PA Environment Digest Blog: CATCH-UP - JANUARY 19: 118 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 118 new stories from the January 19 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!

-- Sand County Foundation Recognizes Jim Hershey Of Lancaster County With The Pennsylvania Leopold Farm Conservation Award [PaEN]

-- Master Watershed Steward Eve Puhalla's Passion For Environment Leads To Public Park Cleanup In Montgomery County [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: PA Logging Industry Groups Want A Bailout To Cope With Impacts Of President’s Tariffs, Without It They Say Mass Layoffs Could Be Next [Warning]

-- Spotlight PA: Tulpehocken Twp., Berks County Has Spent Thousands Of Dollars To Hide Proposed Ordinance From Local Residents [Warning ]

-- Action Needed Now! Western PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Urging Pennsylvanians To Contact PA US Senators And Oppose Raid On Abandoned Mine Reclamation Funds [And Abandoned Oil & Gas Well Plugging Funding] [PaEN] [US Senate Passed Budget Bill Cutting These Funds - Read more here]

-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: Coal Communities Accuse Congress Of Breaking Its Promise To Clean Up Abandoned Mine Lands [And Plugging Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells]

-- PA Capital-Star: Federal Budget Bill Would Raid Fund For Cleaning Up Abandoned Coal Mines, Plug Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells - Pennsylvania Would Be Hardest Hit By Cuts

-- DEP: Rice Drilling (EQT) Failed To Plug Abandoned Shale Gas Well For Over 5 Years In Washington County [PaEN]

-- PennLive - John Beauge: DEP: Eureka Resources Is Not Complying With Order To Safety Dispose Of Millions Of Gallons Of Oil & Gas Wastewater At Closed Facilities In Lycoming, Bradford Counties

-- Williamsport Sun: DEP Issues Violations To Eureka Resources In Wake Of Waste Spillage [PDF of Article]

-- DEP: MarkWest Liberty Midstream Reports 5 More Drilling Fluid Losses Into Mine Voids In Washington County; Total Losses Now 1,241,500 Gallons [PaEN]

-- DEP: Truck Loses Load Of Shale Gas Wastewater On Access, Local Road To EQT Sarah Well Pad In Union Township, Washington County [PaEN]

-- DEP Day 239: Seneca Resources Wastewater Cleanup, Monitoring Efforts Continue At Vandergrift Shale Gas Well Pad In Charleston Twp., Tioga County [PaEN]

-- PUC Approves $35,000 Penalty Against Pronto Plumbing For 2022 Natural Gas Home Explosion In Dauphin County [PaEN]

-- E&ENews/Politico: Pipeline Safety Enforcement Cut In Half In President’s First Year

-- Post-Gazette: How Will President’s Actions In Venezuela Impact Pennsylvania?

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Cold Weather Alerts For Jan. 19 - Western Region; Jan. 20 Entire Regional Electric Grid [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: US EIA Predicts Price Of Natural Gas To Dip 2% In 2026, Increase 33% In 2027 Driven By LNG Gas Exports [PDF of Article]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Expand Energy CEO: Natural Gas Drillers Won’t Add New Production At $3.50 Gas Price-- $4.00 to $4.50 Is Needed To ‘Activate Supply Growth’ [PDF of Article]

-- YaleEnvironment360: US LNG Gas Exports Are Pushing Energy Bills Higher, Report Finds

-- Gov. Shapiro Secures Federal Support To Extend PJM Electric Generation Auction Price Cap; Call For Emergency PJM Auction To ‘Build Big Power Plants Again’ [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection Board Proposes Its Own New Plan To Integrate A.I. Data Centers, Large Loads Into Grid To Maintain Reliability [PaEN]

-- AP: How The White House And Governors Want To Fix A.I.- Drive Power Shortages, Price Spikes

-- Reuters: White House Seeks Emergency Power Auction For Largest US Electric Grid [PJM]

-- Bloomberg: President Says He’ll Make Tech Firms Pay For Power; Calls For Emergency Electricity Auction In PJM

-- AP: Microsoft Pushes Big Tech To ‘Pay Our Way’ For A.I. Data Centers Amid Rising Opposition [PA Highlighted]

-- Utility Dive: US DOE, Interior Push PJM To Hold ‘Emergency’ Auction To Supply Data Centers

-- Utility Dive: PJM Updates 20-Year Forecast Of Electricity Demand Growth, Reducing Short Term Growth Estimates By Up To 2.6%, Increasing 2035 Estimate By 3.3% [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection: 2025 Year In Review Part III: Planning Prepares For Burgeoning A.I. Data Center Electricity Demand [PaEN]

-- Wall Street Journal: America’s Biggest Power Grid Operator [PJM] Has An A.I. Program - Too Many Data Centers Threaten To Max Out Generation Capacity, Rate Increases Anger Consumers [PDF of Article]

-- PA House Energy Committee To Consider Bill Giving PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers Jan. 26; Hearings On Related Bills Jan. 26 and Feb. 2 [PaEN] [Moved to Feb. 2 Because of Winter Storm - Read more here.]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: PA Ratepayers Shouldn’t Be Subsidizing Power Lines For Maryland, DC - By Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill

-- WPSU/The Allegheny Front: Facebook/Meta Reaches Agreement To Buy Electricity From Beaver Valley Nuclear Plant To Fuel A.I. Data Centers

-- Beaver Times: Beaver Valley Nuke Plant Will Help Power Facebook/Meta In Region; What To Know

-- Talen Energy Buys 3 Natural Gas Power Plants In Ohio, Indiana To Service Growing Data Center Demand [Locks Up More Power For Data Centers]

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: A.I. Data Centers Call For Hawks, Not Canaries [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: DEP Hearing Exposes Gravity Of The ‘Comically Speculative Nature’ Of A.I. Data Center Development [PDF of Article]

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - January 16 [PaEN]

-- WITF: Republican Candidate For Governor Stacy Garrity Says ‘A Lot Of Areas’ In Rural PA Could House Data Centers For A.I. Growth

-- Spotlight PA: Many PA Residents Don’t Want A.I. Data Centers In Their Communities; PA State Leaders Are Welcoming Them

-- E&E News/Politico: Energy Set To Dominate State Politics In Runup To Midterm Elections [PA Highlighted] [PDF of Article]

-- TribLive: Dina Powell McCormick, Wife Of PA US Sen. Dave McCormick, Named Meta [Facebook] President

-- Post-Gazette: Sen. McCormick Says He Will Recuse Himself From Issues Specific To Facebook/Meta With His Wife’s New Role As Meta President

-- Utility Dive: US Senate Bill Would Exempt Fully Isolated A.I. Data Centers, Other Large Loads From FERC, DOE Regulation

-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Will Homer City, An Old Pennsylvania Coal Town, Get A Reboot From 3,200 Acre A.I. Data Center Campus?

-- Sustainable Pittsburgh Hosts Feb. 3 Webinar On A.I. Data Centers - Energy, Infrastructure, Policy Implications [PaEN]

-- ReImagine Appalachia Hosts Feb. 5 Webinar On Catching Heat: Opportunities, Challenges Of Using Waste Heat From A.I. Data Centers [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: EOS Energy Storage Company Calls A.I. Data Centers An ‘Accelerant’ For Company’s Batteries

-- WNEP: Luzerne County Community College, Amazon Host A.I. Data Center Jobs Information Session

-- PUC Urges Utility Customers To Reach Out Early For Heating Bill Payment Options, Assistance Programs, Read About Energy Saving Tips [PaEN]

-- City & State PA Guest Essay: Your Energy Bill Keeps Rising, Here’s What We Can Do About It - By Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), Majority Chair, House Energy Committee

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: Renewable Energy Projects Could Help With Energy Affordability In PA, Advocates Say

-- Tribune-Democrat: Johnstown Galleria Electric Bill Doubled, Underscoring Increases Affecting Wide Range Of Consumers [PDF of Article]

-- PUC Approves Rate Increases For Wellsboro Electric (18.1%), Valley Energy-Gas (12.2%), Citizens’ Electric Of Lewisburg (6.8%)

-- BBC: ‘I Had No Electricity For 6 Months:’ US Families Struggle With Soaring Energy Prices

-- DEP To Hold Feb. 17 Meeting/Hearing On Revised Water Quality Permit For 1,300 Acre Project Hazelnut A.I. Data Center Project In Hazle Twp., Luzerne County [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Federal Coastal Zone Consistency Determination For The Canada-US Lake Erie Electric Transmission Line Project, Landfall Erie County, PA [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Jan. 29 Hearing On Water Withdrawal Requests, Including Amazon Data Center; And Statement Of Investment Policy [PaEN]

-- The Citizens Voice: Amazon Seeks To Discharge Used A.I. Data Center Water Into Susquehanna River In Luzerne County [PDF of Article]

-- DEP Issues Air Quality Permit For 176 - 3.25 MW Backup Diesel Generators For A.I. Data Center Project In City Of Lancaster [PaEN]

-- Cameron County Chamber Of Commerce To Install Solar Energy Installation At The Artisan & Economic Innovation CenterTo Offset 100% Of Energy Consumption [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Solar Center: Jan. 23 Webinar On State Solar For Schools Grants & Free GET Solar Schools Technical Assistance [PaEN]

-- Public News Service: Clean Energy Boom Adding Much-Needed Electric Generating Capacity To Grid In PA Threatened As Federal Funding Stalls