PA Environment Digest Blog: Thursday 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]

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Pennsylvania's Margaret Mead, World Renowned Cultural Anthropologist

Senate Voting Schedule

January 6, 26, 27, 28

February 2, 3 (Governor’s Budget Address), 4

Budget hearings will be held February 23-26, and March 2

March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

April 20, 21, 22

May 4, 5, 6

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

House Voting Schedule

January 6 (NV), 26, 27, 28

February 2, 3 (Governor's Budget Address, 4

Budget hearings will be held February 23-26, and March 2

March. 23, 24, 25

April 13, 14, 15, 27, 28, 29

May 4, 5, 6

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

January 1-- DCNR Hosts First Day Hikes On New Year’s Day Across The Commonwealth

January 6-- DEP Public Meeting On Project Gravity A.I. Data Center Proposal Water Quality Permits In Archbald Boro, Lackawanna County. Valley View High School, 1 Columbus Drive Archbald, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

January 6-- Southwest PA Environmental Literacy Coalition Online Meeting. 4:00 p.m.

January 13-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting. 12:30 p.m. Contact: Ian Irvin iirvin@pa.gov or 717-579-0329.

January 13-- Penn State Extension Webinar - Spotted Lanternfly Research Updates & Panel Discussion. Noon to 1:30 p.m.

January 14-- DEP Water Resources Advisory Committee meeting. 9:30 a.m. Contact: Bob Haines robhaines@pa.gov or 717-787-7565.

January 14-- DEP Coastal Zone Advisory Committee meeting. 9:30 a.m. Contact: Stacey Box 717-772-5622 or sbox@pa.gov.

January 14-- DEP Technical Advisory Committee on Diesel-Powered [Coal Mining] Equipment meeting. DEP New Stanton Office. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Peggy Scheloske mscheloske@pa.gov or 724-404-3143.

January 14-- Lower Susquehanna RiverKeeper Hosts Data Centers in the Susquehanna River Basin – Let's Talk Water Usage With SRBC. Wrightsville, York County. 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

February 19-- In-Person/Online. PA League Of Women Voters, Duquesne University Host Shale Gas & Public Health Conference. Pittsburgh. 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

-- PA Resources Council Suggests 5 Green New Year's Resolutions For 2026 [PaEN]

-- Delaware Currents Guest Essay: When Local News And Science Go Dark, The River Loses Its Voice - By Stroud Water Research Center [PaEN]

-- 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]

-- 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 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

-- PennLive/TNS: Health Officials Look For Coyote That Injured Person On Chester County Trail

A.I. /Data Centers

-- Scranton Times: Clifton Twp. To Consider Settlement Jan. 7 With Developer Over Challenge To Zoning Ordinance Regulating Largest Proposed A.I. Data Center Campus In Lackawanna County [PDF of Article]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Residents Pack Sugarloaf Twp. Meeting Dec. 30 On Proposed A.I. Data Center Land Development Rules In Luzerne County

-- PJM Interconnection: 2025 Year In Review Part I - Operations Improvement See Regional Electric Grid Through Record Peaks, Growing Demand [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald Editorial: The Most Critical Fight In 2026 Is For Ourselves - The Blurry Line Between Reality And A.I. https://tinyurl.com/bp63ys45 [PDF of Article]

Today’s Oil & Gas Violations

-- Today’s Violations: DEP: High Volume Of Truck Traffic, Freeze/Thaw Destabilized EQT Prod Shale Gas Well Pad Access Road Allowing Gravel, Sediment To Wash Off In Westmoreland County [PaEN]

-- Today’s Violations: DEP inspection of an Ows Energy LLC conventional gas well in Wayne Township, Crawford County found the well still leaking gas and production wastewater for 64 days and counting. DEP inspection report.

-- Today’s Violations: DEP: Complaint inspection at an Ows Energy LLC conventional oil and gas well site in Randolph Township, Crawford County found the site was not restored after drilling, including 3 open drums. Violations issued. DEP inspection report.

Gas Explosions

-- Bucks Courier Times: Lawyer: PECO, Nursing Home Were Aware Of Natural Gas Leak For 2 Hours Before Deadly Blast

Other States/National

-- The Guardian: From Rent To Utility Bills: The Politicians And Advocates Making Climate Policy Part Of The Affordability Agenda

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Fred Rogers On The ‘Slender Threads’ That Hold Our Lives And Communities Together

-- Republican Herald Editorial: The Most Critical Fight In 2026 Is For Ourselves - The Blurry Line Between Reality And A.I. [PDF of Article]

-- City & State PA: Q&A With PA House Republican Leader Jesse Topper

-- The Center Square: Pennsylvania’s Rocky Education Landscape In 2025

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster County State Sen. James Malone Tries To See Beyond Party Lines During First Year In Office

-- York Dispatch/Inquirer: Republican PA Attorney General Dave Sunday, Democratic NJ AG Matthew Platkin Forge Unlikely Partnership

-- PennLive - John Baer: Can You Pass A 2026 Pennsylvania Politics Quiz?