PA Environment Digest Blog: Saturday PA Environment & Energy Articles

“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]

House Voting Schedule

June 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

Senate Voting Schedule

June 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

Anything Can Happen: June State Budget Marathon Happening NOW!

June 15-- In-Person. DEP To Hold Hearing On 22 Transfer LLC Municipal Waste Transfer Station Permit In Cooper Twp., Montour County

June 15-- Virtual. Delaware River Basin Commission Webinar On PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Contamination Field Investigation Results. Noon.

June 16-- In-Person. DEP Hearing On Water Quality Permit For Rustic Ridge II Coal Mining Permit In Westmoreland County

June 16-- Virtual. ReImagine Appalachia, Ohio River Valley Institute, Partners Host Webinar On Applying For DEP’s RISE PA Industrial Decarbonization Funding. 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.

June 17-- NEW. House Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 2380 (Rivera-D- Lancaster) requiring electric utilities to set targets and procure grid-stabilizing battery energy storage; House Bill 2595 (Inglis-D-Allegheny) establishes deadline requirements for the interconnection safety reviews of small-scale energy projects [draft amendment]; House Bill 2539 (Steele-D-Allegheny) requires data centers seeking sales tax exemptions to obtain recognized energy efficiency certifications, such as LEED, Energy Star, Green Globes, or International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Room 523 Irvis Building. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

June 23-- Agenda Posted. DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting. 12:30 p.m. Contact: Ian Irvin iirvin@pa.gov or 717-579-0329.

June 24-- Virtual. Washington & Jefferson College Center for Energy and the Built Environment Webinar on Getting The Most From Your Building: Smart Assessment And Monitoring. 11:00 a.m. to Noon

June 25-- DEP Hearing On Air Permit For ETC Northeast Pipeline Cryo II Project At The Revolution Cryogenic Natural Gas Processing Plant In Smith Twp., Washington County. Burgettstown Area Middle/High School Campus, LGI Room, 100 Bavington Road in Burgettstown from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

June 25-- In-Person. ReImagine Appalachia, Ohio River Valley Institute, Partners Host Workshop On Applying For DEP’s RISE PA Industrial Decarbonization Funding. Pittsburgh. 9:00 a.m. to Noon

June 26-27-- In-Person. PA Firefly Festival Exhibits & Entertainment In Downtown Tionesta, Forest County

-- FracTracker Alliance Appeals DEP Conventional Oil & Gas Mineral Brine Well Permit Due To Concerns The Permit Creates A New Loophole For Disposing Of Contaminated Groundwater Without Testing Or Restrictions On Its Use [PaEN]

-- Briefing: DEP Issues A New Type Of Conventional Oil & Gas Well Permit Allowing Groundwater Contaminated By Oil & Gas Formations To Be Dumped On Roads, Used In Consumer Products Without Restrictions [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - June 13 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 50 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In June 13 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

-- PUC Sets Aug. 19 Telephonic Prehearing On The Transource 230 kV Transmission Line In Franklin County Connecting To A Maryland Substation [PaEN]

-- Choose Clean Water Coalition Recognizes Robert Hughes And John Dawes With Lifetime Achievement Awards [PaEN]

-- Appalachian Region Independent Power Producers Assn. Award Local Reclamation Mini-Grants [PaEN]

-- The Allegheny Front: PA Lawmakers Consider Balcony Solar Energy Generation To Help Consumers Offset High Electricity Bills

-- PennDOT: PA Invests $25 Million In Federal Funding For Public Electric Vehicle Chargers In Western PA [Video & Photos]

-- TribLive: Plan Set To Bring More Electric Vehicle Charging Ports To Western PA

-- PennDOT Announces $25 Million For New Electric Vehicle Charging Stations In Western PA

-- Warren Times: Southwest Warren County Municipal Authority Documents Reveal Depths Of Tidioute Drinking Water Crisis

-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Hosts June 25 Online Conversation Café - Flood Risk Communication [PaEN]

-- Forests For The Chesapeake Bay News: Conservation Workforce Training At Loysville Youth Center; Sugar Maples; Upcoming Events; Much More

-- DCNR Makes State Parks And Forests More Accessible For All Visitors [Video & Photos]

-- TribLive: 15-Year-Old Boy Scout Leaves Lasting Mark On Rachel Carson Trail In Allegheny County

-- Discover NE PA: Penn Forest Reservoir - Scenic Overlooks And Forest Hiking In Carbon County

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: River Otters Are Making A Comeback And In Surprising Places Around The Chesapeake Bay

A.I. /Data Centers

-- The Center Square: Clinton Twp. Wayne County Facing 20 A.I. Data Center Buildings, 2 Power Plants Shaken By Township Supervisors’ Conflict Of Interest, Transparency Questions

Today’s Oil & Gas Violations

-- Today’s Violations: DEP compliance evaluation of six Amer Natural Resources LLC conventional wells in Allegheny County, Aleppo and Ohio Twps, Glenfield Boro found failure to comply with 2019 and 2025 orders to plug the wells for 2,370 days and counting. Example DEP inspection report.

International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

[Energy Independence Means Renewables]

-- June 13: PA Average AAA Gasoline Prices Dropped 2 Pennies From Yesterday, Now $4.23/Gallon - $1.12/Gallon Higher Than On Feb. 27 [Potter County Average Price Now Highest at $4.67]

-- June 13: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $4.08 Ohio- $4.08 PA- $4.23

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

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs - 17 - Same As Last 5 Weeks

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- TribLive: PA Lawmakers Optimistic About Passing State Budget On Time As Deadline Looms

-- Wall Street Journal: Josh Shapiro Is No-Drama, But Is That What Democrats Want In 2028?

-- Post-Gazette: As Health Insurance Premiums Due To Failure Of Congress To Act, Catastrophic Coverage Is Having A Moment

-- PA Capital-Star: Attorney General Sunday Signs Off On State Funding For Gov. Shapiro’s Home Security Upgrades

-- TribLive: Death Of Haitian Woman Released From ICE Custody In Pittsburgh Ruled Homicide