Will Lose Health Care, Hospitals Will Close Under Republican Cuts To Medicaid

-- Inquirer: National Democrats Flocking To PA In Early Offensive To Reclaim US House In 2026

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Dauphin County Helped Hundreds Of Voters Fix Mistakes On Their Mail Ballots; More Counties Should Do The Same - By ACLU Of Pennsylvania

-- TribLive: Penn State Communities Grapple With Recommended Campus Closures

-- PennLive: Penn State Blames Looming Campus Closures On Projected ‘Declining’ Pennsylvania Population

-- PennLive - John Baer: PA Continues Its March to Mediocrity (And Beyond) With Drop In State Rankings

-- TribLive: Raids Lead To Charges Against Businesses Run By Onetime Video Poker Kingpin

-- WITF/NPR: Why Aren’t Americans Filling The Manufacturing Jobs We Already Have?

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Hands Off: President’s Attempt To Suspend Habeas Corpus Is A Bright Red Line

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Diversity - Equity - Inclusion

[Posted: May 15, 2025]  PA Environment Digest