Environment & Energy Educational Opportunities For Students & Adults

Opportunities to learn more about environmental and energy issues affecting Pennsylvania for students and adults--

Awards/Recognition

-- Westmoreland County Couple Jim & Teddy Emberg Work Together To Improve The Environment As Master Watershed Stewards  [PaEN] 

-- TheDerrick.com: Council On Greenways & Trails In Venango, Clarion, Crawford Counties Recognize Outdoor Recreation Advocates At Awards Ceremony

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Remembering Former PA Gov. Tom Ridge’s Quiet Heroism, 25 Years After 9/11 - By John E. Jones III, President Of Dickinson College

-- Erie Times/USAToday: Former PA Gov. Mark Schweiker Reflects On Flight 93 And Pennsylvania’s Grief 

Grants

-- PennDOT Makes $11 Million In Federal Funding Available For Public Electric Vehicle Chargers In Central PA Region  [PaEN] 

-- Inside Climate News - Kyle Bagenstose: Pennsylvania Is Building More Electric Vehicle Chargers, Will Drivers Come

-- PennTAP Starts Accepting Small-Scale RISE PA Decarbonization, Energy Efficiency Grant Applications Sept. 15  [PaEN] 

-- Dept. Of Agriculture Accepting Applications For Agricultural Plastics Recycling And Research Into Alternatives To Plastics Grants [PaEN] 

Help Wanted

--Warren Times: Applications Being Accepted For Upcoming Penn State Extension Master Gardener Classes

-- Warren Times: Volunteers Needed For Sept. 12 Conewango Creek River Cleanup

Upcoming Events

-- PA Municipal Authorities Association 84th Annual Conference & Trade Show Set For Sept. 13-16 In Erie  [PaEN] 

-- Reminder: DEP To Host Sept. 15 Hearing On Blythe Recycling & Demolition Site (BRADS) Landfill Waste Permit In Schuylkill County

-- Game Commission To Host 8 Driving Tours On State Game Lands Across The State Starting Sept. 20  

-- Penn State Extension Sept. 22 Webinar - Introduction To Biochar, Noon to 1:00 p.m.

-- DCNR Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council To Hear Update From Wildlife Connectivity Workgroup Sept. 23;  E-Bike Policy Webinar Oct. 1  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension Oct. 3 In-Person Workshop On Field Survey Tools For Farm Conservation Practices, State College, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

-- Dept. Of Agriculture Accepting Applications For Agricultural Plastics Recycling And Research Into Alternatives To Plastics Grants [PaEN] 

-- City Of Reading To Host Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful 2026 Annual Conference Oct. 14-15  [PaEN] 

-- PA Association Of Environmental Educators Highlights Upcoming Professional Development Courses 

Public Participation

-- DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board Meets Sept. 16 To Hear Updates On New Methane Control Regulations; Federal Well Plugging Program; Other Issues  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - September 12 [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For Expand Operating LLC Double, 16-Inch Aboveground Shale Gas Water Pipelines In Sullivan County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Water Quality Permits For Texas Eastern Transmission Project To Daylight 4.4 Miles Of 4  Natural Gas Pipelines To Protect Them From Coal Mining Damage In Greene County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Invites Comments On Renewal Of Wastewater Permit For Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 66 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In September 12 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

-- Reminder: DEP To Host Sept. 15 Hearing On Blythe Recycling & Demolition Site (BRADS) Landfill Waste Permit In Schuylkill County

-- DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board Meets Sept. 16 To Hear Updates On New Methane Control Regulations; Federal Well Plugging Program; Other Issues  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold Oct. 14 Meeting/Hearing On Major Amendment To Water Quality Permit For Homer City Data Center/Power Plant Complex In Indiana County; Stormwater Permit Issued  [PaEN] 

-- Indiana Gazette: Homer City A.I. Data Center/Power Plant Complex Again Center Of Discussion; Amazon Presents 300-Page Plan For 39 Data Centers At Meeting  [PDF of Article]

-- DEP Received Act 2 Land Recycling Remediation Report For Former Cheswick Generating Station Data Center Site In Springdale, Allegheny County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold Oct. 14 Hearing [If Requested] On New Title V Air Quality Permit For Webco Industries Oil City Tube Division In Venango County  [PaEN]

-- TheDerrick.com: NY-based KEEL Infrastructure Data Center Developer [Formerly Bitfarms, Owner Of Scrubgrass Coal Waste-fired Power Plant] To Hold Public Presentations On Proposed Data Center At Power Plant On Sept. 22 & 23 In Clintonville, Venango County

-- PennLive/LehighValleyLive: Hanover Twp., Washington County To Hold 4 Hearings On Proposed Starpointe A.I. Data Center/Power Plant Complex On Sept. 21, 24, 29, 30 

Programs/Information

-- Inquirer: Fall Foliage Season Is Looking Special, September Weather Permitting

-- Three Rivers Agricultural Land Initiative: Pittsburgh’s Garden Dreams Urban Farm Secures Permanent Protection, Ensuring Decades Of Community Growth  [PaEN] 

-- NextPittsburgh: Extreme Weather Preparedness Is Becoming Increasingly Necessary In Pittsburgh 

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: Philadelphia Sees One Of Its Warmest Summers On Record

-- Schuylkill River Restoration Fund Awards 8 Projects Nearly $655,000 For Watershed Projects  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Extension Resources Available For Owners Of Private Water Supplies [PaEN]

-- TheDerrick.com: Clarion Boro Finds Stormwater Fee Effective Despite Criticism

-- Inquirer: The Academy Of Natural Sciences Museum Is Closing, But All Eyes Are On Its Specimens - All 19 Million Of Them, Including From The Lewis & Clark Expedition 

-- Times Argus: Thomas Keiser Champions Preservation Of Western Pennsylvania’s Natural Heritage  

-- WHYY: Philly’s Best Parks Are A SEPTA Ride Away; ‘Getting To Green: Routes To Roots’ Has The Map For It

-- WHYY: Want To Understand Lyme Disease Risk?  Look To Mice And Acorns, Not Deer

-- WVIA: Controlled Burns Continue To Protect Health Of Moosic Mountain Ecosystem

-- WITF - Susquehanna Stories: Meet Aaron Henning, Eel Whisperer And Aquatic Biologist With Susquehanna River Basin Commission

A.I./Data Centers

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - September 14  [PaEN] 

Oil & Gas - Data Centers

-- Bloomberg: PA A.I. Data Center Limits Are Threat To Natural Gas Firms, PA Marcellus Shale Gas Coalition Says  [PDF of Article] 

-- PennLive/LehighValleyLive: Gov. Shapiro’s Executive Order On Data Centers Hasn’t Slowed Momentum Of Developers Looking To Build Big In PA Communities   

-- Williamsport Sun - Salena Zito: President’s Natural Gas Data Center Power Plant Coming To Fayette County  [PDF of Article]

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: Energy Bills Driven By A.I. Data Centers Threaten PA Small Businesses, Report Says

-- PennLive: PUC: A.I. Data Center Demand Will Increase Industrial Power Use 18.56%; 10% Jump In Residential Electricity Costs Driven By Natural Gas Cost Increases 

Background On Issues

-- Governor's Budget Office Takes $138.5 Million From Act 13 Drilling Impact Fee, Marcellus Legacy Fund, Farmland Preservation Fund, Underground Storage Tank Insurance Fund To Balance State Budget  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Snapshot - September 5 to 11  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Tank Valve Failure Leads To 4,610 Gallon Spill Of Contaminated Water At XTO Energy Inc. Shale Gas Well Pad In Butler County  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Contaminated Water Misting Out Of Storage Tank, Fluid Spill At Expand Operating, LLC Shale Gas Well Pad In Bradford County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Thick Orange Fluid Leaking From Storage Tank At Conventional Gas & Gas Well Site In Monroeville, Allegheny County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Violations To 7 More Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners For Abandoning, Not Plugging Wells In 7 Counties  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Drill Cuttings From Conventional Oil & Gas Well Improperly Spread Over Drill Site For Disposal In McKean County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP - Day 106: Ows Energy Inc. Failed To Cleanup Soil Contaminated By Water From Conventional Gas Well In Crawford County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Complaint Investigation Finds Conventional Well Venting Gas In A Manner Posing A Safety Risk To Nearby Residence In Mercer County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Finds Conventional Well Venting Gas During Investigation Of Leaking Conventional Gas Gathering Line In Unity Twp., Westmoreland County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Pressure Testing Confirms Casing/Cementing Failures In 3 Expand Operating LLC Shale Gas Wells In Bradford County, Including One New Violation  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issued 2nd Round Of Major Erosion & Sedimentation Violations At Equitrans Water SVC (PA) [EQT] Jaybird Shale Gas Water Impoundment Restoration Site In Washington County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Site Preparations For Plugging Diversified Production LLC Conventional Gas Well Results In Multiple Erosion & Sedimentation Violations In Fayette County  [PaEN]

-- PUC Issues $875,000 Penalty In Settlement With Columbia Gas For 2019/2020 Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Violations In Allegheny, Washington Counties  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Shell Petrochemical Plant To Pay $15 Million Settlement For Air Pollution Violations 

-- WHYY: SPS Technologies Agrees To Settle Class Action Lawsuit Over Massive 2025 Factory Fire In Montgomery County; Creates $5 Million Fund For Payouts To Property Owners, Employees, Businesses

-- The Center Square: West Virginia Sues PA Over Limiting Sale Of AEPS Alternative Energy Credits To PA Power

Visit the  DEP Calendar of Events;  PA Parks & Forests Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events for activities happening near you.

Visit DEP’s Teaching Green webpage to learn about more environmental education resources.

Visit the PA Environment Digest Calendar Of Events for more opportunities.

[Posted: September 14, 2026]  PA Environment Digest