161 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 161 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!

-- DEP Reduces Permit Backlog By 98%, Has Reviewed Nearly 20,000 Permit Applications So Far This Year  [PaEN] 

-- Dept. Of Insurance/DEP Highlight 30 Years Of Underground Petroleum Products Storage Tank Insurance Fund Work; Paid Over $1.3 Billion To Clean Up Tank Leaks  [PaEN]

-- Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Bay: Celebrating The Waters Of Lancaster County [PaEN] 

-- DCNR Celebrates Induction Of Bear Meadows Natural Area In Rothrock State Forest Centre County Into The National Old-Growth Forest Network  [PaEN]

-- Patch.com: Three New Hope-Solebury HS Students Receive Malcolm P. Crooks Scholarships From Aquetong Watershed Association 

-- Warren Times: Warren Conservation District Awards Scholarships To Local Students

-- TribLive Editorial: What Are The Limits Of Expression On College Campuses? Censoring ‘The Fence’ At CMU  [CMU College Republicans President said, “The decision to censor made by the administration is an uncharacteristic and deeply concerning (breach) of commitment, as well as the trust it has fostered.”

-- DEP: Shale Gas Well Control Problem Caused Uncontrolled Release Of Wastewater For Over 34 Hours At Repsol’s Broadleaf Holdings Well Pad In Troy Twp., Bradford County  [PaEN] 

-- Courier Times: Bucks County Residents, Sen. Santarsiero Say DEP Isn’t Doing Enough To Make Energy Transfer/Sunoco Define The Extent Of Petroleum Pipeline Leak And Clean It Up  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 12 to 18 - Uncontrolled Shale Gas Wastewater Release For 34 Hours; Abandoned Conventional Wells Top 300; 107 New Brownfield Sites  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Groups Rallying To Protect Delaware River Watershed From Shale Gas Fracking  [PaEN] 

-- TribLive: An Inside Look At Plum Borough’s Controversial Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Allegheny County

-- Environmental Health Project Releases Compounds Of Concern Online Tool To Help Frontline Residents Better Understand Health Symptoms Related To Chemicals In Industrial Pollution, Released By Oil & Gas Facilities  [PaEN] 

-- The Allegheny Front - Kara Holsopple: New Online Tool Launches To Help Identify Chemical Exposure To Oil & Gas Operations, Industrial Pollution

-- DEP Invites Comments On 4 Water Quality Permits For Texas Eastern Appalachia To Market 3 Natural Gas Pipeline Upgrade Project In Adams And York Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Utility Dive: Bipartisan Group Of 9 Governors, Including Gov. Shapiro, Say PJM Interconnection Facing ‘Unprecedented Crisis Of Confidence’ And Want A Hand In Filling 2 Vacant Board Seats  [PaEN]   

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Maximum Generation Alert For July 15; Natural Gas Accounted For Most Generation Outages In June Generation Alert  [PaEN]  

-- PJM Interconnection Extends Maximum Generation Alert To July 16; Natural Gas Accounted For Most Generation Outages In June Generation Alert [PaEN] 

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Hot Weather Alert For July 17 In Its Mid-Atlantic, Southern Regions, Including Parts Of PA  [PaEN] 

-- List Of More Than $90 Billion In Energy, A.I. Data Center Investments, Commitments Or Plans Announced At The PA Energy & Innovation Summit [PaEN]  [Warning]

-- NewsClips - PA Energy & A.I. Summit Pittsburgh July 15, 2025

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Energy And Innovation Summit Is A Great Opportunity For Pittsburgh, But People Must Come First  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: What Does Pittsburgh’s A.I. And Energy Future Hold? 

-- PA Republican Lawmakers Rush To Introduce Bills To Give New Tax Breaks, Waive Regulations, Environmental Standards For A.I. Data Centers Already Flocking Into Pennsylvania And Locking Up PA Power  [PaEN]  [Warning]

-- Kleinman Center For Energy Policy: What Wasn’t Discussed At Pennsylvania’s Energy & A.I. Summit - By John Quigley, Senior Fellow

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: President Came To Pittsburgh To Promote A.I. In Pennsylvania; Here’s What You Need To Know 

-- Post-Gazette - Chloe Jad, Anya Litvak: At Pittsburgh Energy And Tech Summit, Optimism And Warnings Over Future Of A.I.  

-- WashPost: Nvidia Says President Lifts Ban On Selling Some A.I. Chips To China  [The Country The US At ‘War’ With Over A.I.] 

-- Environmental Advocates Oppose Gov. Shapiro’s Attendance At Sen. McCormick's Energy, A.I. Summit Today In Pittsburgh  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: Gov. Shapiro Stands Out At High-Profile A.I. Energy Summit; Other Democrats Used Summit To Bash President’s Policies 

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Police Use Pepper Spray On Energy Summit Protesters 

-- WESA: Hundreds Gather To Protest President, Fossil Fuel Dependence During Energy Summit

-- WESA: With President Set To Attend A.I. &  Energy Summit, CMU Professor Worries Climate Issues Will Be Lost 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: What’s Next After Big-Time A.I., Energy Summit?  Shapiro: The Proof Will Be When Shovels Go In The Ground  [PDF of Article] 

-- Post-Gazette - Benjamin Kail, Anya Litvak: Energy & A.I. Summit Made Bold Predictions, Announced Billions In Investments - What Happens Next? 

-- TribLive Editorial: PA Energy & A.I. Summit - It’s Easy To Promise Big, But Corporate Investments Can Change With Market Winds 

-- Observer-Reporter Editorial: Good Things Await The Mon Valley

-- TribLive: Is The Labor, Funding There To See Through $90 Billion In Energy, Tech Projects In PA? 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: McCormick’s Energy, A.I. Summit Accomplished What It Set Out To Do, But What’s Next?

-- TribLive: Standing-Room-Only Crowd Gets Detailed Look At $25 Billion Plan For Homer City 4.5 GW Natural Gas Power Plan, A.I. Data Centers In Indiana County 

-- WTAE: Massive Natural Gas-Powered Data Center Project In Homer City Promises Economic Revival

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EQT Secures Massive Natural Gas Deals For 4.5 GW Homer City, 3.6 GW Bruce Mansfield Natural Gas Power Plant Projects

-- The Allegheny Front: Data Centers Are Encroaching On This Luzerne County Town, So Locals Are Taking Action Early

-- LancasterOnline: Public Input On $6 Billion A.I. Data Center May Be Limited Under Current Lancaster City Zoning

-- LancasterOnline: Google To Buy $3 Billion Worth Of Electricity For Data Centers From Holtwood, Safe Harbor Hydroelectric Plants, Locking Up PA Power

-- PennLive: $26 Billion In Data Center Projects Coming To Central PA, Locking Up PA Power

-- York Daily Record: $5 Billion A.I. Data Center Project To Lock Up 828 MW Of Power From York II Natural Gas Power Plant

-- Williamsport Sun: Shamokin Dam Natural Gas Power Plant To See $3 Billion Upgrade

-- Utility Dive: PPL Utilities, With Blackstone Venture, Is ‘Biggest Winner’ From PA Energy & A.I. Data Center Summit

-- Bloomberg: Talen Energy Buys 1,058 MW Moxie Freedom Natural Gas Power Plant In Luzerne County, 1,875 MW Ohio Gas Power Plant For $3.8 Billion To Lock Up Power For Data Centers  

-- PA Capital-Star: A.I. Data Centers Like The Ones Coming To PA Are Using More Power, Regular Customers Are Footing The Bill

-- Fox News: Electricity Prices May Spike Due To A.I. Data Center Demand If US Doesn’t Boost Energy Output, White House Warns 

-- Indiana Capital Chronicle: A.I. Data Centers Are Using More Power, Regular Consumers Are Footing The Bill [In PJM Grid] 

-- The Center Square: Sustainability, Community Impact Concerns Shade A.I. Data Center Investment

-- EPA Is 'Clearing The Regulatory Path For America To Dominate The Global A.I. Revolution'  [PaEN]  [Warning]

-- Environmental Council Of The States: EPA Budget Cut 23%, Staff Cut 23%, Reductions In Grants Supporting State Administration Of Federal Programs, Water Infrastructure Funding  [PaEN]  [Warning]

-- Bloomberg: President Using A Light Touch On Pipeline Safety Oversight; Enforcement Cases Lowest In 20 Years 

-- Tribune-Democrat: President’s Tariff Pressure Pushes Asia Toward American LNG Gas To Ease Trade Tensions

-- Bloomberg: Puerto Rico Idles Power Plants As New Fortress Withholds LNG Gas Threatening To Strain The Grid At Height Of Summer Demand  [New Fortress Proposed PA LNG Export Facility] 

-- DEP: $3.47 Million In Alternative Fuel Vehicle Grants Announced To Lower Costs, Improve Air Quality; Deadline For New Applications Oct. 10  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: DEP Approves More Than $1 Million In Grants For Clean Energy Vehicles In Western PA

-- WESA/The Allegheny Front - Julia Fraser: Swisshelm Park Slag Heap In Pittsburgh Nearly Cleaned Up, Ready For Solar Makeover

-- NPR:  Do You Want Federal Money For An Electric Vehicle Or Home Solar?  Time Is Running Out - Fast

-- Erie Times: US Attorney Says ‘Accidentally Deleted’ Database Is A Reason To Drop Federal Charges In An Erie Coke [Coal] Case   [Warning] 

-- PA Capital-Star: Environmentalists Sue EPA To Reassess A Toxic Chemical Used At A PA Oil Refinery

-- Environmental Working Group: Frequent Violations Of Paraquat Pesticide In Pennsylvania Points To Health Risks For Farmers, Rural Residents

-- WESA: Clean Air Advocates Want To See Pollution Permit Fees Increased To Process Air Permits In Allegheny County 

-- KDKA: EPA, Norfolk Southern Manipulated Train Derailment Soil Testing Data, Government Accountability Project Report Says 

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Residents Near Norfolk Southern Train Derailment To Get Results Of Tests For Vinyl Chloride And Liver Damage

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Greed And Deceit Define The History Of Vinyl Chloride

-- PennVEST Invests $222.2 Million In 31 Drinking Water, Wastewater, Stormwater Projects In 21 Counties  [PaEN] 

-- Scranton Times: Two PA American Water Dam Rehabilitation Projects In Lackawanna Get Low-Interest PennVEST Loans

-- Northampton, Bucks County, Municipal Authority Announces Public Water Connection Project For 334 Homes With PFAS 'Forever Chemical' Contamination  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: All Adults, Children Tested Near PA Military Bases Have PFAS In Their Blood, Study Says 

-- Lancaster Farming: Chesapeake Bay Alliance, CNH Held Field Day For Conservation At New Holland Agriculture Campus Farm 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Conservation District Leaders Tour Somerset County Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Site: ‘Now I See Hope’ [Federal Funding] [PDF of Article] 

-- Scranton Times: Abandoned Mine Reclamation To Begin Soon For Archbald, Mayfield Warehouse Projects 

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader: Restoring A Coal Country Watershed Begins With Counting Bugs

-- Inquirer: For First Time In 85 Years, Manayunk’s Historic Canal Water Is Moving Again, As Park Of Efforts To Improve The Riverfront

-- Penn State Extension: Planting A Riparian Grass Buffer For Wildlife 

-- DEP, PEMA Announce Matching Funding For More Than $6 Million In NRCS Flood Recovery Projects In 9 Counties Related To Damage From Tropical Storm Debby In 2024  [PaEN]  

-- Tribune-Democrat: Anniversary Of 1977 Johnstown Flood That Killed 140 People, Recent Disaster In Texas Prompt Thoughts Of Safety 

-- TribLive: Flash Flood Warnings Surge To 20-Year High Across Western PA  

-- PA Capital-Star: In A Summer Marked By Flash Floods, PA Lawmaker Wants Homeowners To Be Aware Of Flood Risks

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Bipartisan Lawmakers To Advance Bill On Requiring Home Buyers Get Information On Flood Risks

 -- York Dispatch Guest Essay: The Flash-Flood Era Is Here, And We’re Not Ready - By Bloomberg Opinion

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: The Real Reason Four Mile Run Is Still A Flood Trap In Pittsburgh [Local Politicians Opposed Green Solutions & Offered None Of Their Own] 

-- PennLive: PA Farms, Food At Risk From Too Much Rain: ‘There Is No Normal Anymore’

-- DCNR: Using Natural Solutions, Engineering Upgrades And Technology-Based Mapping To Prevent Flooding  [PaEN]

-- Williamsport Sun: Lycoming County Property Owners Struggle To Recover From Tropical Storm Debby Damage That Left Tons Of Rock, Dirt On Their Property

-- TribLive: Western PA Storms Impact Power, Roads In Allegheny, Westmoreland Counties

-- Centre Daily Times: Power Restored To State College Area After Thousands Reported Outages Again

-- MCall: Flash Flooding Prompts Water Rescues Around Lehigh Valley As Storms Dump Torrential Rain Across Region

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Storm Damages Luzerne County-Owned Infrastructure

-- WNEP: Swift Floodwaters Cause Chaos For Campers, Animals In Luzerne County

-- WNEP: Flooded Roads Disrupt Sullivan, Lycoming Counties, Closes Roads

-- LancasterOnline: Dozens Of Water Rescues, Flooded Homes Report In Lancaster County Monday

-- WHYY: PA, DE, NJ Sue President’s FEMA Over End Of Grant Program That Helps States Prevent Flooding

-- Republican Herald: PEMA Urges FEMA To Reconsider Cuts, Changes That Would Impact Communities 

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Could Foot More Of The Bill For Disaster Response Under Proposed FEMA Cuts 

-- Citizens Voice: Second Sinkhole In South Wilkes-Barre Leads To Evacuation

-- Call For Presentations: PA Assn. Of Environmental Educators Annual Conference March 8-10 In Gettysburg  [PaEN] 

-- The Allegheny Front/WPSU: Cleanup Work At Contaminated Jackson Ceramix Superfund Site In Clearfield County Underway

-- Post-Gazette: How Pittsburgh’s Plastic Bag Ban Changed Shopping Habits

-- The Litterbug Continues To Strike: Strike Back By Entering The PRC Lens On Litter Photo Contest   [PaEN]

-- DCNR: Skywalk At Kinzua Bridge State Park McKean County To Reopen For Fall Foliage Viewing In Pennsylvania Wilds 

-- Gov. Shapiro Stops In Potter County To Highlight Investment In Key Gas Station Near Northcentral Regional ATV Trail To Build Outdoor Recreation Economy  [Owner Failed To Comply With Storage Tank Regulations] 

-- WTAE: Laurel Caverns Proposed As Pennsylvania’s Next State Park 

-- WNEP: Scranton Mural Tells Story Of Lenape Tribe

-- PA Capital-Star: Glen Onoko Falls, A Dangerous Beauty In The Poconos, Could Soon Reopen To Visitors

-- National Parks Group To Congress: Our National Parks Need More Staff And Funding, Not Less  [Warning]

-- WJAC: Experts Warn Of Increased Risk For Lyme Disease, Other Illnesses As Tick Populations Surge 

-- Observer-Reporter: Vigilance Is Key In Preventing, Mitigating Tick Bites: ‘They’re Everywhere’

-- DEP West Nile Virus Detected In These Counties

-- Inquirer: Philadelphia Health Dept. Warns Of Mosquito-Borne West Nile Virus

-- DEP To Conduct Mosquito Control Operations In Lycoming County July 15  

-- Courier Times: West Nile Virus Detected In Bucks County: What To Do About It

-- Republican Herald: Blue Marsh Federal Recreation Area Swim Beach To Reopen Saturday

-- WPXI: Raccoon Creek State Park Reopens For Swimming After E. coli Levels Quickly Drop

-- Altoona Mirror: Canoe Creek State Park Closed To Swimming Due To Bad Water Quality

-- WNEP: Swimming Prohibited At Ricketts Glen State Park After ‘Unacceptable’ Levels Of Bacteria Found

-- York Dispatch: Elevated Bacteria Levels Close Pinchot State Park Lake To Swimming

-- Warren Times: Handicapped-Accessible Kayak, Boat Launch Opens At Chapman State Park

-- NextPittsburgh: Experience Pittsburgh By Kayak With Venture Outdoors’ New Downtown Dock

-- The Derrick: Oil Region Alliance Receives America250PA Grant For Allegheny River Kayak Sojourn

-- Reading Eagle: Reading, Allentown Mayors: Illegal Swimming In Creeks, Rivers, Disorderly Conduct At Parks ‘Will Not Be Tolerated’

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Walking Club Helps Women Make Connections  

-- Observer-Reporter: Greene County Commissioners Seek $3 Million For Wisecarver Recreation Improvements

-- Discover NE PA: Susquehanna Valley Watershed Festival July 26, Catawissa, Columbia County 

-- 4th Annual Susquehanna Greenway Outdoor Expo Comes To Shikellamy State Park Aug. 2 In Selinsgrove [PaEN] 

-- Bradford Era: End Of Roadless Rule Brings Increase In Timber Sales In Allegheny National Forest 

-- Penn State Extension Hosts 5-Part Woodland Stewardship Webinar Series - Guided Engagement With Your Land Starting Sept. 24  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: Facing Crop Losses, Farmers Are Turning To Deer Hunters

-- TribLive: Bat Cam - Streaming Video Reveals Secret Life Of Bat Colony At Westmoreland Land Trust Site 

-- PA Natural Heritage 2024 Annual Report Provides An Update On Pennsylvania Biodiversity Conservation Efforts And New Discoveries  [PaEN] 

-- Beaver Times: Western PA’s Frogs Are The Stars Of Frog Week 2025; How To Watch, Listen And Learn More 

-- TribLive: Frog Week A Leap Into Education, Improving Habitat

-- The Derrick: DiscoverE Bug Camp At Oil Creek State Park Is Hit With Kids  [PDF of Article]  

-- Inquirer: Are There More Fireflies In PA This Summer?  Here’s Where To See Them Near Philly

-- Forests For The Chesapeake Bay News: Fireflies Around The Bay Watershed; Black Locust Trees; Upcoming Events; Much More!

Visit the PA Environment Digest website to learn more.

REAL Leadership:

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

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[Posted: July 20, 2025]   PA Environment Digest