Wednesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips - 5.14.25

“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

May 14

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 

TODAY 10:00: Agenda Posted.  House Energy Committee informational meeting on electric transmission.  Room 523 Irvis Building. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

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House Bill 501 (Otten-D-Chester) establishes the PA Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard to modernize Pennsylvania’s outdated energy standards, incentivizing innovation in nuclear and renewable energy, including battery storage, to remain competitive with other states, part of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.

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

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

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

-- Sen. Yaw: Senate Committee Approves Bill That Would Prohibit Municipal Bans On Any Type Of Fuel Sources For Appliances And Heating Homes Or Businesses

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Energy Development Still Needed

-- CNX Resources Releases Updated 2024 Environmental, Social, Governance Report

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

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: As Western Pennsylvania Loses Residents, Counties Prepare For The Future

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

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

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

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

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

-- Delaware River Alliance For Watershed Education May 16 Networking & Insights For Young Environmental Professionals In-Person Event In Philadelphia, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

-- 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

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

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

-- Inquirer: Bankrupt City Of Chester’s Stormwater Authority Board Got Over $800,000 In Illegal Pay, Receiver Says

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

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

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

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

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

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Restart/Data Centers

-- 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

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- 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 

-- 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] 

Other States

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

New Federal Administration

-- Erie Times: RFK, Jr., Grandkids Swim In Polluted DC Creek On Mother’s Day Despite Advice To ‘Stay Out’

-- WSJ: Other Federal Officials Balk At RFK Jr.’s Attack On Pesticides A Potential Cause Of US Health Woes

-- AP: Facing Lawsuit, USDA Says It Will Restore Some Climate Change-Related Webpages

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

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

-- Utility Dive: House Congressional Republicans Proposes Early Phaseout Of Federal Clean Energy Tax Credits

-- NYT: A Clean Energy Boom Was Just Starting, Now, A Republican Bill Aims To End It

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA House Passes Election Reform Bill, But Voter ID Goes To Sidelines

-- Inquirer: PA House Democrats Were Prepared To Pass Voter ID, Then Republicans Hit The Brakes

-- WHYY: PA Republicans Seek Control Of PA Supreme Court Where Final Decisions Are Made On Voting, Abortion

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Senate Committee Rejects House Bill To Legalize Recreational Marijuana In PA

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: House Republican Leader Wants Committee To Investigate Arson At Governor’s Residence

-- Attorney General Sunday: 400+ Illegal Gambling Devices Seized At Bars, Gas Stations And Convenience Stores In Western PA 

-- Spotlight PA: Penn State President Wants To Close 7 Campuses, Internal Records Explain Why

-- Post-Gazette: Penn State Proposes 7 Campus Closures, Including 3 In Pittsburgh Region

-- TribLive: Penn State Recommends Closing New Kensington, Fayette, 5 Other Campuses

-- WNEP: Penn State Wilkes-Barre Set To Close

-- TribLive Editorial: Penn State Needs To Be Open About Closing Campuses

-- MCall: Some Lehigh Valley College Students Could Receive Refunds For Tuition During COVID Shutdowns

-- Erie Times: UPMC Webpages On LGBTQ Health, Racial Disparities Vanish

-- York Dispatch: President’s Funding Cuts Threaten To Send York County Libraries Back Into The ‘Dark Ages’

-- Triblive: Federal Judge In Johnstown Becomes First In US To Uphold Use Of Alien Enemies Act To Depot Venezuelans

-- WPost Guest Essay: What Pennsylvania Factory Workers Say About President’s Tariffs Now - Workers Want Certainty - By Heather Long

-- NYT: Chasing Federal Tax Cut, President And Republicans Want To Make State Pay; States Fearful That Their Budgets Cannot Absorb Billions In New Costs

Click Here for latest PA Environmental News

Like PA Environment Digest on Facebook

Follow PA Environment Digest on Twitter  

Read Weekly PA Environment Digest

Diversity - Equity - Inclusion

[Posted: May 14, 2025]  PA Environment Digest