Wednesday NewsClips

DEP’s Krancer Says No Worries Over Injection Wells
Shell, Beaver Officials Talk About Petrochemical Plant
Luzerne County Hears Testimony On Compressor Station
Op-Ed: Get It Right On Natural Gas
People Near Nuclear Plants Can Receive Free KI Tablets
NRC Puts New Nuclear Reactor Permits On Hold
Air Quality Alert Issued For Southwest PA
PUC: PPL Had Highest Percentage Of Storm Outages
Air Products To Build Waste-To-Energy Project In U.K.
PA Officials Celebrate Continued Delaware Dredging
Northeast On Pace For Hottest Year Ever
PA Firefighters To Be Deployed For California Fire
Let’s Talk About Birds: Gold-Medal Nest Builders
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest NewsClips

Aug. 8 Code Orange Air Quality Day In 4 PA Areas

The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnerships have forecast a code Orange air quality action day for ozone for Wednesday, August 8, in the four Pennsylvania regions: Pittsburgh, Liberty-Clairton, Mercer and Indiana counties.  Click Here for details.

Tuesday NewsClips

Cracker Means Jobs, But Air Pollution A Worry
Potassium Iodide Tablets Being Distributed In PA
2nd Quarter Income Up 91 Percent For Chesapeake
Flood Recovery Loan Helps Business Get Restarted
Coast Guard Investigating Possible Delaware Oil Spill
DeBenedictis Still Pouring It On At Aqua America
PA Has First 2012 West Nile Virus Cases
App Is Here For State Game Lands
Where Are All The Hummingbirds This Summer?
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest NewsClips

Potassium Iodide Tablets Available August 9 Around Nuclear Plants

The Department of Health is again providing free potassium iodide, or KI, tablets on Thursday, August 9, to help Pennsylvanians be prepared for public health emergencies involving nuclear facilities.

Pennsylvanians who live, work or attend school within a 10-mile radius of one of the state's five nuclear power plants can get free potassium iodide, or KI, tablets.

Taken as directed during a radiological emergency, KI can help protect the thyroid gland against harmful radioactive iodine.

Individuals should only take KI tablets when directed to do so by state health officials or the governor.

Four 65-milligram tablets will be provided to each adult. Smaller doses will be given to children, based on their age. Individuals can pick up KI tablets for other family members or those who are unable to pick them up on their own. Directions detailing when to take the tablets and how to store them will also be provided at each location.

Anyone can take the tablets as long as they are not allergic to KI. They are safe for pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding, people on thyroid medicine, children and infants. Individuals who are unsure if they should take KI should ask a healthcare provider.

Individuals who are unable to get tablets during the Aug. 9 distribution can pick them up any time at county and municipal health departments or state health centers.

Pennsylvania's five nuclear power plants are closely regulated, secure and well-maintained. The facilities are: Beaver Valley Power Station, Limerick Generating Station, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Susquehanna Steam Electric Station and Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station.

KI tablets will be available between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on August 9 at the following distribution sites:

-- Beaver County State Health Center, 300 S. Walnut Lane, Beaver, PA 15009
-- Butler Township Community Center, 411 W. Butler Drive, Drums, PA 18222
-- Citizens Volunteer Fire Co., 171 S. Market St., Fawn Grove, PA 17321
-- Columbia County State Health Center, 1000 S. Market St., Suite 5, Bloomsburg, PA 17815
-- Fishing Creek Salem United Methodist Church, 402 Valley Road, Etters, PA 17319
-- Keystone Fire Company, 240 N. Walnut St., Boyertown, PA 19512
-- Kimberton Fire Company, 61 Firehouse Lane, Phoenixville, PA 19460
-- Lancaster County State Health Center, 1661 Old Philadelphia Pike, Lancaster, PA 17602
-- Lower Swatara Township Building, 1499 Spring Garden Dr., Middletown, PA 17057
-- Luzerne County Community College (Public Safety Institute), 1333 S. Prospect St., Nanticoke, PA 18634
-- Mohler Senior Center, 25 Hope Dr., Hershey, PA 17033
-- Solanco High School, 585 Solanco Road, Quarryville, PA 17566
-- Union Fire Company Number 1, 201 York St., Manchester, PA 17345

KI tablets will also be available at the following location from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on August 9: Pottstown Health Center, 364 King St., Pottstown, PA 19464

Appointments are not necessary for the distribution clinics.

For more information, visit the Department of Health’s Potassium Iodide FAQ webpage or call 1-877-PA-HEALTH    (877-724-3258).

Monday NewsClips

Conowingo Dam Sediment Buildup Threatens Chesapeake Bay
Tamarack Lake Dam Called High Hazard
Marcellus Shale Is Top Gas Field
Marcellus On Pace To Be To U.S. Gas Field
Project Aims To Extract Useful Oil From Algae
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest NewsClips

Sunday NewsClips

PA Environmental Chief Locks Horns With Activists
Lancaster, Philly Green Water Treatment
Flood Gage Funds Still Not A Priority
Op-Ed: Shale Gas, Zoning And You
Gas Industry Ads Shift To Fracking, Environment
Gas Industry’s Interest Godsend For WV
Trailin’ A Work In Progress In Lancaster
Endangered Night Herons Make Home In Midtown HBG
Materials Aim To Explain Flight 93 To Preschoolers
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest NewsClips

Saturday NewsClips

Dents Run Mine Reclamation Project Wins National Award
Column: Gas Industry Doesn’t Need Our Tax Dollars
Cranberry Officials Keep Original Marcellus Zoning Plan
Casey Calls On Congress to Protect River  Gage Funding
Barletta Seeks Cheap Loans For Flood Victims
Toomey Wants EPA To Ease Up On Renewable Fuel Standard
28 Counties Invaded By Tree-Killing Beetle
Ryan Whiting Places 9th In Olympics Finish (David Hess' Nephew)
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest NewsClips

August 6 PA Environment Digest Now Available

The August 6 PA Environment Digest is now available.  Click Here to print entire Digest.

Dents Run Mine Reclamation Project Wins National Reclamation Award

Pennsylvania's Dents Run abandoned mine reclamation project in Elk County was recognized this week as one of five winners of the 2012 federal Office of Surface Mining Mine Reclamation Awards.

The Dents Run project, which originally started in 1996 and was completed in 2010 at a cost of $14.2 million, is part of the Bennett Branch Watershed which was devastated by abandoned mine discharges and unreclaimed strip mines.

Photo: Procupine Run confluence with Dents Run before, after.

A copy of the original nomination form, with before and after photos, is available online.

The project restored and revegetated 320 acres of abandoned mine lands, which will now serve as crucial habitat for the state’s wild elk herd, which roam the adjacent Elk State Forest. In addition, the reclamation restored waterways in the area by neutralizing acid mine water, marking the first time in more than a century the streams can support aquatic life. Waterways north of the impacted streams are stocked with trout.

“This award rightly recognizes that a key part of Pennsylvania’s ecosystem has been restored, and, by extension, a key part of the state’s tourism industry,” DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. “Trout fishing and sightseeing for the elk herd have a bright future as a direct result of this project, which could not have happened without the many partners we worked with.”

DEP’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation paired with the Bennett Branch Watershed Association, the Game Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal Office of Surface Mining, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Elk County Conservation District, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Elk County Commissioners, and local mining companies P&N Coal Company and Original Fuels.

More than half a million tons of limestone were mined at the site and used to neutralize the thousands of gallons of acidic mine water that was flowing through the site from 14 different discharge points. This represents the largest use of alkaline materials to neutralize acid mine drainage in the history of the state.

More than five thousand cubic yards of waste coal were removed from the site and used as fuel at a coal-fired power plant, providing electricity to homes and businesses.

DEP also closed or remediated 23 mine openings and regraded 10 dangerously steep highwalls that totaled 30,850 feet. The cost of the project was paid out of state and federal abandoned mine land funds, which are supported by fees paid by the active mining industry, as well as funding from the Army Corps of Engineers and contributions from P&N Coal Co. DEP also worked with contractors Stream Restoration, Inc. of Pittsburgh and Berner Construction Inc., of Lancaster.

Mining began at the site in the late 1800’s and continued through the 1960’s, when the site was abandoned, leaving devastating environmental degradation.

The project won the federal award, beating out entries from Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Utah. This is the second straight year a DEP mine reclamation project has won the national award.

Last year, a reclamation project in Newport Township, Luzerne County won. DEP worked to reclaim 36 acres of abandoned mine lands at the Newport North site. DEP also regraded more 3,150 of dangerous highwalls that were up to six stories in height. Most importantly, the reclamation filled in a hazardous water-filled pit that stood at the foot of one of the now-regraded highwalls that had claimed the lives of six people over the years who had been off-roading at the site in 4x4 vehicles.

For more information, visit DEP’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation webpage.

NewsClip: New Federal Law May Cost PA Mine Reclamation Program $200M

Friday NewsClips

Corbett Hopes Beaver Won’t Have To Wait For Shell Plant
Corbett Seeks To Keep Shell Plant Momentum
Survey: Western PA Overwhelmingly Support Marcellus Shale
Alcoa Gets Contract For Marcellus Drill Pipe
EIA: Marcellus Reserves May Be Underestimated
Op-Ed: Marcellus Drilling Benefits Whole State
Drought Soaks Dairy Farmers
Report: State’s Downpours Are Getting Worse
Water Temps Above Normal Across Great Lakes
Tale Of 2 Waste-To-Energy Plants: Lancaster, Harrisburg
Annual Archery Deer Hunt Sept. 29 At Neshaminy State Park
Click Here for PA Capitol Digest NewsClips