Friday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 3.27.26

"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]

Senate Voting Schedule

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

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 

March 28-- 2026 Watershed Congress Along The Schuylkill River. Alvernia College, Reading.

March 31-- Agenda Posted.  DEP Cleanup Standards Scientific Advisory Board meeting. 9:30 a.m. Contact: Brie Sterling bsterling@pa.gov. 

April 1-- Draft Agenda Posted. DEP Radiation Protection Advisory Committee meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson Building.  9:00 a.m. Contact: John S. Chippo jchippo@pa.gov.  (formal notice)

April 1-- Lower Susquehanna RiverKeeper Speaker Series: Dr. Dorothy Merritts, Dr. Robert Walter And The Potential Of Restoring Buried Pre-Colonial Landscapes And Removal Of Legacy Sediments.  RiverKeeper Office, Wrightsville, York County.

April 7-- DEP Public Hearing On Shell Petrochemical Plant Air Quality Plan Approval Application. Penn State Beaver Auditorium, 100 University Drive in Monaca, Beaver County.  6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Read more here.

April 16-- DCED PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council meeting.  Penn State, State College.  10:00.  Contact: Adam Walters 717-214-6548 or adwalters@pa.gov. 

April 30-- DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Todd M. Wallace twallace@pa.gov.  (formal notice)

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

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

-- 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

-- 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

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

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

-- 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] 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-- 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

-- March 28 - Pennsylvania Bulletin Now Available

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

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

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

-- DCNR Names Paige Steffy Assistant Manager For Gifford Pinchot State Park In York County

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

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

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

A.I. /Data Centers

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

-- Williamsport Sun: Gregg Township, Union County Eyed As Possible Site For A.I. Data Center 

-- Scranton Times: Archbald Boro Sets March 27 Meeting On 18 Building A.I. Data Center Campus As Deadline Looms 

-- Scranton Times: Moosic Boro Continues Navigating A.I. Data Center Zoning Process 

-- Scranton Times: A.I. Data Center Developer Challenges Dickson City’s ‘Exclusionary’ Zoning Regulations

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Salem Twp. Planning Commission Tables A.I. Data Center Plan, Solar Energy Facility Application

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Owners Affirm 2027 Restart Date To Feed Power To Microsoft A.I. Data Centers Despite Approval To Join Grid May Not Come Until 2031

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

-- Morning Call: PPL Among Utilities Singled Out For High Profit Margin In Industry Watchdog Report

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

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Homer City A.I. Data Center, 4.4 GW Natural Gas Power Plant Construction Hits 1,000 [Temporary] Workers

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Western PA Is Ripe For A.I. Data Center Development, But Challenges And Concerns Remain

-- Inside Climate News: 2 Wildly Different A.I. Data Centers Reveal A ‘Fork In The Road’ On How To Meet Electricity Demand- Intelligent Use Of Renewables, Energy Management Or The Same Old Build A Big, Expensive Power Plant 

Gas Explosions

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

Train Derailments

-- Rep. Matzie: PA House Passes Bill To Improve Rail Safety In Bipartisan 120 to 79 Vote

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

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- March 27: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Went Down A Penny-- 83 Cents/Gallon Higher To $3.94 Since Feb. 27  

-- March 27: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.97 Ohio- $3.87  PA- $3.94

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

-- 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/AP: President Interrupts Cabinet Meeting On His War With Iran And Rising Gasoline, Diesel Prices To Talk About Sharpies 

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

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

Federal Administration

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

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- Spotlight PA: Automatic Voter Registration Is Getting More Pennsylvanians On The Rolls, But They Don’t Always Vote

-- TribLive: PA Supreme Court: Mandatory Life In Prison For 2nd Degree Murder Is Unconstitutional

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Supreme Court Ruling On Life Sentences For 2nd Degree Murder Could Lead To Largest Resentencing Effort In State History

-- TribLive: PA House Again Passes Bill To End State’s Unenforced Gay Marriage Ban

-- York Daily Record: ‘No Kings’ Rallies Planned In York, Adams Counties

-- Republican Herald: Republican Con. Meuser Shares ICE Update On Warehouse Detention Centers

-- Spotlight PA: President’s ICE Wants To Return To Berks County; The Fight Against It Will Look Very Different

-- York Daily Record: Public Outcry Ends Plan For West Manchester Twp. Police To Partner With President’s ICE 

-- TribLive/AP: President Interrupts Cabinet Meeting On His War With Iran And Rising Gasoline, Diesel Prices To Talk About Sharpies

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Area Loses Population Amid Nationwide Immigration Crackdown 

-- TribLive Editorial: This Isn’t Gallows Humor In Westmoreland County

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[Posted: March 27, 2026]  PA Environment Digest