PA Environment Digest Blog: November 2025

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

York County Master Watershed Stewards Growing Native Trees For The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Effort

By Jodi Sulpizio, Master Watershed Steward Coordinator, York County

More trees, please! Three enthusiastic volunteers—Jay Brenneman, Rick Cooper, and Wendy Smith—began exploring native tree propagation independently, unaware of each other's efforts.

Jay and Rick are both Master Watershed Stewards in York County.

Their paths crossed at a local tree-planting event, where Rick noticed Jay gathering boxelder seeds to plant.

They struck up a conversation and discovered they shared the same passion: growing trees to help save the Chesapeake Bay!

Almost immediately, they began collaborating by exchanging seed propagation techniques and sharing their experiences in tree growing.

Rick had been buying trees and shrubs for years, collecting seeds and experimenting with growing trees to plant on his family's forest land in Juniata County.

After attending some of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s tree plantings, he scavenged for empty pots to take home and grow trees himself.

He initially grew a few hundred trees at a time to donate back to the Alliance for their plantings.

Jay was doing something similar; he also started his tree propagation journey after attending tree planting events.

Their combined efforts blossomed into something impactful: the Pennsylvania Seedling Cooperative, which currently consists of three nurseries.

Of the three nurseries in the seedling cooperative, Indian Rock Nursery has become the main hub for volunteers, including Master Watershed Stewards and community members.

Jay organizes workdays at the nursery where volunteers gather to clean and prepare pots for planting, move soil bags, and fill pots and trays. Afterward, Jay delivers the filled pots to the other two nurseries.

There are numerous opportunities for earning volunteer hours, as small work parties are organized to accommodate varying schedules based on volunteer requests.

Jay particularly enjoys working alongside volunteers, especially young adults, as they bring energy and engaging conversations to the tasks.

He takes great pleasure in sharing the knowledge he gained from his Master Watershed Steward training and his experiences with tree propagation at the nursery.

Jay remarked, "Combining the three nurseries into the PA Seeding Cooperative has simplified the logistics, allowed larger volunteer groups to gather at Indian Rock Nursery, and enabled each grower to focus on their strengths."

This year has been exceptional for the three nurseries! Growing trees requires the dedicated effort of many individuals and meticulous preparation.

Over 50 volunteers contributed their time to various tasks, including sanitizing pots, filling them, planting seeds, nurturing the trees, and watering them.

Together, we potted a variety of native trees, such as sycamores, tulip trees, black gums, silver maples, hickories, and oaks, all in 3"x3"x9" rocket pots.

Additionally, Jay offered classes for volunteers interested in learning tree propagation, allowing participants to take home their trees for care before planting.

With the support of volunteers, Indian Rock Nursery successfully grew 5,650 trees this year, an increase from 4,500 last year.

In total, all three nurseries cultivated over 13,000 trees for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Penn State Extension, and other affiliated organizations.

Indian Rock Nursery also provided over 6,400 filled pots to the other two nurseries in the cooperative, allowing the skilled growers there to focus on nurturing trees rather than performing labor-intensive tasks.

This project is a collaboration between Penn State Extension and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

Rick commented, "The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has been a great partner, providing resources, expertise, and effective communication. Now, when I'm at a planting, I can usually identify which grower produced the tree I'm planting."

One of the most impactful actions a person can take to improve water quality is to plant trees.

The PA Seedling Cooperative is making a significant contribution to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

By welcoming volunteers and sharing knowledge, passion, and hard work, along with thousands of trees, they are "Saving the Bay" one tree at a time.

Their annual goal is to grow a total of 15,000 trees. This year, they came remarkably close, finishing just 2,000 trees short of their goal.

Will they achieve that goal next year? With your help, I have no doubt!

If you are interested in volunteering at the Indian Rock Nursery, reach out to Jodi Sulpizio at jrb143@psu.edu.

Click Here for the Penn State Extension article.

[ Visit the Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward Program webpage to learn more about becoming a Watershed Steward.]

DEP Awards $3.1 Million In Federal Funds To Support 8 Local Water Quality Improvement Projects In 8 Counties

On November 18, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the award of $3,118,174 in Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants to eight projects across Pennsylvania focused on improving water quality and restoring impaired watersheds.

The projects are located in Berks, Columbia, Dauphin, Indiana, Lancaster, Lebanon, Luzerne and Schuylkill counties.

“Clean water is vital to community health and a fundamental right of every Pennsylvanian,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “These projects are examples of good stewardship and best practices to create healthier streams and wetlands, reduce flood risk, and improve fish and wildlife habitat.”

The Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grant program, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, supports projects that carry out best management practices (BMPs) specified in Watershed Implementation Plans (WIP) for 44 watersheds around the state, with special consideration for projects in Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The program also supports development of new WIPs for additional impaired watersheds.

Nonpoint source pollution is water pollution that doesn’t come from a single specific discharge point, such as a pipe from a factory, but rather from diffuse sources, such as stormwater runoff, mine drainage, and farm fields.

Around 53% of the water-quality-impaired watersheds in Pennsylvania are affected by nonpoint source pollution.

Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants focus on reducing--

-- Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution from agricultural activities, urban stormwater runoff, and streambank and shoreline erosion; and

-- Iron, aluminum, and acidity pollution associated with energy resource extraction and acid mine drainage (AMD).

Click Here for a list of projects awarded and DEP's announcement.

Visit DEP's Section 319 Watershed Restoration Grants webpage for more information on this program.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website. Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

EPA, DEP Announce Hanover Foods Agrees To Pay $1.15 Million Penalty For Clean Water Act Violations At Its York County Plant

On November 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice, working in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, announced a proposed consent decree with Hanover Foods Corporation.

[The action was prompted by a 2021 lawsuit filed by the Lower Susquehanna RiverKeeper Association and the Environmental Integrity Project over federal Clean Water Act violations. Read more here.]

Under the proposed settlement, Hanover Foods would pay a $1.15 million civil penalty and take a series of actions to address alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act at its wastewater treatment facility in Hanover, York County.

“Ensuring that Hanover Foods takes the necessary steps to prevent the release of nutrients and other pollutants underscores the EPA’s commitment to protecting our nation’s waterways,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Craig Pritzlaff of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). “The measures outlined in the consent decree are essential for bringing Hanover’s facility into compliance with the Clean Water Act. They are vital for safeguarding the Chesapeake Bay and ensuring that local water sources remain clean, thereby protecting the health and well-being of the communities that rely on them.”

“Hanover Foods allegedly failed to properly treat industrial wastes at its wastewater treatment facility, jeopardizing human health and the environment,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The Clean Water Act was enacted more than 50 years ago with the purpose of putting a stop to this type of water pollution. If accepted by the court, the consent decree will hold the company accountable and help ensure it continues to upgrade its facility and take other steps to prevent unlawful discharges of industrial waste.”

As alleged in a complaint filed with the proposed consent decree, Hanover Foods failed to comply with a state-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to operate its wastewater treatment facility in Hanover.

NDPES permits are required if wastewater is being discharged into a water of the United States.

At this facility, Hanover Foods industrially processes foods, including beans and vegetables, for canning and fresh packing.

Hanover Foods treats industrial waste associated with these operations before discharging wastewater into Oil Creek, which eventually flows into the Susquehanna River and then the Chesapeake Bay.

Since 2016, Hanover Foods violated its NPDES permit on more than 600 occasions by exceeding its permit limits for pollutants including suspended solids, ammonia nitrogen, and phosphorus.

In addition, environmental inspections identified numerous alleged violations of operations and maintenance requirements at Hanover Foods’ facility.

Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, Hanover will install new equipment and take other measures to prevent violations of its permit limits for certain nutrients and for temperature.

Excessive nutrients and high temperatures can be harmful to aquatic life, including fish, shellfish, and underwater grasses that support aquatic ecosystems.

In addition to upgrades made while this case was under investigation, Hanover Foods will upgrade its wastewater treatment system, closely monitor compliance with its discharge permit, report any violations, identify their root causes, and take corrective action to address them. 

The upgrades include installation of a permanent boiler to maintain proper temperatures in its treatment process, implementation of spare-parts programs to avoid equipment downtime, and improvements to Hanover’s operations and maintenance program, including additional monitoring and tracking requirements.

EPA investigated this case and worked closely with the PADEP.

The proposed consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.

The consent decree and information on how to submit a public comment are available on the Justice Department’s Proposed Consent Decree webpage.

More information on the settlement is available from the Hanover Foods CWA Settlement case summary.

Click Here for the EPA announcement.

Clean Air Council, Environmental Health Project, Residents Urge State To Stop Headfirst Jump To Power A.I. Data Centers With Fossil Fuels

On November 18, the Clean Air Council, Rep. Christopher Rabb (D-Philadelphia), the Environmental Health Project and impacted residents gathered at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg to demand that Pennsylvania’s leaders end their plans to use fossil fuel power plants to power A.I. data centers across the Commonwealth.

In July, Pennsylvania political leadership, including US Sen. Dave McCormick and Gov. Josh Shapiro, joined President Donald Trump and executives from ExxonMobil, Google, and BlackRock to announce more than $90 billion data center, power plant and other A.I. infrastructure projects as part of Pennsylvania’s headfirst jump into the A.I. race.

Harrisburg has fallen in line across the aisle to support rapid buildout of A.I. infrastructure, even though the new power plants being proposed to run data centers in Pennsylvania are almost universally plants that would burn shale natural gas.

Science and experience tells us that this new fracking, and these new power plants, would pollute and sicken our region, said the groups.

Shapiro, Senator McCormick, President Trump, allied legislators, and powerful executives are attempting to make the A.I. boom seem inevitable and unstoppable, the groups said.

In rejection of this vision of Pennsylvania's future and together with the majority of Americans who are concerned about the increased use of A.I., Clean Air Council, Rep. Rabb, Environmental Health Project, and impacted residents hosted a rally where speakers made it clear that this fossil fuel-backed industry is not welcome.

“The unchecked proliferation of data centers across Pennsylvania threatens our grid, our environment, and the well-being of communities already overburdened by pollution and corporate extraction,” said Rep. Rabb. “When private profit drives public risk, the legislature must draw a hard line to protect our residents, our land, and our energy future.”

“The data center boom is already straining Pennsylvania resources and raising utility bills for people across the state. Even worse, global data center emissions are projected to be 2.5 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030 – which is like adding an extra 116 million gasoline cars to the road,” said Clean Air Council Executive Director Alex Bomstein. “Pennsylvania should not push aside its own people in order to lead an industry that does incalculable harm to the environment and the economy.”

“We already know that there are myriad health and climate risks associated with fossil gas development—including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, birth impacts, cancers, heat-related illnesses, and insect-borne diseases,” said Environmental Health Project Executive Director Alison L. Steele. “A hyperscale data center boom that demands more fossil fuel consumption will make those health risks worse, not better.”

“Because of what my family has lived through, I know we deserve better,” said Shakira Johnson, Washington County Resident. “By choosing cleaner energy over fossil fuels, we can create a healthier, stronger future for everyone in southwestern Pennsylvania and Washington County.”

Related Articles This Week - A.I./Data Centers:

-- WHYY: PJM Electrical Grid To Decide Who Pays Bill For Massive A.I. Data Centers

-- PA Capital-Star: A.I. Data Center Growth Drives Communities In PA, Other States To Fight For More Say

-- TribLive: Springdale Planning Commission OKs A.I. Data Center Project; Proposal Moves To Council In Allegheny County

-- ABC6News: Developer Withdraws A.I. Data Center Plan In Plymouth Twp., Montgomery County After Legal Issue Halts Zoning Meeting

-- Morning Call: Plans For A.I. Data Center At Old Air Products Site In Upper Macungie Revealed

-- Morning Call: Upper Macungie Proposes A.I. Data Center Ordinance As It Faces Plans For Development At Former Air Products HQ [PDF of Article]

-- Post-Gazette: Nova Place Hits The Market As Potential A.I. Data Center Hub In Pittsburgh

-- OilPrice.com: The A.I. Boom Is Driving A Massive Geothermal Energy Revival

Related Articles This Week - Natural Gas/Energy:

-- 500 Feet Isn’t Enough - House Hearing I: Shale Gas Industry Says Setbacks Won’t Protect Residents, Public Health, Environment From Shale Gas Operations, Only ‘Rigorous Oversight’ Will; Standards Have Not Changed In 9 Years [PaEN]

-- 500 Feet Isn't Enough- House Hearing II: As A Township Supervisor We Have An Obligation To Protect The Health, Safety And Welfare Of Our Township Residents From Shale Gas Development [PaEN]