PA Environment Digest Blog: Wednesday PA Environment & Energy Articles

“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]

Senate Voting Schedule

November 17, 18, 19

December 8, 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

House Voting Schedule

November 17, 18, 19

December 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

WARNING: This Is Budget Season, Watch Out For Anything!

TODAY 10: 00: Agenda Posted. House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee holds a hearing on LNG gas export terminals proposed in Southeast PA. Community Room, City of Chester City Hall, 1 E. 4th Street in Chester, Delaware County. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch live Read more here.

November 6-- Agenda Posted. DEP Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee meeting. 9:15 a.m. Questions should be directed to: RA-EPAQTAC@pa.gov. [Agenda: VOC reporting by conventional oil/gas and shale gas wells; Air pollution from A.I. Data Centers. Read more here.]

November 6-- Public Utility Commission meeting to consider model tariff for connection large load - A.I. data centers-- to the local electric grid. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online. Read more here.

November 12-- CANCELED. Environmental Quality Board meeting. Shale gas well setback petition will not be considered until at least the next meeting on Dec. 9. Contact: Laura Griffin, laurgriffi@pa.gov or (717) 772-3277.

November 12-- Agenda Posted. DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 12:30 p.m. Check webpage for options for joining the meeting remotely. Contact: Ian Irvin, Executive Director, iirvin@pa.gov or (717) 787-8171. [Agenda: DEP Environmental Justice Program; EJ Concerns With A.I. Data Centers]

-- Guest Essay: Don’t Trade Away Pennsylvania's Climate Regulations As Part Of State Budget Deal [Fossil Fuel Power Plants Power Wave Of Data Center Proposals] - By Rep. Greg Vitali, Majority Chair, House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee [PaEN]

-- PUC: Utilities Will Not Terminate LIHEAP-Eligible Heating Customers During Federal Shutdown; Customers Need To Call Utilities Now To Stay Connected This Winter [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline/WITF: PA Heating Utilities Step In As Government Shutdown Halts LIHEAP Heating Help Program

-- PEC Podcast: Advanced Electric Transmission Technology - More Capacity, More Power Out Of Our Existing Grid At A Fraction Of The Cost [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: Core Natural Resources: 6 Injured In Greene County Coal Mine Accident

-- The Center Square: Warehouses Scouted For Solar Energy Facilities In Pennsylvania

-- Post-Gazette: PA Voters Retain Democratic PA Supreme Court Justices In Race That Drew National Attention [61% to 39%]

-- Eire Times: Republican Matthew Wolford [Lawyer Proposing To Give More Breaks To Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners At Taxpayer Expense] Loses Bid For Commonwealth Court [43% to 56%] [Read more here.]

-- American Rivers: Restoring Pennsylvania’s Rivers For People With Nature-Based Solutions To Flooding, Poor Water Quality

-- The Derrick: Canoe Creek Watershed Gets High Marks In Watershed Assessment, Clarion County Conservation District [PDF of Article]

-- BucksCoToday.com: Aqua Pennsylvania, PA Horticultural Society Celebrate 20 Years Of Tree Plantings

-- Dickinson College Clarke Forum Fall Energy Transition Series: Nov. 11 Screening Of King Coal Documentary, Carlisle Campus, 5:00 p.m.

-- PA Environmental Council In Case You Missed It In October Now Available [PaEN]

A.I. /Data Centers

-- WGAL: A.I. Data Center Growth: PA Lawmakers, Researchers Weigh Benefits, Risks

-- TribLive: Incumbents Hold Onto Springdale Council Seats As A.I. Data Center Debate Continues In Allegheny County

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Westinghouse Deal On Nuclear Power Plants Boldest Example Yet Of A National Industrial Policy

-- Utility Dive: What The Last Natural Gas Boom (And Bust) Says About Today’s Rush To Build; New Gas Generation Remains A Risky Investment, Analysts Say

Today’s Oil & Gas Violations

-- Today’s Violations: DEP finds more contaminated fluid releases at Seneca Resources Taft shale gas pad in Middlebury Twp., Tioga County running off the pad, into sediment basin and off the site continuing from Oct. 23, 2024-- 373 days and counting. Read more here.

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- Utility Dive: What The Last Natural Gas Boom (And Bust) Says About Today’s Rush To Build; New Gas Generation Remains A Risky Investment, Analysts Say

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- Post-Gazette: PA Voters Retain Democratic PA Supreme Court Justices In Race That Drew National Attention [61% to 39%]

-- TribLive: All 3 PA Supreme Court Justices Win Retention Races

-- Morning Call: PA Superior Court, Commonwealth Court Races Swept By Democrats

-- Eire Times: Republican Matthew Wolford Loses Bid For Commonwealth Court [43% to 56%] [Read more here.]

-- Spotlight PA: Chester County Pollbook Error Omits 3rd Party Voters, Forcing 1,000s To Cast Provisional Ballots

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: PA Lawmakers Should Reflect On Their Role In State Budget Stalemate

-- Warren Times Editorial: It Is Inexcusable That PA Does Not Have A Budget

-- TribLive Editorial: The Common Cents Of Planning Ahead On Eliminating The Penny [But They Didn’t]