PennDOT, Keep PA Beautiful Invite High School Students To Apply To Join Young Ambassadors Education Program

On April 1, the Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful are inviting environmentally-conscious 10th through 12th grade students to help preserve Pennsylvania’s natural resources through the Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania program.

The deadline to apply is June 1

The program empowers young Pennsylvanians to train and learn from leaders across the private sector, state government, local media, and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful to protect Pennsylvania’s environment and build leadership and problem-solving skills.

Applicants should be passionate about the environment and committed to restoring and protecting Pennsylvania’s ecological landscape through volunteerism and leadership.

“Pennsylvania’s ecological beauty and sustainability come from hard work on the ground level,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. “Through litter clean-up and prevention, stream restoration, and empowering their friends and neighbors, the next generation of environmental leaders are setting the standard for the rest of us.”

“We are honored to offer the Young Ambassadors Program in partnership with PennDOT for a fifth year. Each student brings unique experiences and tremendous passion for creating meaningful change in their communities and across the Commonwealth, and we look forward to welcoming a new group of inspiring young leaders,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. “Our goal is to spark a sense of community ownership while highlighting the importance of working with local residents, businesses, and organizations to identify issues and build solutions together. We are grateful for our continued partnership with PennDOT, which allows us to expand opportunities for students and help them develop the essential skills needed for long term success.”

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful will provide education and training to program participants on topics related to the impact of litter on roadways, litter prevention, waste management and recycling, civic engagement and public policy, volunteer management, and social media marketing. 

In addition, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has partnered with industry leaders, Columbia Gas - NiSource Charitable Foundation and Dow to provide Job Shadow Days to select Ambassadors.

Ambassadors will serve a one-year term from September 2026 through May 2027 and represent and uphold the mission and values of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

Program requirements include:

-- Attending 6 mandatory virtual education sessions;

-- Conducting a community assessment and creating a summary presentation;

-- Organizing a community cleanup event through Pick Up Pennsylvania and conducting one community education event or activity.

Students will be chosen through a competitive application process. Students interested in applying should visit KPB’s Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania webpage or contact Kylie McCutcheon at 724-836-4121 x114 or kmccutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org. 

Click Here for the PennDOT announcement.

Visit PennDOT’s Roadside Beautification Resources webpage to learn more about how to get involved in anti-litter and beautification activities.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, visit their YouTube Channel.

The 2026 Pick Up Pennsylvania Initiative now undeerway!  Questions should be directed to Michelle Dunn at 1-877-772-3673 Ext. 113 or send email to: mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

Keep PA Beautiful helps mobilize over 100,000 volunteers a year to pick up litter, clean up illegal dumping and beautify Pennsylvania.

[Posted: April 2, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

DEP Awards Nearly $5 Million In RISE PA Small Industry Track Grants To Support 14 Projects In 9 Counties To Reduce Energy Costs, Improve Air Quality; Next Application Deadline April 15

On April 1, the Department of Environmental Protection awarded nearly $5 million to manufacturing projects across Pennsylvania that focus on reducing industrial emissions and improving air quality – and those projects will save Pennsylvania companies over $500,000 in energy costs as part of the Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) Small-scale Award Track (SAT) grant program.

Funding was awarded for projects in Allegheny, Berks, Dauphin, Delaware, Jefferson, Lancaster, Luzerne, Montgomery and York counties. 

The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) at Penn State manages the $40 million SAT program through the RISE PA initiative and helps businesses with a no cost site assessment. 

The SAT represents one component of the RISE PA grant program, a $396 million statewide industrial decarbonization grant program funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants. 

The goal is to help manufacturers identify opportunities to lower operational costs and reduce their environmental impact to surrounding communities.

RISE PA offers grants for small, medium, and large-scale decarbonization projects at industrial facilities by investing in emissions reduction equipment and energy efficient upgrades.

The medium and large-scale RISE PA grants are expected to be announced this spring. 

RISE PA has the potential to reduce approximately 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents by 2050 – nearly 10 percent of Pennsylvania’s current annual industrial emissions.

“Pennsylvania has a long industrial history, and these RISE PA grants are going to help manufacturers build their business with lower energy costs, more energy focused jobs, and reduce air pollution for the surrounding communities,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley. “It’s a commonsense program that improves the economy and environment and continues Pennsylvania’s energy leadership.”

The first year of the SAT grants project implementation is expected to prevent approximately 5,055 metric tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. 

This is the greenhouse gas equivalent of 1,179 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year; the equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions avoided by 429,708 trash bags of waste recycled instead of landfilled; and the amount of carbon sequestered by 83,585 tree seedlings grown for 10 years. 

Companies will save an estimated $572,751 on electricity costs in the first year of the projects. 

“The RISE PA program illustrates that Pennsylvania is at the forefront of addressing energy efficiency and its impact on industry, the environment, and residents. PennTAP is excited to partner with DEP in this historic effort,” said PennTAP Director Tanna Pugh. “The SAT applications we received in round one show innovation and commitment by manufacturers across the state to implement solutions that significantly reduce emissions and enhance performance and we look forward to seeing the statewide impact of the projects.”

Next Application Deadline

This is SAT’s first round of grants being awarded, with additional funding rounds planned through 2029.  

Round two has been closed and awardees are expected to be announced this summer. 

In addition, PennTAP is now accepting applications for the third round through April 15, 2026.

Click Here for a list of projects funded and DEP's announcement.

For more information on this program visit DEP’s RISE PA webpage and the PennTAP RISE PA webpage.

[Posted: April 1, 2026]  PA Environment Digest

DEP Citizens Advisory Council Meets April 14 To Hear Presentations On GeoThermal Energy; Combined Sewer Overflows In Philadelphia

The DEP Citizens Advisory Council is scheduled to meet on April 14 to hear presentations on geothermal energy and another presentation on combined sewer overflows in Philadelphia.

The agenda includes--

-- DEP Update by Seth Pelepko, Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management

-- State Of Washington’s Geothermal Regulatory Structure by Rian Skov, Deputy Oil and Gas Supervisor, Washington Department of Natural Resources

-- Repurposing Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells For Geothermal Energy by Eddie Guerra, Senior Vice President, Rizzo International

-- Combined Sewer Overflows by Marc Cammarata, Philadelphia Water Department

Geothermal Energy

For recent background on geothermal energy in Pennsylvania, read this summary of a March 27 hearing by the House Energy Committee--

-- 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]  

Oil & Gas Program

Seth Pelepko, DEP’s Acting Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management, will be presenting the agency’s update to Council, no doubt with an emphasis on activities in his program like he did in January.

The Oil and Gas Program faces major challenges, including--

-- Steadily Expanding Workload: The number of permitted shale gas wells have increased from 18,060 in December 2016 to 24,555 as of March 27-- a 35.9% increase

-- Freeze On Enforcement Staff: DEP enforcement staff has been frozen at nearly the same levels as December 2016, according to DEP’s budget materials last March, while workload keeps expanding dramatically.

Kurt Klapkowski told the PA Grade Crude Development Advisory Council December 4-- “There's been a pretty significant hiring freeze in place given the chaos at the federal level with the budget, and then the state budget impasse this year. Our human resources department has basically locked down any hiring. So, we’ve got significant vacancies.”

“This isn't where I wanted us to be, honestly, today.”

-- Funding Oil & Gas Industry Inadequate To Support Program: Funding for the Oil & Gas Program is based on fees charged for shale gas well permit applications, however, the volume of permit applications received by DEP has dropped dramatically. DEP estimated it would take revenue from 2,000 applications a year to fully fund its enforcement program [Read more here]. In 2025, DEP received just over 628 applications.

The conventional oil and gas industry permit application fees rarely generate more than $46,000 a year to support a program that costs taxpayers $10.6 million to ensure conventional well compliance with state environmental laws and regulations.

The FY 2025-26 state budget includes $15 million in General Fund monies to support the program. The FY 2024-2025 budget included a $5 million was transferred to the program.

-- Potential Cuts In Federal Funding To Plug Conventional Wells Abandoned By Their Owners: On January 9, Laura Legere of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the US House of Representatives Thursday passed a budget bill that cut $785 million from programs to restore abandoned coal mine lands and plug abandoned oil and gas wells saying it was “a blow to Pennsylvania efforts to clean up those scars.”

If no changes are made by the US Senate, Pennsylvania could see a cut of $169 million in abandoned mine reclamation funds and a reduction of at least $24 million in funds for plugging conventional oil and gas wells abandoned by their owners.  Read more here.

-- Shale Gas Regulations Not Updated In Nearly A Decade: DEP regulations covering shale gas operations have not been updated since 2016, nearly a decade, and have not kept up with drilling technology or the kinds of environmental protection problems being experienced today.

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Regulations Not Updated In Nearly 39 Years: DEP regulations covering conventional oil and gas wells were last adopted in 1987.  An attempt to update them failed in 2016, when the General Assembly/Gov. Wolf killed the package to allow the shale gas regulations to move forward. The 2016 conventional regulations update represented a significant improvement in environmental protections, but still had gaps.

-- Updated Setback Distances For Shale Gas Operations: One of the things learned through health studies and practical experience since the last state Oil and Gas Act was passed in 2012 is the minimum setback of 500 feet from shale gas well pads is completely inadequate to protect public health.

Most recently, a House hearing in November resulted in extensive testimony on the issue, including first-hand accounts of the inadequacies of the existing 500 foot setback. Read more here.

In December, the Environmental Quality Board voted to accept a citizens rulemaking petition for study that would increase the basic setbacks from 500 to 3,281 feet to better protect the public. Read more here.

The petitioners extensively documented the shortcomings of the existing setback distances. Read more here.

At the March 10 Environmental Quality Board meeting, DEP said it expects to make a recommendation on the petition to update setback distances by the end of 2026.  Read more here.

At the same December EQB meeting, the Board accepted three oil and gas industry rulemaking petitions for study. Read more here.

DEP also provided an update on the status of other petitions pending before the EQB at the March meeting.  Read more here.

-- Conventional Well Owners Continue To Abandon Wells: While DEP has made significant progress in plugging abandoned conventional wells thanks to federal funding, DEP issued over 700 violations to conventional well owners in 2025 for abandoning wells and 860 violations in 2024.  DEP has stepped up enforcement activities with its limited staff, but it has not put a dent in those numbers.

-- “Widespread Non-Compliance” In Conventional Industry The Norm: Last June, DEP said it continues to see “widespread non-compliance with laws and regulations in the conventional oil and gas industry, particularly regarding improper abandonment of oil and gas wells, but also not reporting hydrocarbon and waste production [and disposal] and conducting mechanical integrity assessments.”  Read more here.

As DEP noted, well owners fail to comply with the most basic requirements: 85% failed to submit annual production and waste generation/disposal reports and 87% failed to submit annual well integrity reports for 2024.  Read more here.

A December 2022 first-ever report by DEP on conventional industry compliance said until the industry’s “culture of non-compliance” changes, there will be no meaningful improvement in compliance. Read more here.

-- Millions Of Gallons Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Unaccounted For: Today, no one knows how much wastewater conventional well owners generate because of widespread non-reporting. Conventional well owners reported generating 93.4 million gallons of wastewater in 2017.  A white paper by the PA Independent Oil and Gas Association in 2017 estimated the average conventional oil and gas well produced 2,146 gallons of wastewater a year.  With an estimated 86,125 active conventional well permits, the math says the industry generates about 184.8 million gallons a year.  Where did the wastewater go?

-- Conventional Well Owners Push To Legalize Road Dumping Wastewater: The illegal disposal of conventional oil and gas wastewater by dumping it on paved and dirt and gravel roads continues unabated in Pennsylvania as are efforts to legalize the practice. Read more here.

The industry itself reported 3.5 million gallons of wastewater were indiscriminately and illegally dumped on roads between 2018 and 2023, according to DEP records, but the real amount is much, much more due to limited self-reporting.

Conventional well owners continue to push for legalizing road dumping for disposing of their wastewater through changes in law, regulations and policy from DEP. Read more here.

DEP has supported legislation to clearly ban the practice of road dumping conventional wastewater as its own regulations did for shale gas operations since 2016. Read more here.

Multiple studies by Penn State University and many others have documented the public health and environmental impacts of road dumping and of wastewater from conventional and shale gas wells. Read more here.

A December 15 meeting was scheduled between DEP and members of the conventional oil and gas industry on the issue of disposing of wastewater, but the meeting was not open to the public and any solutions discussed or commitments to follow-up actions are unknown at this time.

-- Systemic Problems Continue In Tracking Oil & Gas Waste “Cradle To Grave:”  In late December, Inside Climate News published three articles by reporters Kiley Bense and Peter Aldhous on tracking the generation, recycling, treatment and disposal of waste and wastewater from Pennsylvania’s shale gas and conventional oil and gas industries.  Read more here.

Lack of easy connections between data bases and reporting requirements and the failure in particular of conventional oil and gas well owners to report the waste they generate have hampered efforts to know the answers to basic questions like how much waste is produced and where does it go?

The lack of staff to do audits of the reporting is also reducing confidence in the numbers that are being reported.

The articles also pointed to the need to update safeguards surrounding the handling of radioactive shale gas and conventional waste.  Read more here.

Comment Period

Individuals interested in providing public comment during the meeting must sign up 24-hours in advance of the meeting by contacting Ian Irvin, Executive Director, by sending email to: iirvin@pa.gov.  

Commenters are asked to limit comments to 3 minutes to accommodate other commenters and the rest of the agenda. 

Council encourages the submission of a written copy of public comments 24-hours in advance of the meeting so that they can be shared with CAC members in advance, posted to the CAC’s website under the relevant meeting date, and properly reflected in the meeting minutes. 

Click Here for more information.

Join The Meeting

The meeting will be held in Room 105 Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg starting at 12:30 p.m.

Click Here to join the meeting online via Microsoft Teams. The meeting is also available by telephone: 267-332-8737, Conference ID: 541 794 634#

For available handouts and more information, visit the DEP Citizens Advisory Council webpage.  Questions should be directed to Ian Irvin, Executive Director, at iirvin@pa.gov or 717-579-0329.

(Photos: top- Range Resources Augustine Drill Pad in Cecil Township; Augustine Drill Pad showing scale of operation;  bottom- Map of Shale gas wells (red dots), conventional oil and gas wells (blue/green dots) in Cecil Township (DEP Oil & Gas Program); 523 feet from nearest house; Well pad gas flare from bedroom window near Augustine well pad (WTAE). Other photos Courtesy of The Energy Age Blog.)

[Posted: April 1, 2026]  PA Environment Digest