Awards/Recognition
-- DEP Announces Winners Of 2026 PA Student Radon Poster Contest; Regan Schall Went On To Win 1st Place In National Contest [PaEN]
-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Community Champion Of The Week - The Earth Conservancy
-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Howard Grossman Remembered For His Countless Contributions To The NE PA Region
-- In Memoriam: Paul Marchetti, Founding Executive Director Of the PA Infrastructure Investment Authority
-- In Memoriam: David Johnson, Educator, State Parks/Jennings Environmental Education Center
-- The Nature Conservancy-PA News: Help Restore A Meadow; Winter Wildlife Abounds In Preserves; Volunteer Of The Year Hannah Hartman
Grants
-- WESA: PA Students Could Receive $5,000 PHEAA Grant Annually To Pursue Degrees For ‘In Demand’ Jobs
-- Western PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation: Assistance Available For Administering Federal Grants [PaEN]
-- WeConservePA Now Accepting Applications For Regional Trail Workshop Grants [PaEN]
-- American Water Charitable Foundation Now Accepting Applications For Water & Environment Grants From PA American Water Service Territories [PaEN]
-- DEP Now Accepting Applications For Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants, Deadline April 1 [PaEN]
Help Wanted
-- Help Wanted: Virginia Sea Grant/Chesapeake Bay Commission Graduate-Level Fellowship Position
-- EPA Awards 25 Organizations Brownfields Job Training Grants, Including Nearly $500,000 To. Auberle In Allegheny County [PaEN]
Upcoming Events
-- Register Now! For Keep PA Beautiful's Pick Up Pennsylvania Initiative Honoring America's 250th Anniversary; In 2025, 53,500 Volunteers Collected 3.4 Million Pounds Of Trash [PaEN]
-- Physicians For Social Responsibility-PA Feb. 3 No More Sacrifice Zones Webinar On Health, Environmental Impacts Of Shale Gas Development, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
-- US Army Corps Of Engineers, PEMA Other Partners Host Feb. 5 (Eastern/Central PA), Feb. 6 (Western PA) Ice Jam Webinars
-- Planet Philadelphia Radio Program Feb. 6: Poetry And Nature, 4:00 p.m.
-- Physicians For Social Responsibility-PA Feb. 10 LNG Gas Dead End For PA, Shale Gas Impacts Webinar, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
-- Penn State Extension Hosts Feb. 24 Beavers And Artificial Dam Building - Gnawing On Ecology [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Master Gardeners Host March 2 Webinar On Creating A Mini Meadow [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension: Register Here For Upcoming Forest & Wildlife Webinars
-- LancasterOnline: Snow Geese Migration Delayed By Icy Weather At Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
Public Participation
-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council Meets Feb. 10 To Hear Update From Senate, House Environmental Committees, And On Philadelphia Combined Sewer Overflows [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - February 7 [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 56 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In February 7 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Permit For Homer City Generation 5.8 Mile, 30-Inch Natural Gas Pipeline To Serve Proposed Data Center 4.5 GW Power Plant In Indiana County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Columbia Gas Permit For Project To Protect 2 Major Natural Gas Pipelines From Impacts Of Longwall Coal Mining In West Finley Twp., Washington County [PaEN]
-- PA Capital-Star: PA House Panel Approves Bill To Limit Exceptions To Sunshine Act Notice Requirements
-- TribLive Editorial: Fixing The Sunshine Act’s Notice Problem
Programs/Information
-- Lehigh University Research Shows How Resilience Bonds And Coordinated Relocation Policies Could Stabilize Insurance Markets And Promote Climate Justice
-- AP: Punxsutawney Phil Predicts 6 More Weeks Of Winter
-- TribLive: Ohiopyle State Park A Wonderland As It Welcomes Winterfest
-- PA Environmental Council In Case You Missed It In January Now Available [PaEN]
-- Game Commission 2025 Annual Report
-- Erie Times- Brian Whipkey: Game Commission Presents Annual Report To House Committee
-- LehighValleyLive: Game Commission Year In Review - More Game Lands, More Wardens, More Places To Practice
-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: Pennsylvania’s Hidden Wildlife Corridors Save Animals, Drivers
-- The Nature Conservancy-PA News: Help Restore A Meadow; Winter Wildlife Abounds In Preserves; Volunteer Of The Year Hannah Hartman
-- WESA: Can You Forest Bathe Indoors? Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Says Yes
-- AP: How To Create A Calming ‘Nature Nook’ With Indoor Plants, Advice From Hilton Carter [PA Mentioned]
-- PA Biological Survey Releases Digital Booklet On The Importance Of Fungi [PaEN]
A.I./Data Centers
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - February 9 [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro’s Proposed Budget Includes Performance Standards For Data Centers Seeking State Tax Credits; Renewed Call For Lightning Energy Plan; New PUC Benchmarks For Utility Profits [PaEN]
-- Reactions To Gov. Shapiro's Proposed Budget From Citizen, Environmental, Energy, Industry, Utility Groups [PaEN]
-- The Citizens Voice: Lawmakers, Residents Encouraged, Puzzled By Governor’s Guide For A.I. Data Centers [PDF of Article]
-- House Committee OKs Bill To Give PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers, Other Large Loads To Protect Ratepayers, Electric Grid [PaEN]
-- Capitolwire.com: Senate Committee Amends, Does Not Report Out Bill Requiring Data Centers To Bring Their Own Power, Respecting Local Decisions [PaEN]
-- House Passes Bills Authorizing Clean Manufacturing, Reduce Fees For Small Nuclear Reactors, Advances Solar Warehouse Bill [PaEN]
-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports PA Electricity Prices Increased 46.1% From 2018 to 2025, More Than Other PJM States, Largely Due To Pennsylvania's Reliance On Natural Gas-Fired Electric Generation [PaEN]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: PA Electricity Rates Jump 46% Since 2018, Outpacing Neighboring States, Due To Reliance On Natural Gas To Generate Electricity [PDF of Article]
-- Morning Call: Lehigh Valley Officials Want Congressional Help To Protect Consumers From A.I. Data Center-Driven Rising Energy Costs
-- Guest Essay: A.I. Data Centers Pose Big Challenge For PA's Energy Future - Dramatically Increasing Costs For Energy Consumers, And It's Not Getting Any Cheaper - By Tom Gilbert, Pennsylvania Environmental Council [PaEN]
-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Beware Of Public Subsidies For A.I. - The Lesson Of The Volkswagen Plant In Westmoreland County - By Christopher Briem, University of Pittsburgh [PDF of Article]
-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak/Chloe Jad: Beaver Valley Becomes A.I. Data Center Target; Local Leaders Have Small Arsenal Of Tools To Inform And Protect Residents [PDF of Article]
-- MarketPlace: US Is Planning 250+ GW Of New Natural Gas Power Generation For A.I. Data Centers [For The Machines, Not For People]
-- PJM Interconnection Issues Cold Weather Alert For Feb. 7 to 9 Across Its Entire Footprint [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection Reviews January Cold Weather Operations
-- WPost: The A.I. Data Center Boom Is So Huge It’s Causing Shortages Everywhere From Electricians To Energy
Background On Issues
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Jan. 31 to Feb. 6 - 10 More Conventional Abandoned Well Violations; Failure To Notify DEP Of Water Contamination; Casing/Cement Failure [PaEN]
-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies CNX Gas Company Motion To Throw Out Ullom Family Appeal Over Water Loss In Washington County; Scope Of Rebuttable Presumption Under Review [PaEN]
-- Washington County Residents On Water Wells Not Aware A MarkWest Pipeline Drilling Project Lost 1.2 Million Gallons Of Drilling Fluid In Mount Pleasant & Robinson Townships [PaEN]
-- Guest Comments: Jacoby & Cove Mountains In Loyalsock State Forest Will Be Degraded For Generations By PA General Energy's 'Saluda' Shale Gas Access Road, Staging Area Project In Lycoming County - By Barbara Jarmoska, Resident [PaEN]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County Faces Uncertain Future As Chemical Division Posts $66 Million Loss [PDF of Article]
-- Ohio River Valley Institute Blog: 2025 Ends With Another Blow To Appalachia’s Dreams Of Petrochemical Renaissance
-- TribLive Guest Essay: PA Needs Answers - Free Environmental Health Project Online Tool Shows Health Impacts Of Regional Pollution - By Nathan Deron, Environmental Health Project
-- Environmental, Public Interest Groups Submit 'Demand For Action' On 8-Year-Old Petition Asking The Environmental Quality Board To Adopt A Regulation To Reduce Greenhouse Emissions From 14 Major Industries In PA [PaEN]
-- Post-Gazette - Laura Legere: Attorneys Issue Legal Demand To Environmental Quality Board To Adopt Regulations To Cut Carbon Emissions Across The Economy
-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: Pennsylvania Must Act To Limit Greenhouse Gases Across The Economy, Lawyers Argue
-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: Without RGGI, Pennsylvania Must Find New Ways To Reduce Future Greenhouse Gas Emissions - By Joseph Minott, Clean Air Action Fund
-- The Allegheny Front: EPA Decision To No Longer Consider The Economic Cost Of Harm To Human Health In Air Pollution Regulations Could Lead To Reversal Of Clean Air Gains
-- PennEnvironment: Bipartisan Bill To Set Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards Passes PA House, Moves To Senate
-- TribLive: Trial Of Ex-FirstEnergy Executives Charged In $60 Million Ohio Bribery Scheme Begins
-- DEP Chesapeake Bay News Highlights County Water Quality Action Planning Process, Watershed Restoration Projects, Funding Opportunities [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Has Leadership, Momentum, And Legislation For Cleaner Waters At Home And The Chesapeake Bay - By Julia Krall, PA Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Study Finds PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In 65% Of Private Water Well Samples, 18% Had Levels Above Drinking Water Standards
-- Dept. Of Health Fact Sheet: PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Private Well Water
-- DEP: Widespread Presence Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Fresh Water Leading Shale Gas Operators To Use Contaminated Water In Fracking Operations; DEP Doesn’t Require Routine PFAS Testing [PaEN]
-- EPA Highlights Major PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Actions To Combat Risks
-- DEP, Health, Fish & Boat Commission Issue PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Do Not Eat Fish Advisory For Neshaminy Creek In Bucks County
-- At Noon Monday, DEP Declared Code Orange Air Quality Action Day For Monday, Feb. 2 In Liberty-Clairton Area Of Allegheny County
-- DEP Declares Code Orange Particulate Air Quality Day Friday, Feb. 6 For Southcentral PA
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: February 8, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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