119 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 119 new stories in the 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!

-- The Citizens’ Voice: WeConservePA Recognizes Ellen Ferretti, North Branch Land Trust, Former DCNR Secretary, With Lifetime Conservation Leadership Award [PaEN] 

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Northwest Area H.S. Students In Luzerne County Win Statewide Green Energy Competition, Move On To National Competition

-- TribLive: Solar Energy Project At Carlynton High School Will Power Most Of Building, Reducing Costs In Allegheny County

-- Saint Vincent College Student Maura Jodkin Presented Research Poster On Abandoned Mine Drainage At Westminster College Student Symposium On The Environment

-- Technical.ly: PA Turnpike Built Its Own Data Center Powered By A Solar Microgrid With Energy To Spare

-- TribLive: Richland Twp., Allegheny County Named PA’s 100th Bird Town

-- Guest Essay: March 28, 1979 At 3:53 a.m. Cascading Failures Combined To Produce The Worst Nuclear Power Accident In US History At Three Mile Island - By James M. Seif, Former Administrative Assistant to Gov. Dick Thornburgh

-- PennLive: Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Accident Changed The Country Nearly 50 Years Ago

-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For 4.1 Mile, 16-Inch EQT ARO LLC Aboveground Shale Gas Development Water Pipeline In Cascade Twp., Lycoming County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - March 28 [PaEN] 

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: Why Controlling Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Facilities In PA Matters To Energy Consumers - By John Walliser, PA Environmental Council 

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Is The Climate Change Problem - By Bruce Ledewitz, Duquesne Law School

-- Pittsburgh Public Source: How Shell’s Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County Has Polluted More Than Permits Allow With No New Fines For 3 Years; Environmental Groups Filed Lawsuit  

-- TribLive: Upper Burrell Residents Notified Of EQT Hermes Shale Gas Well Pad Lateral Natural Gas Drilling Surveying In Westmoreland

-- PUC Approves $325,000 Penalty Settlement With Peoples Natural Gas Over 2021 Explosion In Blair County That Killed One Person, Injured Others  [PaEN]  

-- Reading Eagle: West Reading Chocolate Factory Natural Gas Explosion: 3 Years Later ‘It Hurts’

-- PUC Approves $60,000 Penalty Against West Penn Power/FirstEnergy For Improper Winter Electric Terminations, Doubling Penalty  

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Peoples Gas Requests 13% Hike In Monthly Payments, 11.25% Return On Equity, Adding To Rising Natural Gas Costs

-- Peoples Gas Proposes To Increase Residential Base Rate By 13.1% or Just Over $16 Per Month 

--  TribLive - Jack Troy: Peoples Natural Gas Proposes Raising Average Monthly Bill $16 Or 13.1%

-- TribLive: Utilities, Health Care Costs Top Westmoreland County Residents’ Affordability Concerns, Survey Finds 

-- March 29: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Same As Yesterday-- 83 Cents/Gallon Higher To $3.94 Since Feb. 27

-- March 29: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.98 Ohio- $3.83  PA- $3.94

-- Feb. 27: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $2.98  Ohio- $2.79  PA- $3.11

-- Financial Times: Oil Hits $110 As President’s Deadline Extension Fails To Calm Markets

-- WNEP: Diesel Prices Spike To Nearly $6 In PA; Truckers Cut Loads, Businesses Struggle To Stay Profitable [As A Result Of President’s War On Iran]

-- TribLive: Impact Of Rising Diesel Prices Spreads Through Economy, Pitt Professor Says

-- Reuters: Spiking US Diesel Prices Keep Trucking Industry Stuck In Years-Long Slump

-- Williamsport Sun: Ongoing Conflict In Middle East Leads To Home Heating Oil Price Spike

-- TribLive: Some PA Lawmakers Call For Suspending State Taxes On Gasoline, Diesel To Reduce High Costs On Consumers Caused By President’s War On Iran [Cutting Millions In Funding For Roads, Bridges]  

-- TribLive: High Oil, Natural Gas Prices Could Outlast President War On Iran

-- WPost: [War Profits:] US Natural Gas Exporters At Least One Winner From President’s War With Iran

-- Reuters: Big Oil [Natural Gas ]To Reap Billions From Iran War Windfall After A Month Of Soaring Energy Prices

-- PA House Passes Bill To Authorize Public Utility Commission To Regulate A.I. Data Centers To Make Them Pay Their Own Way  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: PA House Members Make Their First Move To Regulate A.I. Data Centers, As Industry Booms

-- City & State PA: PA House Lawmakers Approve A.I. Data Center Regulation Bill

-- Beaver Times: PA House Passes Bill To Shield PA Energy Users From A. I. Data Center Costs

-- The Center Square: House Moving Bill To Require A.I. Data Centers To Warn State Regulators About Water Needs

-- House Energy Committee Hears How Geothermal Energy Could Meet 100% Of PA’s Electricity, Heating Needs Offering True Energy Independence And Freedom From Foreign Energy Markets Costing Pennsylvanians Billions  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Issues Request For Information On Proposed Electric Generation Or Storage Projects Eligible For State Sponsorship Under PJM Expedited Interconnection Track [PaEN]

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: Green Group Calls For Halt To A.I. Data Centers In PA Until New Laws Are Passed

-- TribLive: Digital Gold Rush: With The A.I. Data Center Boom Heading To Western PA, Virginia Offers A Roadmap And Warnings

-- WVIA: Residents, Elected Officials Want Gov. Shapiro’s PA Permit Fast Track Program To Slow Down When It Comes To A.I. Data Centers

-- Pottstown Mercury: Model Data Center Zoning Ordinances Coming To The Fore  [PDF of Article]

-- PA Community Organizing Summit On A.I. Data Centers April 18 In Pittsburgh  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension Hosts April 21 Webinar: Agriculture Meets Hyperscale A.I. Data Centers   [PaEN] 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Mystery Site For 4.3 GW Natural Gas Power Plant Site In SW PA Has Officials Wondering; Transmission Line Project May Hint At Site 

-- Utility Dive Guest Essay: 5-Year Waits And Rising Costs For Natural Gas Generation Turbines Redefining The Energy Market - By Electric Power Research Institute [Utility Industry Group] 

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster County To Get PA Taxpayer Funds For Emergency Planning Related To Restart Of Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant To Feed Microsoft A.I. Data Centers

-- Scranton Times: PPL To Hold March 31 Open House On A.I. Data Center Transmission Line, Infrastructure Projects In Archbald, Luzerne County Paid For By Ratepayers  [To Take 3 Years To Build]  [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: PPL Unveils Mammoth ‘Massively Lucrative’  Infrastructure Project To Feed A.I. Data Centers  [PDF of Article]

-- The Center Square: PUC Receives $2 Million Federal Grant For Electric Grid Upgrade Study

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - March 30  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold 21 Climate Conversation Workshops Across The State From April 6 Through June 11 To Hear Community Concerns, Ideas About Climate Change [PaEN] 

-- PA House Passes Bill To Expand Solar Energy Electric Generation To Warehouses, Distribution Centers  [PaEN]

-- PA Solar Center, Solar United Neighbors Are Putting Out The Call For Volunteers To Spread The Word For True Energy Independence For Pennsylvania!  [PaEN]  

-- DEP Invests $1.47 Million+ To Support 12 Local Projects In Five Counties To Buy Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Build Electric Vehicle Charging Stations; Next Rounds Of Applications Due April 1, Oct. 7  [PaEN] 

-- PA Capital-Star/The Conversation: Pittsburgh’s Air Pollution May Claim 3,000+ Lives Per Year And EPA Rollbacks Aren’t Helping

-- Post-Gazette: PA House Committee Advances Bill To Require Radon Testing, Mitigation In Schools

-- Inquirer: What An Oncologist Wants You To Know About Environmental Cancer Risks: Radon, Asbestos, Air Pollution, PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’

-- PA House Passes Bill To Improve Rail Safety In Bipartisan Vote, 3 Years After Norfolk Southern Train Derailment  [PaEN] 

-- The Center Square: Railroad Safety Bill Clears PA House 3 Years After Norfolk Southern Train Derailment [House Bill 1191]

-- Attorney General Sunday Charges 2 Western PA Companies With Illegally Storing, Disposing Of Hazardous Waste In Beaver County That Cost Taxpayers $2.4 Million To Clean Up  [PaEN]

-- Beaver Times: Attorney General Sundy Files Criminal Charges In Pool Doctor Chemical Case

-- TribLive: Attorney General Files Charges Against 2 Companies For Allegedly Unlawfully Storing, Disposing Of Hazardous Waste

-- York Daily Record: DEP Goes To Court Accusing J&K Junkyard Of Violating Its Order Closing The Scrapyard In York County

-- PennLive - John Beauge: Battle Continues To Get Texas Developer Of A Failed Plan To Chemically Recycle Plastics In Northumberland County To Pay Its Bills

-- DEP To Host April 8 Meeting On North East Waste Systems Municipal Waste Transfer Station permit In Hazleton, Luzerne County 

-- DEP: If Requested, A Hearing Will Be Held May 14 On J.C. Cleaners Hazardous Waste Site In Gettysburg, Adams County And The Failed Attempt To Contain Groundwater Contamination  [PaEN] 

-- Williamsport Sun: DEP Investigate Oily Sheen That Appeared To Come From A Storm Drain Into The West Branch Susquehanna River In Clearfield

-- Delaware River Basin Commission Holds March 19 Tabletop Spill Preparedness Exercise

-- DCED Awards $200,000 Industrial Sites Reuse Program Grant For Environmental Assessment Leading To Site Redevelopment

-- Waste Today: EPA Highlights Successful Brownfield Projects At PA Brownfields Conference

-- Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation: April 11 Illegal Dumping Forum - Let's Talk Trash And Tires Luzerne County Community College  [PaEN]  

-- 6 Organizations, 169 Volunteers Join To Clean Up Pennypack Watershed In Montgomery County  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: A Year After 4,000 Tires Were Dumped In Tacony Park The Tires Are Gone, New 50-Acre Nature Preserve Set To Open In April 

-- Lewistown Sentinel: ClearWater Conservancy Seeks Volunteers For April 18 Watershed Cleanup In Centre County 

-- Republican Herald: State Police Investigate Illegal Dumping Incidents In Schuylkill County

-- PA Member Of Congress Summer Lee, Other Members Form Environmental Justice Caucus

-- Post-Gazette: PA Member Of Congress Summer Lee Renews Push For Environmental Justice As Federal Policies Are Rolled Back

-- PA Emergency Management Agency Announces Over $38.4 Million In Federal Aid Was Delivered To Help Recovery From 2024 Hurricane Debby In 13 Counties

-- WHYY: US Army Corps Scales Down Eastwick Levee Proposal In Flood-Prone Philadelphia Neighborhood In Favor Of Buyouts, Other Measures

-- Observer-Reporter: Locust Ave. In South Strabane Twp. Closed Due To Landslide In Washington County

-- Scranton Times: Keystone Landfill To Pay Throop Boro $200,000 Annually To Pipe Treated Leachate To Wastewater Plant

-- Reading Eagle: Proposed Upper Bern Twp. Proposed Federal ICE Warehouse Detention Center Sparks Water, Traffic And Tax Concerns In Berks County

-- Pennsylvania Invests $5.5 Million In Projects To Improve Regional Waterways, Help Farmers Increase Environmental Health On Farms Throughout The Chesapeake Bay Watershed In PA  [PaEN] 

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: EPA Regional Administrator Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey Draws On Farm Experience

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: EPA Proposes ‘Significant’ Funding Cuts To Chesapeake Bay Advisors  [Warning]

-- Western PA Conservancy Accepting Applications Year-Round For Free Riparian Tree Planting Initiative  [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: Planting Trees On East Donegal Cattle Pasture Part Of Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Effort

-- TribLive: Forbes Trail Chapter Trout Unlimited Meets March 31 On Linn Run Restoration Project In Westmoreland County 

-- Penn State Extension Hosts May 5 Frontiers In Forest Health Webinar On Hemlock Conservation  [PaEN] 

-- Manada Conservancy Hosts April 23 Building Backyard Biodiversity Workshop With Elyse Jurgen, Waxwing EcoWorks In Hershey

-- Call For Presentations: PA Assn. Of Environmental Professionals Annual Conference Oct. 14-16 In State College  [PaEN]

-- Apply Now For PA Assn. Of Environmental Professionals College Environmental Science Scholarships Named For Gifford Pinchot, Maurice Goddard & Zulene Mayfield  [PaEN]

-- DCNR State Parks Environmental Education News: Complete PA EE Survey; Spring Into Spring Teaching Ideas; In-Person, Virtual Educator Training  [PaEN] 

-- DCNR Grants News: ATV/Snowmobile Grants Close Soon; Juneteenth Events; PRPS Conference; Grant Tips 

-- DCNR Notice Of Changes To Schedule Of Prices For State Forest Land

-- Erie Times: Presque Isle Needs Sand, A Petition Might Help Restore Federal Funding For It 

-- Pittsburgh-Based RiverLife Investments Along 3 Rivers Catalyze 20 to 1 Returns, New Study Finds

-- TribLive: Ligonier Township Want Ad: Volunteers Needed For Ligonier Beach Cleanup, $15 Million To Make Into Park

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster County Prepares For Mosquito Season After Record West Nile Virus Cases In 2025

-- WHYY - Zoe Read: Sneezing, Running Nose, Itchy Eyes: Allergy Symptoms Start Earlier With Climate Change 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Enhanced Wildlife Corridors Will Make PA Better For Animals And Humans

-- BCTV: Pennsylvania Removes 15  Dams In 2025 To Boost Public Safety, River Health

-- LancasterOnline: Numbers Of Migrating Snow Geese Declining At Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area

-- TribLive: Game Commission Bear Study Aims To Collar 160 Animals Per Year

-- LancasterOnline: Did Mother Bald Eagle Eat Unhatched Egg At Livestreamed Lancaster County Nest?

-- Erie Times: Lake Erie Station Joins Fish Waste Initiative Aiming For 100% Recycling 

Visit the PA Environment Digest website to learn more.

REAL Leadership:

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-- 118 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

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[Posted: March 29, 2026]   PA Environment Digest