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All Articles & NewsClips In This Week’s Digest By Topic

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Senate/House ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Transition - Governor

-- City & State PA: Shapiro To Be Sworn In As Next Governor Jan. 17

-- Incoming Shapiro-Davis Administration Names Members Of Environment/Energy Transition Advisory Committee [PaEN]

-- Shapiro-Davis Names Members To 7 Transition Advisory Committees

-- City & State PA: Everyone Gov.-Elect Shapiro Has Named To His New Team So Far

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Names Long-Time Assistant Dana Fritz Chief Of Staff

-- PA Capital-Star: Rendell Fundraiser, Casey Campaign Manager Among Leaders Of Shapiro’s Inaugural Committee

-- Public Source: As Prosecutor, Josh Shapiro Was For Fracking Reform, Can He Pull It Off As Governor?

-- Bucks County Beacon Guest Essay: Environmental Issues Helped Power Democrats To Victory This Election - Conservation Voters Of PA

Transition - Senate/House

-- PA Capital-Star: With No Majority, PA House Democrats, Republicans Fighting Over Who Calls The Shots

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: PA House Republican Leader Accuses Democrats Of ‘Paperwork Insurrection’

-- AP: Republican House Speaker Sets Feb. 7 Special Election For The Late Rep. DeLuca’s Seat

-- PA Capital-Star: Special Election To Fill Sen. Gordner’s Seat Set For Jan. 31

-- Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia), A Prime Mover Behind Successful Bipartisan Nearly $700 Million Conservation Funding Initiative, Announced His Resignation

-- TribLive/PennLive: Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia) Resigns To Take New Position As Counsel To President Pro Tempore Kim Ward

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver Announces Run For Gordner Senate Seat

Environment & Energy Issues

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- DEP Preparing To Plug The Next 198 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells With Federal Funding [PaEN]

-- DEP Withdraws Final Manganese Water Quality Standard Regulation Ending Rulemaking; Existing Standard Remains In Place [PaEN]

-- Bay Journal: EPA Says PA’s Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan Falls Short, Again - By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]

-- EQB Overwhelmingly Approves Emergency Regulation Setting VOC/Methane Limits For Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; Republicans Vote Against [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces VOC/Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Are Final And Effective Dec. 2, 2022

-- Dramatic Video From Carnegie Mellon’s Project Breathe Shows Shell Ethane Plant In Beaver County Flaring Natural Gas Due To Malfunction [PaEN]

-- Natural Resources Defense Council Blog: Rising Cost Of Pennsylvania’s Petrochemical Industry Subsidies - By Mark Szybist

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports November State Tax Collections 6.8% $201.9 Million Below Estimates; Still $183.2 Million Above Estimates For Fiscal Year

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports November State Revenue Was 4.5% $129 Million Below Its Estimates; Still $731.8 Million Above Estimates For Fiscal Year

-- Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) Joins Board Of PA Parks & Forests Foundation

-- U.S. Senate Dec. 1 Hearing On STREAM Bill Setting Aside Funding For Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Operation & Maintenance [PaEN]

Top 10 Headlines From Harrisburg Last Week -----------------------------------

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

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

Articles & NewsClips By Topic -------------------------------------------------------

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

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

-- This Week’s Examples Of Going The WRONG WAY On Environmental, Energy Issues [PaEN]

Check Calendars For Events Near You!

-- Check The Calendars For Events Near You: PA Parks & Forests Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events.

DEP ADVISORY: “Due to the upcoming change in [Governor’s] administration, DEP executive staff have asked that all advisory committee meetings slated for January and February be rescheduled to March.”

-- Incoming Shapiro-Davis Administration Names Members Of Environment/Energy Transition Advisory Committee [PaEN]

Air

-- EQB Overwhelmingly Approves Emergency Regulation Setting VOC/Methane Limits For Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; Republicans Vote Against [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces VOC/Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Are Final And Effective Dec. 2, 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Rule Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Moves Ahead

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Gov. Wolf Certifies Emergency For Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits Rulemaking To Avoid Losing Federal Highway Funds

-- Pittsburgh Union Progress - Laura Legere: Wolf Uses Emergency Measure To Adopt Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits To Stave Off Threat To Highway Funding

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: PA Passes Emergency Rule To Trim Methane Emissions At Conventional Oil & Gas Wells

-- PA Environmental Council, Environmental Defense Fund: PA Acts To Avert A Manufactured Crisis To Protect Its Economy, Environment And $750 Million In Federal Funds By Adopting Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Operations

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Malfunction At Shell’s Ethane Plant In Beaver County Turned Sky Orange By Burning Natural Gas Flaring System

-- Dramatic Video From Carnegie Mellon’s Project Breathe Shows Shell Ethane Plant In Beaver County Flaring Natural Gas Due To Malfunction [PaEN]

WHYY: New Web Tool By Drexel Lab Helps You Access Refinery Air Pollution Data [Including 4 In PA - Bradford, Warren, Philadelphia Area]

-- Group Against Smog & Pollution: Allegheny County Health Dept. Imposes $458,225 In Penalties Against U.S. Steel For Clairton Coke (Coal) Works During 1st Quarter 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Reid Frazier: U.S. Steel Fined $458,000 By Allegheny County For Clairton Coke (Coal) Plant Air Violations

-- LancasterOnline: New DEP Standards To Reduce Pollution Coming From Lancaster County Trash Incinerator

-- Beaver Times: Group Against Smog & Pollution Threatens To Sue Beaver County Landfill Operators Over Air Permit Delays

-- MCall: EPA To Hold Dec. 1 Virtual Meeting On B. Braun And Ethylene Oxide Risks In Lehigh Valley

-- MCall: Three Takeaways From EPA Meeting On Threats Posed By Ethylene Oxide

-- WFMZ: EPA Says B. Braun’s Lehigh County Facility Not A High Risk For Carcinogenic Emissions

-- DEP Now Accepting Grant Applications For $12.7 Million Initiative To Electrify Truck Fleets For Cleaner Air; Awards $1.7 Million For 3 Vehicle Projects

-- Group Against Smog And Pollution: Neville Scrap Recycler Awarded $499,000 Grant To Replace Diesel Material Handler With All-Electric In Pittsburgh

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Produced 9.8 Million Metric Tons Of Greenhouse Gases In 2019, 3.7% Of State’s Total, Emissions Expected To Grow

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Protect Environment, Fix State Highways [Emergency Regulation Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities]

-- U.S. Dept. Of The Interior Proposes Regulation Limiting Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Operators On Federal And Tribal Lands [Including The Allegheny National Forest]

Allegheny River

-- GAPS Program Now Accepting Applications For Assistance To Develop Stream Remediation Projects In Allegheny, Monongahela River Watersheds [PaEN]

Alternative Fuels

-- DEP Now Accepting Grant Applications For $12.7 Million Initiative To Electrify Truck Fleets For Cleaner Air; Awards $1.7 Million For 3 Vehicle Projects

-- Group Against Smog And Pollution: Neville Scrap Recycler Awarded $499,000 Grant To Replace Diesel Material Handler With All-Electric In Pittsburgh

-- EPA Announces Proposed Renewable Fuel Standard Program For 2023-25

Awards & Recognition

-- PA Forestry Association Honors Allyson Muth, Michael Powell, Linda Finley In Penn State's Dept. Of Ecosystem Science & Management [PaEN]

-- Navy Veteran, Penn State Forest Ecosystem Major John Buckley Named 2023 National Veterans Leadership Foundation Fellow

-- Vote Now! For Pennsylvania’s 2023 River Of The Year [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: Conestoga River Among 4 In Running For PA River Of The Year

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Editorial: Support North Branch Susquehanna River For PA River Of The Year

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill Headwaters Association ‘Legends’ Celebrate 25 Years Of Service

-- Appalachian Trail Museum Accepting Nominations For Appalachian Trail Hall Of Fame Thru Jan. 31 [PaEN]

-- DCNR Celebrates Induction Of Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center In Berks County Into Old-Growth Forest Network [PaEN]

-- PA Recreation & Park Society Now Accepting Nominations For 2023 Awards [PaEN]

-- PA Resources Council Announces Winners Of 2022 Gene Capaldi Lens On Litter Photo Contest [PaEN]

-- Keep PA Beautiful Litter Hawk Youth Award Program Now Open! Fun, Prizes & Litter Awareness For Grades K To 6 [PaEN]

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: Raystown Lake Receives National Acclaim For Protecting Fish

-- DEP $1.95 Million Penalty Assessment Against Mariner East 2 Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Construction Pollution At Raystown Lake Supports Fish Habitat Improvements

Biodiversity/Invasive Species

-- PA Natural Heritage Program News Spotlights Climate Change Vulnerability In Plants; Allegheny National Forest Ecological Surveys; Zombie Moths; Much More! [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald: Female Peregrine Falcon Cared For At Red Creek Wildlife Center Dies

-- Penn State’s Behrend Campus In Erie Hosts Dec. 13 Webinar On Invasive Freshwater Snails. 10:00 a.m.

-- Fish & Boat Commission: No Invasive Carp eDNA Detected In Follow-up Sampling In Erie’s Presque Isle Bay

-- Republican Herald - Tyler Frantz: Game Commission Management Plan Has Bobcats Thriving In PA

-- WHYY: Don’t Bother Bagging Your Fallen Leaves, Your Yard And Insects Will Thank You

-- AP: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services Declared Northern Long-Eared Bat Endangered Due To Impact Of White-Nose Syndrome Fungal Disease

Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

-- DEP Preparing To Plug The Next 198 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells With Federal Funding [PaEN]

-- U.S. Dept. Of Energy Releases $550 Million To Support Community-based Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency Initiatives

Budget

-- Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia), A Prime Mover Behind Successful Bipartisan Nearly $700 Million Conservation Funding Initiative, Announced His Resignation

-- TribLive/PennLive: Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia) Resigns To Take New Position As Counsel To President Pro Tempore Kim Ward

-- Natural Resources Defense Council Blog: Rising Cost Of Pennsylvania’s Petrochemical Industry Subsidies - By Mark Szybist

Chesapeake Bay

-- Bay Journal: EPA Says PA’s Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan Falls Short, Again - By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]

-- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Announced $33.8 Million In Chesapeake Bay Nutrient, Small Watershed Grants; 31 Projects Will Benefit PA [PaEN]

-- Headwaters RC&D Council Accepting Applications For Sinnemahoning Watershed Grant Program In McKean County [PaEN]

-- Presentation Proposals Wanted For 2023 Watershed Forestry Summit June 13-15 [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill Headwaters Association ‘Legends’ Celebrate 25 Years Of Service

-- Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Chesapeake Bay Loses A Champion, Nick DiPasquale

Latest From The Chesapeake Bay Journal

Click Here to subscribe to the free Chesapeake Bay Journal

Citizen Action

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- AP: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Natural Gas Driller Will Pay Millions For New Water System In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WSJ - Kris Maher: Fracking Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Pollution Charges In Pennsylvania

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Tale Of Two Townships In Washington County: Union & Peters Townships - A Decade Of Fracking Issues

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- DEP: Schedule For Updating Conventional Oil & Gas Environmental, Waste Regulations Will Be Up To Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 26 To Dec. 2 [PaEN]

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

-- DEP Preparing To Plug The Next 198 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells With Federal Funding [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Environmental Groups Urge Slower Mountain Valley Pipeline Review

-- Natural Resources Defense Council Blog: Rising Cost Of Pennsylvania’s Petrochemical Industry Subsidies - By Mark Szybist

-- Inquirer: Climate Protesters Target Pennsylvania Society Political Dinner In NYC

-- DEP Invites Comments On NPDES Water Quality Permit Renewal For Little Blue Run Coal Ash Disposal Area In Beaver County [PaEN]

-- Beaver Times: Group Against Smog & Pollution Threatens To Sue Beaver County Landfill Operators Over Air Permit Delays

-- LancasterOnline: New DEP Standards To Reduce Pollution Coming From Lancaster County Trash Incinerator

-- Group Against Smog & Pollution: Allegheny County Health Dept. Imposes $458,225 In Penalties Against U.S. Steel For Clairton Coke (Coal) Works During 1st Quarter 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Reid Frazier: U.S. Steel Fined $458,000 By Allegheny County For Clairton Coke (Coal) Plant Air Violations

-- TribLive - Mary Ann Thomas: Why Etna Went Green: ‘The Community Needed To Fight Back,’ Borough Manager Says

-- PA Forestry Association Honors Allyson Muth, Michael Powell, Linda Finley In Penn State's Dept. Of Ecosystem Science & Management [PaEN]

-- Navy Veteran, Penn State Forest Ecosystem Major John Buckley Named 2023 National Veterans Leadership Foundation Fellow

-- Foundation For Sustainable Forests Highlights Recent Jim Finley Stewardship Day; Thompsons’ Wood Stream Survey; A Hooded Warbler’s Story [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill Headwaters Association ‘Legends’ Celebrate 25 Years Of Service

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority Signs Carbon Credits Agreement With Bryn Mawr College On Watershed Land

-- Pike Conservation District, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partner To Offer County Residents Free Trees [PaEN]

-- Carbon County Chamber Nature & Commerce Committee, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau Release 2 New Conservation Focused Videos [PaEN]

-- EPA Grants Petition By Environmental Coalition To Set New Water Quality Standards For Delaware River Estuary [PaEN]

-- WHYY: EPA Pushes For More Pollution Controls In Delaware River To Protect Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon

-- PA Recreation & Park Society Now Accepting Nominations For 2023 Awards [PaEN]

-- GAPS Program Now Accepting Applications For Assistance To Develop Stream Remediation Projects In Allegheny, Monongahela River Watersheds [PaEN]

-- Dec. 5 Penn State EarthTalk Webinar On Empowering Native Communities With Renewable Energy. 4:00 p.m.

-- PA Environmental Council In Case You Missed It In November [PaEN]

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition Highlights Restored One Room Foltz School House At The Jennings Environmental Education Center; Northwest GIS Conference [PaEN]

-- PA Resources Council Announces Winners Of 2022 Gene Capaldi Lens On Litter Photo Contest [PaEN]

-- Keep PA Beautiful Litter Hawk Youth Award Program Now Open! Fun, Prizes & Litter Awareness For Grades K To 6 [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA: Donation Of Historic Oakford Park Land In Westmoreland County Protects Acres For A New Community Greenspace [PaEN]

-- Manada Conservancy Acquires 40 Acre Preserve In Dauphin County [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA Blog: Lancaster Conservancy Adds 85 Acres To Two Current Preserves

-- DEP Blog: ‘Tis The Season For Sustainability

-- DEP Took Action On 476 Permits, 99% Within Permit Decision Guarantee Deadlines; Conducted 811 Inspections; Responded To 4 Environmental Emergencies Last Week

-- U.S. Senate Dec. 1 Hearing On STREAM Bill Setting Aside Funding For Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Operation & Maintenance [PaEN]

Climate

-- EQB Overwhelmingly Approves Emergency Regulation Setting VOC/Methane Limits For Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; Republicans Vote Against [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces VOC/Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Are Final And Effective Dec. 2, 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Rule Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Moves Ahead

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Gov. Wolf Certifies Emergency For Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits Rulemaking To Avoid Losing Federal Highway Funds

-- Pittsburgh Union Progress - Laura Legere: Wolf Uses Emergency Measure To Adopt Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits To Stave Off Threat To Highway Funding

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: PA Passes Emergency Rule To Trim Methane Emissions At Conventional Oil & Gas Wells

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Produced 9.8 Million Metric Tons Of Greenhouse Gases In 2019, 3.7% Of State’s Total, Emissions Expected To Grow

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority Signs Carbon Credits Agreement With Bryn Mawr College On Watershed Land

-- Inquirer: Climate Protesters Target Pennsylvania Society Political Dinner In NYC

-- Washington & Jefferson College Hosts Dec. 7 Webinar On Where Solar Energy And Farming Meet [PaEN]

-- Dec. 5 Penn State EarthTalk Webinar On Empowering Native Communities With Renewable Energy. 4:00 p.m.

-- DEP Now Accepting Grant Applications For $12.7 Million Initiative To Electrify Truck Fleets For Cleaner Air; Awards $1.7 Million For 3 Vehicle Projects

-- Group Against Smog And Pollution: Neville Scrap Recycler Awarded $499,000 Grant To Replace Diesel Material Handler With All-Electric In Pittsburgh

-- PA Environmental Council In Case You Missed It In November [PaEN]

-- Natural Resources Defense Council Blog: Rising Cost Of Pennsylvania’s Petrochemical Industry Subsidies - By Mark Szybist

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Protect Environment, Fix State Highways [Emergency Regulation Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities]

-- U.S. Dept. Of The Interior Proposes Regulation Limiting Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Operators On Federal And Tribal Lands [Including The Allegheny National Forest]

-- Bloomberg: Rising Credit Risks Pose Huge Challenge For Worst Climate-Related Polluters

-- Financial Times: Catastrophe Reinsurance Set To Soar After Year Of Extreme Weather, Industry Warns

-- Financial Times: Global Floods, Droughts Will Intensify Sooner Than Expected, Studies Show

-- Reuters: EU Takes ‘First Step’ To Certify Removing CO2 From Atmosphere

-- Bloomberg: Storms, Floods, Fires Caused $260 Billion In Losses In 2022

Coal Mining

-- DEP Withdraws Final Manganese Water Quality Standard Regulation Ending Rulemaking; Existing Standard Remains In Place [PaEN]

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- DEP Invites Comments On NPDES Water Quality Permit Renewal For Little Blue Run Coal Ash Disposal Area In Beaver County [PaEN]

Compliance Action

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- AP: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Natural Gas Driller Will Pay Millions For New Water System In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Fracking Company To Pay For Public Water System In Rural PA Town

-- WSJ - Kris Maher: Fracking Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Pollution Charges In Pennsylvania

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- DEP: Schedule For Updating Conventional Oil & Gas Environmental, Waste Regulations Will Be Up To Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]

-- Group Against Smog & Pollution: Allegheny County Health Dept. Imposes $458,225 In Penalties Against U.S. Steel For Clairton Coke (Coal) Works During 1st Quarter 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Reid Frazier: U.S. Steel Fined $458,000 By Allegheny County For Clairton Coke (Coal) Plant Air Violations

-- DEP Took Action On 476 Permits, 99% Within Permit Decision Guarantee Deadlines; Conducted 811 Inspections; Responded To 4 Environmental Emergencies Last Week

-- The Guardian: U.S. Justice Dept. Sues City Of Jackson, Mississippi To Restore Clean Drinking Water

Conservation Districts

-- Pike Conservation District, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partner To Offer County Residents Free Trees [PaEN]

-- Pike County Conservation District: Microplastics Testing Report, What We Found

Dam Safety

-- DCNR: Laurel Run Dam Removal Underway In Plains Twp., Luzerne County

DCNR

-- Vote Now! For Pennsylvania’s 2023 River Of The Year [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: Conestoga River Among 4 In Running For PA River Of The Year

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Editorial: Support North Branch Susquehanna River For PA River Of The Year

-- DCNR Discusses Nearly $14 Billion Economic Value Of PA’s Outdoor Recreation Industry

-- DCNR: Laurel Run Dam Removal Underway In Plains Twp., Luzerne County

-- DCNR Celebrates Induction Of Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center In Berks County Into Old-Growth Forest Network [PaEN]

-- Presentation Proposals Wanted For 2023 Watershed Forestry Summit June 13-15 [PaEN]

-- Dec. 2 Take Five Fridays With Pam From PA Parks & Forests Foundation [PaEN]

-- Erie Times: Presque Isle Lights Driving Tour Highlights Beauty Of The Season, The State Park

-- TribLive - Mary Ann Thomas: ‘Generational Changing’ Investments Poised To Remake Western PA’s Trails System

-- Foundation For Sustainable Forests Highlights Recent Jim Finley Stewardship Day; Thompsons’ Wood Stream Survey; A Hooded Warbler’s Story [PaEN]

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition Highlights Restored One Room Foltz School House At The Jennings Environmental Education Center; Northwest GIS Conference [PaEN]

-- PA Natural Heritage Program News Spotlights Climate Change Vulnerability In Plants; Allegheny National Forest Ecological Surveys; Zombie Moths; Much More! [PaEN]

-- PA Recreation & Park Society Now Accepting Nominations For 2023 Awards [PaEN]

DEP

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- AP: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Natural Gas Driller Will Pay Millions For New Water System In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WSJ - Kris Maher: Fracking Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Pollution Charges In Pennsylvania

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Fracking Company To Pay For Public Water System In Rural PA Town

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Tale Of Two Townships In Washington County: Union & Peters Townships - A Decade Of Fracking Issues

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- DEP: Schedule For Updating Conventional Oil & Gas Environmental, Waste Regulations Will Be Up To Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]

-- DEP Preparing To Plug The Next 198 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells With Federal Funding [PaEN]

-- EQB Overwhelmingly Approves Emergency Regulation Setting VOC/Methane Limits For Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; Republicans Vote Against [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces VOC/Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Are Final And Effective Dec. 2, 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Rule Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Moves Ahead

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Gov. Wolf Certifies Emergency For Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits Rulemaking To Avoid Losing Federal Highway Funds

-- Pittsburgh Union Progress - Laura Legere: Wolf Uses Emergency Measure To Adopt Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits To Stave Off Threat To Highway Funding

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: PA Passes Emergency Rule To Trim Methane Emissions At Conventional Oil & Gas Wells

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 26 To Dec. 2 [PaEN]

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

-- Bay Journal: EPA Says PA’s Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan Falls Short, Again - By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: New DEP Standards To Reduce Pollution Coming From Lancaster County Trash Incinerator

-- DEP Invites Comments On NPDES Water Quality Permit Renewal For Little Blue Run Coal Ash Disposal Area In Beaver County [PaEN]

-- DEP Now Accepting Grant Applications For $12.7 Million Initiative To Electrify Truck Fleets For Cleaner Air; Awards $1.7 Million For 3 Vehicle Projects

-- Group Against Smog And Pollution: Neville Scrap Recycler Awarded $499,000 Grant To Replace Diesel Material Handler With All-Electric In Pittsburgh

-- DEP Withdraws Final Manganese Water Quality Standard Regulation Ending Rulemaking; Existing Standard Remains In Place [PaEN]

-- TribLive: DEP To Hold Dec. 1 Hearing On Yukon Industrial Waste Landfill Expansion In Westmoreland County

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Protect Environment, Fix State Highways [Emergency Regulation Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities]

-- DEP Accepting Applications For Food Recovery Infrastructure Grants [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald: Female Peregrine Falcon Cared For At Red Creek Wildlife Center Dies

-- DEP Blog: ‘Tis The Season For Sustainability

-- DEP Took Action On 476 Permits, 99% Within Permit Decision Guarantee Deadlines; Conducted 811 Inspections; Responded To 4 Environmental Emergencies Last Week

-- DEP Posted 80 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In Dec. 3 PA Bulletin [PaEN]

Delaware River

-- EPA Grants Petition By Environmental Coalition To Set New Water Quality Standards For Delaware River Estuary [PaEN]

-- WHYY: EPA Pushes For More Pollution Controls In Delaware River To Protect Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon

-- Pike Conservation District, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partner To Offer County Residents Free Trees [PaEN]

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Dec. 2 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Delaware Highlands Conservancy Highlights Upcoming Bald Eagle Programs, Tours

-- Brodhead Watershed Assn.: Nature At Risk: Northern Flying Squirrel - Disappearing Along With Old Growth Forest [Game Commission Fact Sheet]

DRBC

-- EPA Grants Petition By Environmental Coalition To Set New Water Quality Standards For Delaware River Estuary [PaEN]

-- WHYY: EPA Pushes For More Pollution Controls In Delaware River To Protect Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon

Drinking Water

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- AP: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Natural Gas Driller Will Pay Millions For New Water System In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WSJ - Kris Maher: Fracking Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Pollution Charges In Pennsylvania

-- DEP Withdraws Final Manganese Water Quality Standard Regulation Ending Rulemaking; Existing Standard Remains In Place [PaEN]

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority Signs Carbon Credits Agreement With Bryn Mawr College On Watershed Land

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority Repairing Pipe Leaking Abandoned Mine Drainage Into Two Drinking Water Reservoirs

-- Erie Times: Erie County Water Company Customers Notified Weeks Late Of Low Chlorine Levels In The System

-- The Guardian: U.S. Justice Dept. Sues City Of Jackson, Mississippi To Restore Clean Drinking Water

Economic Development

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Malfunction At Shell’s Ethane Plant In Beaver County Turned Sky Orange By Burning Natural Gas Flaring System

-- Dramatic Video From Carnegie Mellon’s Project Breathe Shows Shell Ethane Plant In Beaver County Flaring Natural Gas Due To Malfunction [PaEN]

-- Financial Times: EU Unveils Plan To Slash Plastic Waste By Nearly A Fifth By 2030

-- AP: Negotiators Take First Steps Toward Plastic Pollution Treaty

-- TribLive - Mary Ann Thomas: Why Etna Went Green: ‘The Community Needed To Fight Back,’ Borough Manager Says

-- LancasterOnline - Ad Crable: River Trails Prove To Be A Boon To Business In Marietta, Columbia In Lancaster County

-- DCNR Discusses Nearly $14 Billion Economic Value Of PA’s Outdoor Recreation Industry

-- TribLive: Bird-Safe Glass Taking Off: Vitro Of Harmar Produced National Aviary Windows For $3 Million Project

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition Highlights Restored One Room Foltz School House At The Jennings Environmental Education Center; Northwest GIS Conference [PaEN]

-- Carbon County Chamber Nature & Commerce Committee, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau Release 2 New Conservation Focused Videos [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh-Based Landforce Workforce Development Crews Surpass 57,000 Hours Of Environmental Stewardship Work; Have A Project? [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Rising Credit Risks Pose Huge Challenge For Worst Climate-Related Polluters

-- Financial Times: Catastrophe Reinsurance Set To Soar After Year Of Extreme Weather, Industry Warns

-- Financial Times: Global Floods, Droughts Will Intensify Sooner Than Expected, Studies Show

Education

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- DEP: Schedule For Updating Conventional Oil & Gas Environmental, Waste Regulations Will Be Up To Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]

-- DEP Preparing To Plug The Next 198 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells With Federal Funding [PaEN]

-- EQB Overwhelmingly Approves Emergency Regulation Setting VOC/Methane Limits For Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; Republicans Vote Against [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces VOC/Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Are Final And Effective Dec. 2, 2022

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Tale Of Two Townships In Washington County: Union & Peters Townships - A Decade Of Fracking Issues

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Malfunction At Shell’s Ethane Plant In Beaver County Turned Sky Orange By Burning Natural Gas Flaring System

-- Dramatic Video From Carnegie Mellon’s Project Breathe Shows Shell Ethane Plant In Beaver County Flaring Natural Gas Due To Malfunction [PaEN]

-- WHYY: New Web Tool By Drexel Lab Helps You Access Refinery Air Pollution Data [Including 4 In PA - Bradford, Warren, Philadelphia Area]

-- Ohio River Valley Institute Blog: Fact-Checking PA Politicians On Blue Hydrogen Hype

-- Bay Journal: EPA Says PA’s Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan Falls Short, Again - By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]

-- Presentation Proposals Wanted For 2023 Watershed Forestry Summit June 13-15 [PaEN]

-- Dec. 1 Penn State Webinar On Coordinating And Enhancing Access To Low-Income Energy Efficiency Programs. 10:30 a.m.

-- Dec. 5 Penn State EarthTalk Webinar On Empowering Native Communities With Renewable Energy. 4:00 p.m.

-- Washington & Jefferson College Hosts Dec. 7 Webinar On Where Solar Energy And Farming Meet [PaEN]

-- Misericordia University To Host In-Person Ocean Sustainability Symposium Dec. 9 Focusing On Pennsylvania's Impacts On Marine Life [PaEN]

-- Warren Times: Audubon Nature Center Hosts Little Explorers Look Under The Snow Dec. 10

-- Penn State’s Behrend Campus In Erie Hosts Dec. 13 Webinar On Invasive Freshwater Snails. 10:00 a.m.

-- PA Environmental Council In Case You Missed It In November [PaEN]

-- York Daily Record - Brian Whipkey: Surprise! Lake Erie Anglers Find Brown Trout - If They’re Lucky

-- Fish & Boat Commission: No Invasive Carp eDNA Detected In Follow-up Sampling In Erie’s Presque Isle Bay

-- Exelon Awards 27 STEM Education Grants, Including 9 In Pennsylvania

-- DEP Blog: ‘Tis The Season For Sustainability

-- Vote Now! For Pennsylvania’s 2023 River Of The Year [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: Conestoga River Among 4 In Running For PA River Of The Year

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition Highlights Restored One Room Foltz School House At The Jennings Environmental Education Center; Northwest GIS Conference [PaEN]

-- Pike County Conservation District: Microplastics Testing Report, What We Found

-- Pittsburgh-Based Landforce Workforce Development Crews Surpass 57,000 Hours Of Environmental Stewardship Work; Have A Project? [PaEN]

-- PA Sea Grant: Apply Now For John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission: Monthly Video Minute - October

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission: Informative Public Information Pamphlets

-- Brodhead Watershed Assn.: Clean Water Is Up To You: Real Or Artificial Christmas Tree? [Spoiler - Real]

-- Keep PA Beautiful Litter Hawk Youth Award Program Now Open! Fun, Prizes & Litter Awareness For Grades K To 6 [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Bird-Safe Glass Taking Off: Vitro Of Harmar Produced National Aviary Windows For $3 Million Project

-- Williamsport Sun - John Zaktansky, Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper: Diet Study Among Ways To Understand Invasive Flathead Catfish’s Impact

-- DCNR Celebrates Induction Of Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center In Berks County Into Old-Growth Forest Network [PaEN]

-- Foundation For Sustainable Forests Highlights Recent Jim Finley Stewardship Day; Thompsons’ Wood Stream Survey; A Hooded Warbler’s Story [PaEN]

-- PennLive - Marcus Schneck: Developments On Tundra Might Make Snowy Owls Scarce In PA This Winter

-- Republican Herald - Tyler Frantz: Game Commission Management Plan Has Bobcats Thriving In PA

-- PA Natural Heritage Program News Spotlights Climate Change Vulnerability In Plants; Allegheny National Forest Ecological Surveys; Zombie Moths; Much More! [PaEN]

-- Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: PA Timber Museum Chronicles The Decline, Return Of Pennsylvania Forests

-- Republican Herald: Female Peregrine Falcon Cared For At Red Creek Wildlife Center Dies

-- Delaware Highlands Conservancy Highlights Upcoming Bald Eagle Programs, Tours

-- Lehigh Valley-Based Wildlands Conservancy Highlights December Programs, Activities

-- Brodhead Watershed Assn.: Nature At Risk: Northern Flying Squirrel - Disappearing Along With Old Growth Forest [Game Commission Fact Sheet]

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bower: Reflections In Nature - No Animal Will Eat Seeds Of The Osage Orange

-- Penn State Extension: Master Gardener News - 2023 Master Gardener Calendar; Gifts For Birds; Winter Garden Activity Guide; Much More!

Emergency Response

-- LehighValleyLive: DEP Requiring Allentown Company To Submit Cleanup Plan For 6,000 Gallon Fuel Spill In Bethlehem

-- WESA: Norfolk Southern Train Derails Off Rockville Bridge Near Harrisburg

-- LancasterOnline: Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant To Test Warning Sirens Wednesday

-- The Mercury: Limerick Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Siren Test Dec. 5

-- Financial Times: Catastrophe Reinsurance Set To Soar After Year Of Extreme Weather, Industry Warns

-- Bloomberg: Storms, Floods, Fires Caused $260 Billion In Losses In 2022

-- Financial Times: Global Floods, Droughts Will Intensify Sooner Than Expected, Studies Show

6th Oil/Natural Gas Price Spike: True Energy Independence Means Renewables

[There Is No Limit To What Oil/Natural Gas Industry Can Make You Pay]

-- Inquirer - Andrew Maykuth: Winter Energy Bills Are Going Up, No Matter How You Heat Your Home [But Some Energy Prices May Be Peaking]

-- PUC Alerts Consumers Utility Natural Gas Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 128%, Electric Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 34%; Both Driven By Cost Of Natural Gas On World Markets [PaEN]

-- WPSU: Heating Prices Could Bring Sticker Shock This Winter; Columbia Gas Price Takes Especially Dramatic Jump - 128%

-- WESA: Duquesne Light Customers To See Some Electric Rates Increase By 20% This Winter [Due To Cost Of Natural Gas-Fired Generation]

-- WNEP: Another Rate Increase For UGI Natural Gas Customers

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: UGI To Pass On Higher Natural Gas Cost To Customers

-- DEP Blog: Winterize Your Home To Save On Utility Bills

-- TribLive: State Gasoline Tax Keeps PA Prices High Despite Nationwide Downward Trend, Analyst Says

-- WPost: U.S. Gasoline Prices Plunge Toward $3 A Gallon As Demand For Oil Drops Worldwide [AAA National Average: $3.47; PA Average: $3.93]

-- WSJ: Gasoline Prices Are Dropping: Here’s How Much Lower They Might Go; Regional Differences Will Continue

-- Baker Hughes PA Natural Gas Drilling Rig Count Same As Last Week - 22

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EQT’s Toby Rice Calls For ‘Unleashing LNG’ Natural Gas To Solve Climate Problem, End Poverty Other Societal Ills

-- Bloomberg: EQT Gets Antitrust Request Over $5.2 Billion Appalachia Natural Gas Deal

-- Reuters: Texas Freeport LNG Natural Gas Plant Delays Restart After Explosion To Year’s End

National/International

-- Reuters: EU Countries To Consider Lower Natural Gas Price Cap

-- AP: Russia Rejects $60 A Barrel Cap On Its Oil, Warns Of Cutoffs

-- Bloomberg: EU Agrees To Set $60 Price Cap For Russian Oil Exports

-- Reuters: G7 Nations + Australia Agree To $60 Price Cap On Russian Crude Oil

-- Financial Times: The Week That Could Unravel The Global Oil Market

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Drops As Concerns Ease Over Remaining Russian Flows

Energy

-- Inquirer - Andrew Maykuth: Winter Energy Bills Are Going Up, No Matter How You Heat Your Home [But Some Energy Prices May Be Peaking]

-- PUC Alerts Consumers Utility Natural Gas Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 128%, Electric Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 34%; Both Driven By Cost Of Natural Gas On World Markets [PaEN]

-- WPSU: Heating Prices Could Bring Sticker Shock This Winter; Columbia Gas Price Takes Especially Dramatic Jump - 128%

-- WESA: Duquesne Light Customers To See Some Electric Rates Increase By 20% This Winter [Due To Cost Of Natural Gas-Fired Generation]

-- WNEP: Another Rate Increase For UGI Natural Gas Customers

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: UGI To Pass On Higher Natural Gas Cost To Customers

-- TribLive: New Sustainable Senior Housing Development Opens In Penn Hills

-- DEP Blog: Winterize Your Home To Save On Utility Bills

-- Dec. 1 Penn State Webinar On Coordinating And Enhancing Access To Low-Income Energy Efficiency Programs. 10:30 a.m.

-- Washington & Jefferson College Hosts Dec. 7 Webinar On Where Solar Energy And Farming Meet [PaEN]

-- Dec. 5 Penn State EarthTalk Webinar On Empowering Native Communities With Renewable Energy. 4:00 p.m.

-- Ohio River Valley Institute Blog: Fact-Checking PA Politicians On Blue Hydrogen Hype

-- PA Environmental Council In Case You Missed It In November [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection Prepared To Meet Winter Electricity Demand; Potential Rail Strike Remains A Concern

-- Utility Dive: FERC Approves PJM’s ‘First-Ready, First-Served’ Interconnection Reform Plan, Steps To Clear Project Backlog

-- Bloomberg: Rising Credit Risks Pose Huge Challenge For Worst Climate-Related Polluters

Energy Conservation

-- TribLive: New Sustainable Senior Housing Development Opens In Penn Hills

-- DEP Blog: Winterize Your Home To Save On Utility Bills

-- Dec. 1 Penn State Webinar On Coordinating And Enhancing Access To Low-Income Energy Efficiency Programs. 10:30 a.m.

-- U.S. Dept. Of Energy Releases $550 Million To Support Community-based Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency Initiatives

Environmental Health

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- AP: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Natural Gas Driller Will Pay Millions For New Water System In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WSJ - Kris Maher: Fracking Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Pollution Charges In Pennsylvania

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Fracking Company To Pay For Public Water System In Rural PA Town

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- DEP: Schedule For Updating Conventional Oil & Gas Environmental, Waste Regulations Will Be Up To Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]

-- DEP Preparing To Plug The Next 198 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells With Federal Funding [PaEN]

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Tale Of Two Townships In Washington County: Union & Peters Townships - A Decade Of Fracking Issues

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Malfunction At Shell’s Ethane Plant In Beaver County Turned Sky Orange By Burning Natural Gas Flaring System

-- Dramatic Video From Carnegie Mellon’s Project Breathe Shows Shell Ethane Plant In Beaver County Flaring Natural Gas Due To Malfunction [PaEN]

-- EQB Overwhelmingly Approves Emergency Regulation Setting VOC/Methane Limits For Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; Republicans Vote Against [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces VOC/Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Are Final And Effective Dec. 2, 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Rule Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Moves Ahead

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Gov. Wolf Certifies Emergency For Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits Rulemaking To Avoid Losing Federal Highway Funds

-- Pittsburgh Union Progress - Laura Legere: Wolf Uses Emergency Measure To Adopt Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits To Stave Off Threat To Highway Funding

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: PA Passes Emergency Rule To Trim Methane Emissions At Conventional Oil & Gas Wells

-- DEP Withdraws Final Manganese Water Quality Standard Regulation Ending Rulemaking; Existing Standard Remains In Place [PaEN]

-- TribLive: DEP To Hold Dec. 1 Hearing On Yukon Industrial Waste Landfill Expansion In Westmoreland County

-- MCall: EPA To Hold Dec. 1 Virtual Meeting On B. Braun And Ethylene Oxide Risks In Lehigh Valley

-- MCall: Three Takeaways From EPA Meeting On Threats Posed By Ethylene Oxide

-- WFMZ: EPA Says B. Braun’s Lehigh County Facility Not A High Risk For Carcinogenic Emissions

Environmental Heritage

-- Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: PA Timber Museum Chronicles The Decline, Return Of Pennsylvania Forests

EPA

-- Bay Journal: EPA Says PA’s Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan Falls Short, Again - By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]

-- EPA Grants Petition By Environmental Coalition To Set New Water Quality Standards For Delaware River Estuary [PaEN]

-- WHYY: EPA Pushes For More Pollution Controls In Delaware River To Protect Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon

-- MCall: EPA To Hold Dec. 1 Virtual Meeting On B. Braun And Ethylene Oxide Risks In Lehigh Valley

-- MCall: Three Takeaways From EPA Meeting On Threats Posed By Ethylene Oxide

-- WFMZ: EPA Says B. Braun’s Lehigh County Facility Not A high Risk For Carcinogenic Emissions

-- EPA Announces Proposed Renewable Fuel Standard Program For 2023-25

-- The Guardian: U.S. Justice Dept. Sues City Of Jackson, Mississippi To Restore Clean Drinking Water

Farming

-- Bay Journal: EPA Says PA’s Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan Falls Short, Again - By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]

-- Depts. Of Agriculture/Military Affairs Kick Off Trees For Troops Donation Weekend

-- Dec. 5 Penn State EarthTalk Webinar On Empowering Native Communities With Renewable Energy. 4:00 p.m.

-- DEP Accepting Applications For Food Recovery Infrastructure Grants [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: Philly’s Citywide Urban Agriculture Plan Is Finally Here

-- Help Wanted: Federal Farm Service Agency - Luzerne County Program Technician

Fish & Boat Commission

-- Fish & Boat Commission: 2023 PA Fishing License, Permits, Gift Vouchers Now On Sale

-- Fish & Boat Commission: No Invasive Carp eDNA Detected In Follow-up Sampling In Erie’s Presque Isle Bay

-- York Daily Record - Brian Whipkey: Surprise! Lake Erie Anglers Find Brown Trout - If They’re Lucky

Flooding

-- The Guardian: U.S. Justice Dept. Sues City Of Jackson, Mississippi To Restore Clean Drinking Water

-- Financial Times: Catastrophe Reinsurance Set To Soar After Year Of Extreme Weather, Industry Warns

-- Bloomberg: Storms, Floods, Fires Caused $260 Billion In Losses In 2022

-- Financial Times: Global Floods, Droughts Will Intensify Sooner Than Expected, Studies Show

Forests

-- Depts. Of Agriculture/Military Affairs Kick Off Trees For Troops Donation Weekend

-- PA Forestry Association Honors Allyson Muth, Michael Powell, Linda Finley In Penn State's Dept. Of Ecosystem Science & Management [PaEN]

-- Navy Veteran, Penn State Forest Ecosystem Major John Buckley Named 2023 National Veterans Leadership Foundation Fellow

-- Foundation For Sustainable Forests Highlights Recent Jim Finley Stewardship Day; Thompsons’ Wood Stream Survey; A Hooded Warbler’s Story [PaEN]

-- DCNR Discusses Nearly $14 Billion Economic Value Of PA’s Outdoor Recreation Industry

-- Presentation Proposals Wanted For 2023 Watershed Forestry Summit June 13-15 [PaEN]

-- DCNR Celebrates Induction Of Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center In Berks County Into Old-Growth Forest Network [PaEN]

-- Dec. 2 Take Five Fridays With Pam From PA Parks & Forests Foundation [PaEN]

-- Pike Conservation District, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partner To Offer County Residents Free Trees [PaEN]

-- Brodhead Watershed Assn.: Clean Water Is Up To You: Real Or Artificial Christmas Tree? [Spoiler - Real]

-- Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: PA Timber Museum Chronicles The Decline, Return Of Pennsylvania Forests

Game Commission

-- Republican Herald - Tyler Frantz: Game Commission Management Plan Has Bobcats Thriving In PA

Grants/Funding

-- GAPS Program Now Accepting Applications For Assistance To Develop Stream Remediation Projects In Allegheny, Monongahela River Watersheds [PaEN]

-- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Announced $33.8 Million In Chesapeake Bay Nutrient, Small Watershed Grants; 31 Projects Will Benefit PA [PaEN]

-- Headwaters RC&D Council Accepting Applications For Sinnemahoning Watershed Grant Program In McKean County [PaEN]

-- DEP Accepting Applications For Food Recovery Infrastructure Grants [PaEN]

-- PA Sea Grant: Apply Now For John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program

-- Pike Conservation District, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partner To Offer County Residents Free Trees [PaEN]

-- DEP Now Accepting Grant Applications For $12.7 Million Initiative To Electrify Truck Fleets For Cleaner Air; Awards $1.7 Million For 3 Vehicle Projects

-- Group Against Smog And Pollution: Neville Scrap Recycler Awarded $499,000 Grant To Replace Diesel Material Handler With All-Electric In Pittsburgh

-- U.S. Dept. Of Energy Releases $550 Million To Support Community-based Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency Initiatives

Green Buildings

-- TribLive: New Sustainable Senior Housing Development Opens In Penn Hills

Green Infrastructure

-- Vote Now! For Pennsylvania’s 2023 River Of The Year [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: Conestoga River Among 4 In Running For PA River Of The Year

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Editorial: Support North Branch Susquehanna River For PA River Of The Year

-- Bay Journal: EPA Says PA’s Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan Falls Short, Again - By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal [PaEN]

-- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Announced $33.8 Million In Chesapeake Bay Nutrient, Small Watershed Grants; 31 Projects Will Benefit PA [PaEN]

-- Headwaters RC&D Council Accepting Applications For Sinnemahoning Watershed Grant Program In McKean County [PaEN]

-- Depts. Of Agriculture/Military Affairs Kick Off Trees For Troops Donation Weekend

-- WeConservePA: Donation Of Historic Oakford Park Land In Westmoreland County Protects Acres For A New Community Greenspace [PaEN]

-- Manada Conservancy Acquires 40 Acre Preserve In Dauphin County [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA Blog: Lancaster Conservancy Adds 85 Acres To Two Current Preserves

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority Signs Carbon Credits Agreement With Bryn Mawr College On Watershed Land

-- Presentation Proposals Wanted For 2023 Watershed Forestry Summit June 13-15 [PaEN]

-- Carbon County Chamber Nature & Commerce Committee, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau Release 2 New Conservation Focused Videos [PaEN]

-- Foundation For Sustainable Forests Highlights Recent Jim Finley Stewardship Day; Thompsons’ Wood Stream Survey; A Hooded Warbler’s Story [PaEN]

-- GAPS Program Now Accepting Applications For Assistance To Develop Stream Remediation Projects In Allegheny, Monongahela River Watersheds [PaEN]

-- Pike Conservation District, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partner To Offer County Residents Free Trees [PaEN]

-- DCNR Celebrates Induction Of Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center In Berks County Into Old-Growth Forest Network [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh-Based Landforce Workforce Development Crews Surpass 57,000 Hours Of Environmental Stewardship Work; Have A Project? [PaEN]

-- Pocono Heritage Land Trust: Celebrate International Mountain Day Dec. 11

-- Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: PA Timber Museum Chronicles The Decline, Return Of Pennsylvania Forests

Hazardous Substances

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- AP: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Natural Gas Driller Will Pay Millions For New Water System In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WSJ - Kris Maher: Fracking Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Pollution Charges In Pennsylvania

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- DEP: Schedule For Updating Conventional Oil & Gas Environmental, Waste Regulations Will Be Up To Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]

-- DEP Preparing To Plug The Next 198 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells With Federal Funding [PaEN]

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Tale Of Two Townships In Washington County: Union & Peters Townships - A Decade Of Fracking Issues

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Malfunction At Shell’s Ethane Plant In Beaver County Turned Sky Orange By Burning Natural Gas Flaring System

-- Dramatic Video From Carnegie Mellon’s Project Breathe Shows Shell Ethane Plant In Beaver County Flaring Natural Gas Due To Malfunction [PaEN]

-- EQB Overwhelmingly Approves Emergency Regulation Setting VOC/Methane Limits For Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; Republicans Vote Against [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces VOC/Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Are Final And Effective Dec. 2, 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Rule Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Moves Ahead

-- Pittsburgh Union Progress - Laura Legere: Wolf Uses Emergency Measure To Adopt Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits To Stave Off Threat To Highway Funding

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: PA Passes Emergency Rule To Trim Methane Emissions At Conventional Oil & Gas Wells

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Gov. Wolf Certifies Emergency For Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits Rulemaking To Avoid Losing Federal Highway Funds

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Fracking Company To Pay For Public Water System In Rural PA Town

-- DEP Withdraws Final Manganese Water Quality Standard Regulation Ending Rulemaking; Existing Standard Remains In Place [PaEN]

-- TribLive: DEP To Hold Dec. 1 Hearing On Yukon Industrial Waste Landfill Expansion In Westmoreland County

-- MCall: EPA To Hold Dec. 1 Virtual Meeting On B. Braun And Ethylene Oxide Risks In Lehigh Valley

-- MCall: Three Takeaways From EPA Meeting On Threats Posed By Ethylene Oxide

-- WFMZ: EPA Says B. Braun’s Lehigh County Facility Not A High Risk For Carcinogenic Emissions

Help Wanted

-- Help Wanted: Federal Farm Service Agency - Luzerne County Program Technician

Land Conservation

-- WeConservePA: Donation Of Historic Oakford Park Land In Westmoreland County Protects Acres For A New Community Greenspace [PaEN]

-- Manada Conservancy Acquires 40 Acre Preserve In Dauphin County [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA Blog: Lancaster Conservancy Adds 85 Acres To Two Current Preserves

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority Signs Carbon Credits Agreement With Bryn Mawr College On Watershed Land

-- Foundation For Sustainable Forests Highlights Recent Jim Finley Stewardship Day; Thompsons’ Wood Stream Survey; A Hooded Warbler’s Story [PaEN]

-- Presentation Proposals Wanted For 2023 Watershed Forestry Summit June 13-15 [PaEN]

-- Pike Conservation District, Keystone 10 Million Trees Partner To Offer County Residents Free Trees [PaEN]

-- DCNR Celebrates Induction Of Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center In Berks County Into Old-Growth Forest Network [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: Philly’s Citywide Urban Agriculture Plan Is Finally Here

-- GAPS Program Now Accepting Applications For Assistance To Develop Stream Remediation Projects In Allegheny, Monongahela River Watersheds [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh-Based Landforce Workforce Development Crews Surpass 57,000 Hours Of Environmental Stewardship Work; Have A Project? [PaEN]

-- Pocono Heritage Land Trust: Celebrate International Mountain Day Dec. 11

-- Lehigh Valley-Based Wildlands Conservancy Highlights December Programs, Activities

-- Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: PA Timber Museum Chronicles The Decline, Return Of Pennsylvania Forests

Land Recycling

-- LehighValleyLive: DEP Requiring Allentown Company To Submit Cleanup Plan For 6,000 Gallon Fuel Spill In Bethlehem

Land Use

-- MCall Guest Essay: How Northampton County Is Trying To Help Municipalities Control Warehouse Development - Northampton County Executive

-- Warren Times: Ohio Woman Facing Charges Of Destruction Of Original Property Deed Records At Warren Courthouse

Lake Erie

-- PA Sea Grant: Apply Now For John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program

Littering/Illegal Dumping

-- PA Resources Council Announces Winners Of 2022 Gene Capaldi Lens On Litter Photo Contest [PaEN]

-- Keep PA Beautiful Litter Hawk Youth Award Program Now Open! Fun, Prizes & Litter Awareness For Grades K To 6 [PaEN]

-- Pike County Conservation District: Microplastics Testing Report, What We Found

-- Financial Times: EU Unveils Plan To Slash Plastic Waste By Nearly A Fifth By 2030

Mine Reclamation

-- DEP Withdraws Final Manganese Water Quality Standard Regulation Ending Rulemaking; Existing Standard Remains In Place [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill Headwaters Association ‘Legends’ Celebrate 25 Years Of Service

-- Altoona Mirror: Altoona Water Authority Repairing Pipe Leaking Abandoned Mine Drainage Into Two Drinking Water Reservoirs

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition Highlights Restored One Room Foltz School House At The Jennings Environmental Education Center; Northwest GIS Conference [PaEN]

-- U.S. Senate Dec. 1 Hearing On STREAM Bill Setting Aside Funding For Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Operation & Maintenance [PaEN]

Monongahela River

-- GAPS Program Now Accepting Applications For Assistance To Develop Stream Remediation Projects In Allegheny, Monongahela River Watersheds [PaEN]

Oil & Gas

-- AG Shapiro: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County [PaEN]

-- AP: Coterra Energy, Formerly Cabot Oil & Gas, Pleads No Contest To 15 Criminal Charges Related To Polluting Water Supplies In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Natural Gas Driller Will Pay Millions For New Water System In Dimock, Susquehanna County

-- WSJ - Kris Maher: Fracking Company Pleads No Contest To Criminal Pollution Charges In Pennsylvania

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Fracking Company To Pay For Public Water System In Rural PA Town

-- DEP Has Ordered A ‘Top To Bottom Review’ Of How It Regulates Underground Natural Gas Storage Areas As A Result Of The Equitrans Gas Leak In Cambria County In Nov. [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Equitrans Natural Gas Storage Area Leak In Cambria County Probed By Federal PHMSA Investigators

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Flow Resumes From Equitrans PA Site After November Leak

-- DEP: Schedule For Updating Conventional Oil & Gas Environmental, Waste Regulations Will Be Up To Gov. Shapiro [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 26 To Dec. 2 [PaEN]

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

-- DEP Preparing To Plug The Next 198 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells With Federal Funding [PaEN]

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Tale Of Two Townships In Washington County: Union & Peters Townships - A Decade Of Fracking Issues

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Malfunction At Shell’s Ethane Plant In Beaver County Turned Sky Orange By Burning Natural Gas Flaring System

-- Dramatic Video From Carnegie Mellon’s Project Breathe Shows Shell Ethane Plant In Beaver County Flaring Natural Gas Due To Malfunction [PaEN]

-- Financial Times: EU Unveils Plan To Slash Plastic Waste By Nearly A Fifth By 2030

-- AP: Negotiators Take First Steps Toward Plastic Pollution Treaty

-- WHYY: New Web Tool By Drexel Lab Helps You Access Refinery Air Pollution Data [Including 4 In PA - Bradford, Warren, Philadelphia Area]

-- EQB Overwhelmingly Approves Emergency Regulation Setting VOC/Methane Limits For Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; Republicans Vote Against [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces VOC/Methane Limits On Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Are Final And Effective Dec. 2, 2022

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Rule Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities Moves Ahead

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Gov. Wolf Certifies Emergency For Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits Rulemaking To Avoid Losing Federal Highway Funds

-- Pittsburgh Union Progress - Laura Legere: Wolf Uses Emergency Measure To Adopt Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Limits To Stave Off Threat To Highway Funding

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: PA Passes Emergency Rule To Trim Methane Emissions At Conventional Oil & Gas Wells

-- Natural Resources Defense Council Blog: Rising Cost Of Pennsylvania’s Petrochemical Industry Subsidies - By Mark Szybist

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: Raystown Lake Receives National Acclaim For Protecting Fish

-- DEP $1.95 Million Penalty Assessment Against Mariner East 2 Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Construction Pollution At Raystown Lake Supports Fish Habitat Improvements

-- Baker Hughes PA Natural Gas Drilling Rig Count Same As Last Week - 22

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EQT’s Toby Rice Calls For ‘Unleashing LNG’ Natural Gas To Solve Climate Problem, End Poverty Other Societal Ills

-- Bloomberg: EQT Gets Antitrust Request Over $5.2 Billion Appalachia Natural Gas Deal

-- WPSU: Heating Prices Could Bring Sticker Shock This Winter; Columbia Gas Price Takes Especially Dramatic Jump - 128%

-- WNEP: Another Rate Increase For UGI Natural Gas Customers

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: UGI To Pass On Higher Natural Gas Cost To Customers

-- WESA: Duquesne Light Customers To See Some Electric Rates Increase By 20% This Winter [Due To Cost Of Natural Gas-Fired Generation]

-- PUC Alerts Consumers Utility Natural Gas Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 128%, Electric Costs Will Be Going Up By As Much As 34%; Both Driven By Cost Of Natural Gas On World Markets [PaEN]

-- Reuters: Texas Freeport LNG Natural Gas Plant Delays Restart After Explosion To Year’s End

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Protect Environment, Fix State Highways [Emergency Regulation Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities]

-- Ohio River Valley Institute Blog: Fact-Checking PA Politicians On Blue Hydrogen Hype

-- LehighValleyLive: DEP Requiring Allentown Company To Submit Cleanup Plan For 6,000 Gallon Fuel Spill In Bethlehem

-- TribLive: State Gasoline Tax Keeps PA Prices High Despite Nationwide Downward Trend, Analyst Says

-- WPost: U.S. Gasoline Prices Plunge Toward $3 A Gallon As Demand For Oil Drops Worldwide [AAA National Average: $3.47; PA Average: $3.93]

-- WSJ: Gasoline Prices Are Dropping: Here’s How Much Lower They Might Go; Regional Differences Will Continue

-- EPA Announces Proposed Renewable Fuel Standard Program For 2023-25

-- Warren Times: Ohio Woman Facing Charges Of Destruction Of Original Property Deed Records At Warren Courthouse

-- U.S. Dept. Of The Interior Proposes Regulation Limiting Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Operators On Federal And Tribal Lands [Including The Allegheny National Forest]

-- AP: Russia Rejects $60 A Barrel Cap On Its Oil, Warns Of Cutoffs

-- Reuters: EU Countries To Consider Lower Natural Gas Price Cap

-- Bloomberg: EU Agrees To Set $60 Price Cap For Russian Oil Exports

-- Reuters: G7 Nations + Australia Agree To $60 Price Cap On Russian Crude Oil