PA Environment Digest Blog: 2026

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

EPA, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Announce Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed, Innovative Nutrient & Sediment Reduction Grants

On October 2, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced over $90 million in restoration and clean water grants in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The awards include funding from the NFWF Small Watershed and Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grant programs.

The grants awarded in Pennsylvania include--

NFWF Chesapeake Small Watersheds Grants Program

-- Bradford County Conservation District - $97,400: Accelerated Design And Planning for Stream Restoration and Reforestation in Bradford County

-- Lancaster County Conservation District - $48,300: Building Capacity for Conservation for Grassroots Watershed Groups in Lancaster County

-- North Branch Land Trust - $119,300: Developing Land Conservation Strategies for Public Water Utilities

-- Stroud Water Research Center - $127,700: Enhancing Post-Planting Maintenance for Riparian Forest Buffers

-- Stroud Water Research Center - $749,300: Enhancing Agricultural Nutrient Management In PA

-- Stroud Water Research Center - $750,000: Implementing Farm Resource Plans and Riparian Forested Buffers in Lancaster and Chester Counties

-- East Cocalico Township Authority - $170,200: Protecting Source Water In East Cacalico Twp. Through On-Farm Implementation

-- Trout Unlimited - $749,500: Reconnecting Brook Trout Habitats through Culvert Replacement in Pine Creek Watershed

-- Western PA Conservancy - $739,000: Restoring Aquatic Organism Passage for Brook Trout in Bear Run Watershed

-- Sustainable Chesapeake - $150,000: Manureshed Analysis to Inform Nutrient Management Plans In Lancaster County (PA) and Smith Creek (VA)

-- PA Environmental Council - $57,400: Restoring Forest Habitat in the Susquehanna River Watershed

-- Capital Resource Conservation and Development Area Council - $706,400: Accelerate Adoption of Improved Grazing Management Practices to Improve Habitat and Water Quality

-- WeConservePA - $195,500: Easement Support and Resource Management Planning for Land Trusts

-- Sustainable Chesapeake - $487,000: Accelerating Multi-species Cover Cropping Systems in Chesapeake Bay Watershed (DE, MD, NY, PA, VA)

-- Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake - $729,000: Accelerating Water Quality Improvements on Lands Owned by Faith-based Organizations (MD, PA)

-- PASA Sustainable Agriculture - $749,500: Supporting Soil Health Conservation on Agricultural Lands (MD, NY, PA)

-- Chesapeake Stormwater Network - $400,000: Training and Engagement to Improve Stormwater Management Capacity (DC, DE, MD, NY, PA, VA, WV)

-- National Wildlife Federation - $285,000: Convening Watershed Partners to accelerate Chesapeake Bay Restoration (DC, DE, MD, NY, PA, VA, WV)

Click Here for project descriptions.

NFWF Chesapeake Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction Grants

-- Cumberland County - $1,000,000: Accelerating Cumberland County Water Quality Improvements through Rapid Stream Delisting

-- Penn State University - $1,000,000: Accelerating Engagement and Watershed Restoration through the Lower Susquehanna Partnership

-- PA Association of Conservation Districts - $1,000,000: Building Capacity and Efficiency for Agricultural Conservation Technical Assistance

-- Conservation Foundation of Lancaster County - $1,000,000: Targeted Agricultural and Riparian Restoration through the Lancaster Clean Water Partners

-- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay - $750,000: Expanding Riparian Forest Buffeers and Forest Cover on Private lands In Chesapeake Bay Watershed (MD, PA, VA, WV)

-- Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay - $1,000,000: Supply Chain-Driven Agricultural Conservation in Priority Chesapeake Bay Watersheds (NY, PA, VA)

-- Tioga County Soil & Water Conservation District - $1,000,000: Scaling Up Implementation and Collaboration Through the Upper Susquehanna Coalition (NY, PA)

Click Here for project descriptions.

Click Here for the EPA - NFWF announcement.

Penn State Extension Offering 7-Part, Virtual Tree Tender Training Program Beginning January 6

The Penn State Extension is offering a 7-part, virtual Tree Tender Training Program every Wednesday beginning January 6 through February 17.

Through the Tree Tenders training program, developed by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in partnership with Penn State Extension Urban Foresters, participants will learn about the skills needed to restore and care for your community's tree canopy.

This program empowers individuals to take meaningful action by learning how to plant, prune, and maintain trees, directly contributing to environmental health and sustainability.

Become part of a growing movement dedicated to enhancing green spaces and increasing tree cover in neighborhoods across Pennsylvania.

Who is this for?

-- Shade tree commissions

-- Municipal officials and staff

-- Community volunteers

-- Arborists and landscape architects working with municipalities

What will you learn?

-- How trees work

-- The ecosystem benefits of trees

-- Proper techniques for planting and caring for trees

-- Tree identification methods

-- Common tree stressors

-- How to organize volunteer tree projects

Credits Available

ISA Arborist CEUs are available to participants who view the sessions (live or recorded) and pass the quizzes.

Upon request, certificates of attendance can be provided for Landscape Architecture or other professionals to those who complete the course and quizzes for self-reporting.

USDA Forest Service, Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau of Forestry, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society provide financial and in-kind support for this program.

The webinars will be held January 6, 13, 20, 27 and February 3, 10, 17.

Click Here to register and for more information.

Visit the Penn State Extension website to learn more about many other educational opportunities.

[Posted: October 14, 2026] PA Environment Digest

Wednesday PA Environment & Energy Articles - NewsClips: 10.14.26

“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

October 19, 20, 21

November 9, 10

-- Committee Schedule

Senate Voting Schedule

October 19, 20, 21

November 17, 18

-- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events

TODAY 10:00: In-Person. DEP To Hold Hearing [If Requested] On New Title V Air Quality Permit For Webco Industries Oil City Tube Division In Venango County. 10:00 a.m.

TODAY 1:00: In-Person. Penn State Extension Safe Drinking Water Well Clinic. Emporium, Cameron County. 1:00 p.m.

TODAY 5:00: 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.

TODAY - Oct. 15-- Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Annual Conference - Connecting Nature, Community And Equity. Reading, Berks County

TODAY - Oct. 15-16-- Ohio River Basin Alliance Summit In Columbus, Ohio

October 15-- In-Person. DEP To Hold Hearing On Stormwater Permit For SINC Construction LLC Greenwood Acres Residential Community In Tobyhanna Twp., Monroe County

October 15-- DEP State Water Plan Lower Susquehanna Regional Water Resources Committee meeting. 9:00 a.m. (formal notice)

October 15-- Virtual. Center For Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training Hosts Webinar On Benefits Of Vegetated Stream Buffers On Farms. 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

October 17-- In-Person. Beaver County Community Organizing Summit On A.I. Data Centers In Monaca. 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

October 20-- DEP State Water Plan Ohio Regional Water Resources Committee meeting. 1:00 p.m. (formal notice)

October 20-- In-Person. Stroud Water Research Center Watershed Restoration Workshop - Stream & Buffer Ecology. Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale in Chester County. Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale, Chester County.

October 21-- House Energy Committee meeting. Information Meeting Agenda TBA. Click Here to watch online.

October 21-- DEP State Water Plan Great Lakes Regional Water Resources Committee meeting. 9:00 a.m. (formal notice)

October 21-- In-Person. Cumberland County Water Forum At Dickinson College In Carlisle. 6:00 p.m.

October 21-- In-Person. PennFuture’s Legal Environmental Advocacy Fund Soiree. Brix Brewhouse, 128 PA-715, Brodheadsville, Monroe County. 5:30 p.m.

October 22-- DEP State Water Plan Upper/Middle Susquehanna Regional Water Resources Committee meeting. 9:00 a.m. (formal notice)

October 22-- In-Person. Stroud Water Research Center Watershed Restoration Workshop - Impairment & Strategies for Recovery. Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale in Chester County. Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale, Chester County.

-- PJM Extends Maximum Generation Alert To Oct. 14 Due To Unusually Warm Weather, Equipment Outages; Calls On Demand Response To Reduce Power Load [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: PJM Interconnection Issues Alerts Warning Of Tight Electricity Supplies

-- Altoona Mirror - Robert Swift: PUC/Team PA Report Identifies 21 Possible Sites For A.I. Data Center Power Plants

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Harrisburg Capital Region Water Authority Sues To Force PA State Government To Pay Unpaid Stormwater Management Fees

-- WITF: Capitol Region Water Sues State To Force Payment Of $2.4 Million Of Stormwater Management Fees Owed So Far

-- Penn State: Oct. 19 EarthTalks Features Lara Fowler On Building Community-Led Solutions To Flooding Challenges [PaEN]

-- University Of Maryland Issues C+ In Latest Chesapeake Bay And Watershed Report Card, Highest Score Ever Achieved

-- PennLive: Health Of Chesapeake Bay Receives C+, But Lower Susquehanna Gets D+ In New Report Card

-- TribLive: PA Turnpike’s Allegheny Mountain Tunnel Fire Prompts Safety Overhaul

-- Observer-Reporter: Canonsburg And Chartiers Township Hope To Secure Funding For Crucial Flood Resiliency Project

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: A Network Of Air Quality Monitors Grows In Formerly Redlined Area Of West Philadelphia, Harrisburg

-- Call For Presentations: Westminster College Center For The Environment Is Now Accepting Proposals For The 2026 Student Symposium On The Environment To Be Held Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 [PaEN]