PA Environment Digest Blog: 122 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA

Here are 122 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!

-- PA Environmental Council: Honoring 2026 Winners Of Governor’s Award For Environmental Excellence, June 25, Harrisburg

-- Gov. Tom Ridge Recognized The First Winners Of The Governor’s Award For Environmental Excellence On Oct. 28, 1996 - Click Here for Award Winners. Click Here for his remarks.

-- NEXTPittsburgh: These Pittsburghers Explored Every PA State Park And Found More Than Nature

-- Art of Staying Safe, 3 State Agencies Honor 18 Student Art Contest Winners In Fight Against Lyme Disease [PaEN]

-- Westmoreland County Conservation District Holds Special May 30 Community Event Celebrating The Role Of Natural Resources In Our Nation's 250-Year History [PaEN]

-- Rep. Abigail Salisbury Recognizes Humane Action Pennsylvania In Allegheny County With Keep PA Beautiful Community Pride Award [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - May 9 to 15: 229 Abandoned Conventional Well Violations This Year; Denied Shale Gas Pipeline Permit; Failed To Cleanup Conventional Spills At 3 Sites For 688 Days [PaEN]

-- DEP: Penneco Environmental Replacing Tubing, Other Equipment At Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County Due To Leak, Corrosion [PaEN]

-- DEP Denies Water Encroachment Permit For PA General Energy Co. 3.9 Mile Permanent Access Road, Staging Area In Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County [PaEN]

-- PennLive - John Beauge: DEP Pulls Plug On Permit For PA General Energy Shale Gas Well Access Road, Staging Area In Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County

-- DEP Issues 12 Violations To Delta Inland Oil Res LLC For Abandoning, Not Plugging Conventional Oil & Gas Wells In Warren County; 223 Abandonment Violations Issued In 2026, So Far [PaEN]

-- Allegheny National Forest: Visitors Alerted To Conventional Abandoned Oil & Gas Well Plugging Operations Impacting Trail Use In Forest County [PaEN]

-- ‘Emergency’ Upset Natural Gas/Chemical Flares At Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County Burned Overnight From At Least 8:52 p.m. May 10 to 3:30 a.m. May 11 - Breathecam

-- ‘Emergency’ Upset Natural Gas/Chemical Flares At The MarkWest Harmon Creek/Energy Transfer Revolutions Cryogenic Natural Gas Processing Plants Burned All Night Again In Washington County - Live Breathe Project Cameras [May 12]

-- Guest Essay: Lessons From A Children's Story: If You Give The Oil & Gas Industry A Wellpad, It Will Lead To An Escalating Chain Of More Polluting Gas Infrastructure - By Melissa Ostroff, EarthWorks [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Chapter 105 Permit For Coterra Energy, Inc. 4.9 Mile, 20-Inch Shale Gas Fresh Water Pipeline In Auburn Twp., Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- Environmental Groups Request DEP Do A Science-Based Assessment Of Health, Environmental Risks From Landfill Leachate Contaminated By Radioactive Oil & Gas Drilling Wastes [PaEN]

-- WPXI: Environmental Groups Disagree With DEP Study Of Radioactivity In Landfill Leachate From Oil & Gas Drilling Wastes

-- American-Dream.com Guest Essay: Radioactivity Leaching Out Of Pennsylvania Landfills From Shale Gas Drilling Wastes - By Dr. John F. Stolz, Duquesne University

-- PA US Sen. Fetterman Introduces Legislation To Promote Development Of LNG Natural Gas Export Facilities; LNG Facilities Proposed In PA Communities Already Overburdened By Pollution [PaEN]

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Philadelphia Gas Commission Rejects PGW’s Expanded Port Richmond LNG Gas Plant Until Further Study

-- May 17: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Same As Yesterday, Now $1.53/Gallon Higher To $4.64 Since Feb. 27 [Armstrong County Average Price Still Highest at $4.91]

-- TribLive: Rising Fuel Costs, Asphalt Prices, Salt Usage Strain Local Road Budgets

-- TribLive Editorial: Asphalt, Oil And The High Cost Of Smooth Roads

-- Reuters: European Union Warns Rising Reliance On US Natural Gas Brings Dependency, Price Risks [Warning]

-- Reuters: EIA: US Natural Gas Output To Hit Record High In 2026, While Demand Declines [Warning]

-- Wall Street Journal: The Oil Shock Is Causing A $45 Billion Rupture In The Economy Slamming Consumers While Boosting Investors

-- Financial Times: President’s Iran War Is Ripping Across The US Economy At A Cost Of Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars In Lost Output, Soaring Fuel Prices, Rising Borrowing Costs, Supply Chain Disruptions [PDF of Article]

-- Bloomberg: Clean Energy Seen As ‘Immune’ To Hormuz-Style Fossil Fuel Price Shocks

-- Philadelphia Energy Authority Energy Campaign Achieves $2 Billion In Economic Impact, Creates 11,000 Jobs, Over $1.4 Billion In Energy Savings In First 10 Year, Exceeding Initial Goals [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: Philly Says Clean Energy Campaign Generated $1 Billion In Investment, Created More than 11,000 Jobs

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: Philadelphia Utility Customers Call On City Council To Help Rein In Bills: ‘The System Is Failing Us’

-- AP: As Electric Bills Rise, Some States Are Focusing On The Growing Profits Of Utilities [PA Featured]

-- TribLive Guest Essay: How To Save Billions On Energy Bills - Set PJM Price Cap At $175/MWday Not Present $325 - By Kevin Walker, President, Duquesne Light Co

-- Utility Dive Guest Essay: Competitive Power Markets Have Delivered, Abandoning Them Would Be A Mistake - By Former FERC, PA PUC Commissioner Nora Mead Brownell

-- Bloomberg: US Power Prices Climb 61% Faster Than Inflation As Data Center Demand Surges

-- Bloomberg: A.I. Build Out Drives 76% Power Bill Jump In PJM Electric Grid

-- PUC Releases Final Order Establishing First-of-Its-Kind Voluntary Large Load (Data Center) Model Tariff Framework [PaEN]

-- Environmental Defense Fund Blog: Pennsylvania PUC Moves To Protect Utility Customers From A.I. Data Center Costs With Model Tariff

-- PUC Commissioners Tell PA US Senators Federal Permitting Reform Should Maintain State Oversight of Transmission Line Siting Projects [PaEN]

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: PECO Signs Agreements With A.I. Data Centers Requiring Them To Pay For Their Own Grid Upgrades

-- Utility Dive: PPL Utilities ‘Advanced Stage’ A.I. Data Center Pipeline Grew To 28.3 GW In Pennsylvania; Unregulated PPL-Blackstone Generation Venture Ordering Gas Turbines

-- PJM Interconnection Issues Hot Weather Alert For May 18 For Entire Footprint, May 19 For Mid-Atlantic, Southern Regions [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: PJM Grid Operator Aims To Finalize Reform Strategy By Summer

-- Utility Dive: PJM Grid Operator May Be ‘Too Big To Function:’ FERC Chairman Swett

-- Financial Times: NextEra And Dominion Energy In Talks Over Merger To Create $400 Billion US Utility Giant Driven By Data Center Power Demands [PDF of Article]

-- DEP Considering Permits For 17 A.I. Data Center Projects, Aware Of 34 Other Proposals; Data Centers In Fast Track Permitting Program Need Same Permits, Meet Same Standards As Everyone Else [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Stormwater Permit For PPL Utilities Chanceford 500kV Transmission Line Rebuild In York County Related To Restart Of Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant [PaEN]

-- READ CAREFULLY! PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 16 [PaEN]

-- LOTS HAPPENING! DEP Posted 73 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 16 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Expand Operating 4 Mile, 16-Inch Shale Gas Fresh Water Pipeline In Auburn Twp., Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - May 18 [PaEN]

-- UGI Energy Services, Prime Data Centers Announce $100 Million Partnership To Develop New Natural Gas Infrastructure For A Power Plant To Feed A.I. Data Center Development, Likely In Cameron, Potter Or Tioga Counties [PaEN] [Warning]

-- Pipeline & Gas Journal: UGI To Build Natural Gas Infrastructure To Support Large-Scale A.I. Hyperscale Data Center Campus Development In Northern Tier PA [Cameron, Potter, Tioga Counties]

-- The Center Square: Citizens A.I. Data Center Town Hall Speakers Criticize Industry, Shapiro, Secrecy [Vast Extent Of Intense Opposition To PA Data Center Boom Bulldozing Communities Evident In Town Hall]

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Outpouring Of Frustration Over PA’s Rapid A.I. Data Center Growth At Citizens Online Town Hall Meeting

-- Morning Call: What Can Be Done About A.I. Data Centers In Lehigh Valley? Residents Get Some Answers At PA League Of Women Voters Town Hall

-- Scranton Times: Lackawanna County Commissioner Launches Anti-Data Center Ad Campaign With TV Spots, Website [Show Up Lackawanna website]

-- Scranton Times Chris Kelly Opinion: In A.I. Data Center Fight, Lackawanna County Commissioner Gaughan Shows Up

-- WVIA: How Loud Is A Data Center? Archbald Residents Turn Up Criticism Of Wildcat Ridge Study, Developers Offer Community $17 Million Benefit Agreement

-- Scranton Times: Opponents Sound Off On Wildcat Ridge A.I. Data Center Campus Noise Projections In Archbald [588 Backup Diesel Generators Tested Monthly Exempt From Noise Limits]

-- Better Path Coalition Briefing: May 18 Webinar On Data Center Noise - Understanding Community Impacts [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Natural Gas Pipeline For 3,200 Acre Homer City A.I. Data Center 4.5 GW Power Plant Draws Fierce Pushback At DEP Hearing In Indiana County

-- WTAE: Pushback Against Natural Gas Pipeline Proposed To Serve 3,200 Acre Homer City Data Center Campus 4.5 GW Gas Power Plant In Indiana County

-- Indiana Gazette: Opponents Of Natural Gas Pipeline To Feed 3,200 Acre Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus 4.5 GW Power Plant Urge DEP To Deny Water Quality Permit At Hearing

-- TribLive: Homer City A.I. Data Campus Power Plant/Data Center Water Usage From Central Indiana County Water Authority Reservoir Remains Unclear

-- DEP To Hold June 23 Hearing On Stormwater Permit For Mora Solar LLC 60 MW, 390-Acre Solar Energy Facility In Kidder Twp., Carbon County [PaEN]