PA Environment Digest Blog: Sunday 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

September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

September 28, 29, 30

October 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 17, 18

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

September 28-- NEW. House Local Government Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 1287 (Keefer-R-York) requiring proof of adequate water supply before final land development approval. Room 515 Irvis Building. 11:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

September 29-- NEW. House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee meets to consider House Bill 2584 (Fiedler-D-Philadelphia) requiring a user-friendly public record of utility rate increases; House Bill 2674 (Pielli-D-Chester) prohibiting data centers from obtaining public utility status. Room 523 Irvis Building. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

September 29-- NEW. Virtual. DEP Office Of Environmental Justice: Webinar On Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program, Act 2 Land Recycling Program. 4:00 p.m.

September 29-- Virtual. Penn State Extension Backyard Stream Repair Webinars (3 of 5) - Choosing Your Plants For Your Stream. 10:00 to 11:30 p.m.

September 29 to Oct. 2-- In-Person. Swarthmore Fungi Fest.

September 30-- Agenda Added. House Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 2755 (Pielli-D-Chester) requiring investor-owned utilities to join PJM to eliminate a “windfall” payment utilities receive at ratepayer expense; House Bill 2775 (Donahue-D-Lackawanna) to reduce development of speculative data center proposals, the legislation requires data center applicants seeking local zoning or land-use approval to demonstrate that they have submitted an interconnection application with the applicable electric utility provider and paid all mandatory fees and costs associated with the application; House Bill 2791 (Takac-D-Centre) provide an option for utilities and developers to co-locate electric transmission lines along certain PennDOT rights-of-ways; House Bill 2828 (Fiedler-D-Philadelphia) codifies the PUC’s large load tariff, charge large load customers for reliability backstop auction costs and curtail large load users during emergencies; House Resolution 564 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) directs the Joint State Government commission to investigate how heat from data centers can be captured and repurposed to improve energy efficiency, lower operating costs and reduces waste head emissions; House Resolution 630 (Sappey-D-Chester) directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study of decommissioning requirements for data centers. Room 205 Ryan Building. 9:30 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

September 30-- Agenda Posted. DEP Sewage Advisory Committee meeting. Room 105 Rachel Carson. 9:00 a.m.

September 30-- In-Person. Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community meeting on Sherwin Williams Facility. Rochester Riverfront Park, Rochester. 6:00 p.m.

October 5-- NEW. House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee holds a hearing on road spreading oil and gas wastewater and DEP’s new “mineral brine” conventional well permit. Room 205 Ryan Building. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online. Read background here.

October 6-- NEW. House Energy Committee will hold an informational meeting on electric reliability and the PUC’s Assessing Electricity Resource Adequacy in Pennsylvania and PJM report. Room 205 Ryan Building. 9:00 a.m. Click Here to watch online.

October 14-- In-Person. DEP Public Meeting/Hearing On Major Amendment To Water Quality Permit For Homer City Data Center/Power Plant Complex In Indiana County. Homer Center High School Auditorium, 70 Wildcat Lane, Homer City. 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.

-- PBS: The Greater Good: The Tom And Michele Ridge Story [7 Chapter Documentary]

-- Gov. Tom Ridge On Leadership: I Call For Pennsylvania To Be A Showcase Of Well-Reasoned And Inspired Environmental Leadership [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvanians Are Finding Their Voices Again On Environmental, Energy Issues They Care About [PaEN]

-- 133 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA [PaEN]

-- Stories You May Have Missed Last Week: PA Environment & Energy Articles & NewsClips By Topic - September 28 [PaEN]

-- Environment & Energy Educational Opportunities For Students & Adults [PaEN]

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - September 28 [PaEN]

-- Top 10 Stories: Harrisburg/PA Politics Reported By Local News Media Last Week [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News: Specter Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Looms Over PA’s Rural Communities From Sewage Sludge Applied To Fields In Columbia County [Hazardous Sites Cleanup In 12 Municipalities]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Workers Warned Of Radiation Sickness At Former Eureka Resources OIl & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plant - By Christina DiGiulio, Physicians For Social Responsibility PA

-- WESA: Black Lung Disease Remains Threat To Coal Miners In PA; But Efforts To Address It Are Delayed