Wednesday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 3.4.26

“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]

"The time is always right to do what is right." -- Martin Luther King

Senate Voting Schedule

Budget Hearings: Thru March 5

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

Budget Hearings: Thru March 12

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 

March 5-- House Appropriations Committee budget hearing: 1:00 - Public Utility Commission. Click Here to watch live.

March 16-- House Energy Committee hearing on House Bill 2223 (Fiedler-D- Philadelphia) advanced transmission technologies [Draft Bill], House Bill 2225 (Davidson) virtual power plants [Draft Bill]  Room G-50 Irvis Building.  Noon to 2:30 p.m. Click Here to watch online.

March 18--  CANCELED. Rescheduled for April 30. DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting. 10:00 a.m. Contact: Todd M. Wallace twallace@pa.gov.  (formal notice)

March 23-- House Energy Committee informational meeting on the PA Energy Development Authority. Room G-50 Irvis Building.  10:30 to 11:30 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

March 24-- House Energy Committee hearing on House Bill 2076 (Venkat-D-Allegheny) establishing a regulatory framework for geothermal energy for residential, commercial and industrial uses. Room B-31 Main Capital. 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

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. 

-- DCNR House Budget Hearing: House Republicans Proposed More Shale Drilling In State Forest Land, Under State Parks; Gas Drilling Has Caused The Loss Of 30,000 Acres Of Core State Forest Land So Far  [PaEN] 

-- TribLive: West Deer Twp. Residents Appeal To Commonwealth Court In Fight Over EQT Leto Shale Gas Well Pad Drilling In Allegheny County

-- Senate PUC Budget Hearing: PUC Chair Says PJM Market Auction Not Designed For Data Center Demands; PA Needs Diversify Fuels Used To Generate Electricity; Bring Your Own Power Critical [PaEN] 

-- PA Solar Center, Capital Good Fund Partner On Pennsylvania BRIGHT To Deliver Nearly 70 Solar Energy Projects Worth Up To $40 Million  [PaEN]

-- Energy Efficiency Alliance: March 12 Webinar - How Virtual Power Plants Strengthen Our Grid, Protect Ratepayers  [PaEN]  

-- Western PA Conservancy Now Accepting Applications For BHE GT&S Watershed Mini Grants [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Roadmap To Renew Pennsylvania's Waters - DEP's Integrated Water Quality Report Is A Guide To Fixing Sources Of Water Pollution - By Harry Campbell, Chesapeake Bay Foundation  [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Environmental Advocates Seek Wider Cleanup After Potomac River Sewage Spill

-- Inquirer: ‘Milky White’ Substance Was Leaking Into Chester County Creek, And A Business Could Face Fines 

-- LancasterOnline: Cleanup Ongoing After Pollutants From York County Junkyard Fire Found In Susquehanna River

-- York Daily Record: 10,000 Gallons Of Oil Spilled During J&K Junkyard Fire, Officials Say

-- Penn State Extension Holds March 18 In-Person Workshop In Northampton County On How To Design, Install, Maintain Micro-Forests  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Keep PA Beautiful Partnership Provides Resources For Community Cleanups Ahead Of America’s 250th Birthday

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Bucks County-Based Burpee Has Proven To Be ‘Recession Resistant’ After 150 Years In Business

-- Tribune-Democrat: Fish & Boat Commission: Somerset Lake Dam Leaking Again, Just Months After Concrete Patches Were Completed  [PDF of Article]

-- Post-Gazette: How A New State Law Is Tackling Abandoned, Dilapidated Boats On Pittsburgh’s Rivers

-- TribLive: Peregrine Falcons To Be Protected During Tarentum Bridge Construction Project In Allegheny County 

-- York Daily Record: Hanover Online Bald Eagle Nest Welcomes First Egg Of Season

-- Williamsport Sun: Good Samaritan Wildlife Center Mixes Action With Education

A.I. /Data Centers

-- Republican Herald: Kline Twp. Residents Push Back Against Proposed Amazon A.I. Data Center In Schuylkill County [PDF of Article]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Rice Twp. Supervisors Approve A.I. Data Center Regulations In Luzerne County

-- Morning Call/AP: Iran Strikes Amazon Data Centers In Middle East Highlighting Industry’s Vulnerability To Physical Disasters 

-- Bloomberg: Data Center-Driven Soaring Power Prices Have US Politicians Searching For Solutions

-- Beaver Times Guest Essay: A.I. Data Centers Will Harm Health, Limit Jobs In Beaver County - By Elan Justice Pavlinich, Environmental Health Project

-- National Law Review Guest Essay: How Pennsylvania Can Use Abandoned Mines For Data Center Development - By John F. Lushis, Jr.

-- National Law Review Guest Essay: Geothermal Energy: Another Source Of Renewable Energy For Heating & Cooling - By John F. Lushis, Jr.

Train Derailments

-- TribLive: Fetterman, Deluzio Part Of Bipartisan Push To Strengthen Rail Safety Requirements 

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: How PA Natural Gas Producers May Help Ease The Impact Of President’s War On Iran On LNG Exports; European Gas Prices Jump 40% [War Is Good For The Oil/Gas Industry]

-- Reuters: There Is Little LNG Producers Can Do To Immediately Replace Lost Qatari Cargoes

-- Financial Times: US Shale Drillers Resist Quick Ride To Rescue For Iran War Oil Disruption [PDF of Article]

-- The Economist: The Nightmare Iran Energy Scenario Is Becoming Reality  [PDF of Article]

-- The Derrick: War In Iran To Cause Massive Disruption In Oil Industry, According To Oil City Native & Middle East Expert Andrew Tabler [PDF of Article]

-- Williamsport Sun: Oil, Gasoline Prices Rise Sharply Throughout The Region

-- Warren Times: Gasoline Prices Skyrocket After Iran Air Strikes

-- AAA Gasoline Prices March 4: PA Average Price Jumps 18 Cents/Gallon To $3.29 Since Friday, Feb. 27 

-- March 4: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.19   Ohio- $3.09  PA- $3.29

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

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- Inquirer: As Josh Shapiro Seeks Reelection, His Business-Friendly Brand Has Drawn Millions From CEOs Including Some With Interests In Harrisburg

-- Beaver Times: A PA ‘Skill’ Gambling Games Tax Would Generate Billions, But Who Would Pay?

-- Triblive: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Files Closure Notice With State

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Farms’ Struggles Are All Of Our Struggles

-- TribLive/AP: President Threatens To Cut Trade With Spain After It Disallowed US Use Of Bases For President’s War With Iran [PA Exports $606 Million/Year To Spain; Imports $776 Million] 

-- Republican Herald Editorial: President, Congress Must Address Americans’ Concerns On Iran War

-- TribLive/AP: A Day After Saying It Would Abandon Enforcing President’s Executive Orders Against Law Firms, President’s Administration Reverses Course Again And Says It Will Pursue Fight 

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[Posted: March 4, 2026]  PA Environment Digest