Awards/Recognition
-- Delaware Currents Guest Essay: When Local News And Science Go Dark, The River Loses Its Voice - By Stroud Water Research Center [PaEN]
-- PA Resources Council Suggests 5 Green New Year's Resolutions For 2026 [PaEN]
-- PA Conservation Heritage Project Profile: Mary Herrold Hirst, Pennsylvania’s First Female State Park Superintendent, Blazed New Trails For Others - By Wayne Kober [PaEN]
-- PA Conservation Heritage Project Profile: Pioneering Environmental Scientist Willard ‘Bill’ McCartney - Protecting Communities And Ecosystems Without Bureaucratic Games - By Wayne Kober [PaEN]
-- DEP Publishes Final Environmental Justice Permit Review And Public Participation Policy, Update To PennEnviroScreen EJ Tool [PaEN]
-- PennLive: ‘Pennsylvania 250’ Launches Year-Long Celebration Of Its Role In The Nation’s Founding
-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Counting Birds, Connecting With People, Serving Nature
Grants
-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Spitz Foundation Awards $10,000 Grant To Lehman Sanctuary To Support Chesapeake Teachers Training Program In Luzerne County
-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: New Financing Available For Philly-Area Homeowners Seeking To Install Rooftop Solar Energy Generation
-- Solar United Neighbors, Protect PT Host Jan. 22 Solar Energy In Southwest PA Community Meeting In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- Western/Eastern PA Coalitions For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Now Accepting Applications For ARIPPA Watershed Restoration Grants [PaEN]
Upcoming Events
-- Williamsport Sun: Hyner Mountain Snowmobile Club Safety Course Offered
-- The Derrick: Seneca Rocks Audubon Chapter Holding Winter Bird Seed Sale Until Jan. 10
-- Protect PT Hosts Jan. 17 Living Near Shale Gas Facilities Community Workshop In Pittsburgh [PaEN]
-- Solar United Neighbors, Protect PT Host Jan. 22 Solar Energy In Southwest PA Community Meeting In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- Protect PT, FracTracker Alliance Host Jan. 27 Online Program Providing The Latest On Shale Gas Development And Information Tools [PaEN]
- Penn State Extension Hosts Strawberry Hill Animal Ambassador For Jan. 29 In-Person Owls Up Close Workshop In Gettysburg [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts Central Hardwood Forest Conference March 3-6 In State College [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension, DCNR Host March 10 Forest Health, Insect And Disease Update Webinar [PaEN]
Public Participation
-- EPA To Host Jan. 13 Meeting On Status Of Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site Cleanup In Palmerton, Carbon County [PaEN]
-- READ CAREFULLY! PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - January 3 [PaEN]
-- TribLive: Jan. 26 Informational Meeting Set For Upper Burrell Twp. A.I. Data Center In Westmoreland County
-- DEP To Hold Feb. 3 Virtual Hearing On Chapter 105 Permit For PA General Energy 3.9 Mile Shale Gas Well Pad Development Access Road, Staging Area In Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County [PaEN]
-- DEP To Hold Feb. 4 Hearing On First Title V Air Quality Permit For The Tenaska Natural Gas Power Plant In Westmoreland County; Water Quality Permit Up For Renewal [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Tentative Decision To Not Renew NPDES Wastewater Permits For 3 Fluid Recovery Services Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Indiana, Venango Counties [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Water Quality Permit For A 3.7 Mile Natural Gas Gathering Pipeline Route In Elk And Forest Counties [PaEN]
-- DEP Issues Air Quality General Permit For Diesel-Fired Nonroad Engines At Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus In Indiana County [PaEN]
-- READ CAREFULLY! DEP Posted 57 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 3 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Proposed Consent Decree Resolving Outstanding Cleanup Cost Recovery Claims With The Remaining Defendants In Swimming Pool Doctor Hazardous Waste Site In Beaver County [PaEN]
Programs/Information
-- DEP Publishes Final Environmental Justice Permit Review And Public Participation Policy, Update To PennEnviroScreen EJ Tool [PaEN]
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Study Will Explore Giving Indigenous Tribes A Voice In Chesapeake Bay Program
-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill County Environmental Educators Launch O.W.L. Summer Nature Camp Offering Immersive Outdoor Learning Experience For Students In Grades 2 to 5 [PDF of Article]
-- Inquirer: PA Was Known For An Arduous Permitting Process, But New Policies At DEP Aim To Accelerate Building Projects
-- Lancaster Farming: Some Animals Struggle To Adapt As Climate Changes
-- Post-Gazette: Lyme Disease Cases Continue To Rise In Allegheny County
-- Post-Gazette: Ticks, Parasites At Home In Western PA As Warmer Temperatures, Shifting Wildlife Patterns, Land Use Changes Altering The Ways They Encounter People
-- PennLive: ‘Pennsylvania 250’ Launches Year-Long Celebration Of Its Role In The Nation’s Founding
-- Jan. 2 Take Five Fridays With Pam, Happy New Year From PA Parks & Forests Foundation!
-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation Blog: Making Nature’s Colors More Accessible Through Special Goggles For The Color Blind At 2 More State Parks
-- Warren Times: Kinzua Dam To Increase Water Releases Due To Rainfall, Snow Melt
A.I./Data Centers
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - January 5 [PaEN]
-- PA House Committee Approves Legislation Giving Local Officials Greater Say Over Regional-Scale Developments Like A.I. Data Centers, Warehouses [PaEN]
-- Altoona Mirror: PA House Moves Legislation Giving Local Governments Authority Over Projects Of Regional Significance [House Bill 1764]
-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pittsburgh’s A.I. Skepticism Isn’t Ignorance, It’s Memory [Collapse Of Steel] - People Have ‘Every Right To Be Furious’ - By Desmond Daley, Physician and Pittsburgh Resident [PDF of Article]
-- Warren Times: Don’t Count On Lower Electricity Prices In 2026 [Data Centers Driving Increases]
-- PennLive Letter: President’s War On Wind Energy Will Make Your Electric Bill Higher - By David Kyle, New Columbia
-- PennLive Guest Essay: The Public’s A.I. Power Problem Is Not Electricity, It’s The Failure To Protect Ratepayers From Costs They Did Not Choose- Matt Hasan, Ph.D, CEO of aiRESULTS
Background On Issues
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Dec. 27 to Jan. 2 - Shale Gas Well Casing Failure/Loss Of Control; Shale Gas Well Pad Spills Continue For 426 Days; Abandoned Conventional Well Violations Reach 688 [PaEN]
-- DEP: Range Resources Suffers Casing Failure/Loss Of Control Incident During Fracking At Burkett Shale Gas Well Pad Triggering Area Of Review Report On Any Offsite Impacts In Jefferson Twp., Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP: Seneca Resources Still Experiencing Spills, Releases While New Well Development Continues At Taft Shale Gas Well Pad In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County For 426 Days And Counting [PaEN]
-- DEP: High Volume Of Truck Traffic, Freeze/Thaw Destabilized EQT Prod Shale Gas Well Pad Access Road Allowing Gravel, Sediment To Wash Off Road In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies DEP Motion To Dismiss BCD Properties Appeal Over Its Illegal Disposal Of Oil And Gas Wastewater By Road Dumping; Case To Proceed On Its Merits [PaEN]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: New CNX Resources CEO Takes The Helm Following Rapid Rise Through Company Ranks [PDF of Article]
-- Sen. Boscola, Sen. Vogel Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Promote Development Of Much-Needed Solar Energy Electric Generation Facilities And Lower Costs For Consumers [PaEN]
-- Post-Gazette - Laura Legere: Solar Installers Pivot After ‘Mad Rush’ To Claim Federal Residential Tax Credit That Ended Dec. 31
-- York Dispatch: Cuffs Run Susquehanna River Pump-Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant Developer Says ‘I’m Not Giving Up’ Amid Lawsuit And Public Outcry [PDF of Article]
-- PJM Interconnection: 2025 Year In Review Part I - Operations Improvement See Regional Electric Grid Through Record Peaks, Growing Demand [PaEN]
-- Scranton Times: Abandoned Mine Subsidence Sinkhole That Swallowed Car Filled, Patched In Blakely, Lackawanna County
-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: Concrete Big Contributor To Climate Change; University Of Pennsylvania Researchers Say They Can Shrink Its Footprint
-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Completed Seawall Protects DC Cherry Trees, Memorials From Flooding Caused By Rising Sea Levels In Tidal Basin
-- Financial Times: Climate Action Faces Key Tests In 2026 [PDF of Article]
-- The Guardian: From Rent To Utility Bills: The Politicians And Advocates Making Climate Policy Part Of The Affordability Agenda
-- TribLive/AP: US Plans To Tap Oil Reserves In Venezuela President Says After Operation To Pluck Maduro From Power
-- Reuters: Venezuelan Oil Industry: World’s Largest Reserves, Decaying Infrastructure [Venezuela- 303 Billion Barrels, Saudi Arabia- 267 Billion Barrels, US- 48.3 Billion Barrels]
-- The Guardian: US Oil Giants Silent On President’s Claim They Will Spend Billions On Venezuelan Oil
-- Reuters Commentary: Five Energy Market Trends To Track In 2026 - The Year Of The Oil, LNG Natural Gas Glut
-- Reuters Commentary: The 2025 Energy Transition In 8 Charts - Clean Wins, Dirty Setbacks
-- Inquirer Guest Essay: President Is Dismantling Our National Parks - By John Plonski, former DCNR Executive Deputy, finalist for 2023 Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for Promoting Conservation
-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: Fish Commission Survey Findings Note Differences Between Wild Trout, Stocked Trout Anglers
Visit the DEP Calendar of Events; PA Parks & Forests Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events for activities happening near you.
Visit DEP’s Teaching Green webpage to learn about more environmental education resources.
Visit the PA Environment Digest Calendar Of Events for more opportunities.
[Posted: January 4, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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