The information you need to follow legislation in the House and Senate- starting with articles and NewsClips from last week--

Environment & Energy NewsClips--

Gov. Shapiro

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: 100 Days In, Gov. Shapiro Must Sharpen His Focus On Climate Change And The Environment - By Clean Air Council

Budget

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Senate Republican Leader To Focus On ‘Responsible’ Budget, More Than An On-Time One

-- PA Capital-Star: Senate Republican Leader Talks Budget, Schools, Energy, More

-- Bay Journal: Shale Gas Drilling, Development Yields Both Fears, Funding For Pennsylvania Public Lands - By Ad Crable, Chesapeake Bay Journal  [PaEN]

Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- Beaver County Times: Casey Champions Rail Safety Bills During Beaver County Visit

-- NextPittsburgh: PA Member Of Congress Summer Lee Worries About Future Train Derailments

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Risky Railways From Pittsburgh To Site Of Norfolk Southern Train Derailment - by Ruth Ann Dailey

-- Post-Gazette: East Palestine Ohio 17-Year-Old Advocates For Herself, Other Teens After Train Derailment

-- AP: Norfolk Southern CEO Repeats Derailment Apologies Before Ohio Senate

Environment/Energy Issues

-- House Environmental Committee Meets April 25 On Bipartisan Bills To Provide School Solar Energy Grants, Local Notice Of Toxics Violations  [PaEN]

-- House Environmental Committee Sets April 24 Hearing On Plugging Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells; New Bill Restores Authority To Increase Conventional Well Bonding  [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 15 to 21; 10 Abandoned Well NOVs; New Crude Oil Leak; Defective Casing/Cementing  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - April 22  [PaEN]

-- Solar Energy Facility Decommissioning Bills On House Consumer Protection Committee Agenda For April 25  [PaEN]

-- Warren Times Editorial: Have Plan For Federal Cash To Plug Abandoned Gas Wells

-- PA Supreme Court Upholds DEP’s Authority To Protect Public Resources, Playgrounds From Adverse Impacts Of Shale Gas Well Operations; Do Not Mistake This Win For Adequate Protection  [PaEN]

-- New State Health Plan Identifies Health Issues Related To Natural Resource Extraction, Climate Change In Top 5 Threats To Health Outcomes; No Update On University Of Pittsburgh Oil & Gas Health Impacts Study  [PaEN]

-- Environmental Health Project Blog: Importance Of Keeping A Health Diary When Living Near Shale Gas Facilities - Well Pad, Pipelines, Compressor Stations, Processing Plants, Storage Facilities, Injection Wells, Waste Sites, Trucking Facilities, Petrochemical Plants

-- Intense, Bright White Light From The Shell Plastics Plant Turns Night Into Day For Many Neighbors Of The Beaver County Plant  [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News: Gov. Shapiro Provides Fresh Support To Key Changes Recommended In 2020 Grand Jury Report To Tighten Regulation Of The Natural Gas Drilling Industry To Better Protect Public Health, Environment  [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News: Gov. Shapiro Provides Fresh Support To Key Changes Recommended In 2020 Grand Jury Report To Tighten Regulation Of The Natural Gas Drilling Industry To Better Protect Public Health, Environment  [PaEN]

-- DEP/Equitrans Settlement: DEP, Preempted By Federal Law, Withdraws Order, Closes NOVs Against Equitrans For Cambria County Natural Gas Storage Leak Releasing 1 Billion Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: After Massive Equitrans Underground Natural Gas Storage Area Leak Alarmed DEP, The Agency Is Still Finding Its Role In The Response

-- Tribune-Democrat: DEP Reaches Deal With Equitrans On Underground Natural Gas Storage Area Order

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Local Leaders, DOT Must Stop Plant In Wyalusing, Bradford County To Ship LNG Natural Gas By Rail Or Truck Or Both To Philadelphia  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Environmentalists Being Kept Out Of Philadelphia LNG Natural Gas Export Task Force Meeting

-- American Journal Of Transportation: PA LNG Task Force Takes Testimony On Expanding Natural Gas To PA Ports

-- PA Capital-Star: Community Solar Can Propel PA Toward An Equitable Clean Energy Future - By Vote Solar PA

-- TribLive: Coal-Fired Homer City Power Plant Closing; Future Dim For 2 Other Regional Facilities [Competition With Natural Gas Put Coal Plants Out Of Business] 

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Save The Homer City Coal-Fired Power Plant - Commonwealth Foundation

-- Washington Examiner: Republican PA Cong. Reschenthaler Blames Biden For Closure Of Homer City Coal-Fired Power Plant

Top 10 Stories On Harrisburg/PA Politics 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]

Bill Calendars

Senate (April 24): Senate Bill 188 (DiSanto-R-Dauphin) amending the Regulatory Review Act to authorize the General Assembly to kill “economically significant” regulations by doing nothing;  Senate Bill 190 (Brooks-R- Crawford) requiring an automatic three-year review of economically significant regulations in a process similar to what was called “sunset reviews” decades ago. That process was abandoned by the General Assembly because it became a costly, time-consuming exercise with little benefit; Senate Bill 508 (Mastriano-R-Adams) providing for a Train Derailment Emergency Grant Program to provide financial support for residents and small businesses impacted by the February Ohio/PA train derailment;  Senate Bill 466 (Brown-R-Lackawanna) providing for land bank environmental cleanup liability; Senate Resolution 59 (Mastriano-R- Adams) recognizing the impact of the February Ohio/PA train derailment on Pennsylvania residents.  <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

House (April 24): <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings

House   

April 24-- House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee holds hearing on Pennsylvania's newly expanded abandoned conventional oil and gas well plugging program and on updating conventional oil and gas well bonding requirements.  Room G-50 Irvis Building starting at 10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.   Read more here.

April 25-- House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee  meets to consider bipartisan bills House Bill 137 (Fiedler-D-Philadelphia) establishing a grant program to support solar energy installations in schools [Read more here]; House Bill 718 (Mako-R-Northampton) requiring DEP to notify a municipality when it receives notice from EPA of a violation of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.  Room 205 Ryan Building starting at 10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.   Read more here.

April 25-- House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee meets to consider House Bill 925 (Rapp-R-Warren) and Senate Bill 211 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) establishing standards for utility-scale solar energy facility decommissioning. Room G-50 Irvis Building. 9:30 a.m.  Click Here to watch online.

April 25-- House Tourism And Recreational Development Committee hearing with DCED and DCNR on tourism, outdoor recreation, initiatives by Office of Marketing, tourism and Film.  Room 140 Main Capitol.  9:30 a.m.

<>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate

April 24-- Senate Appropriations Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 232 (Brooks-R- Crawford) providing for Lyme Disease and Tick Bites in schools, Senate Bill 466 (Brown-R-Lackawanna) providing for environmental cleanup liability protection for land banks.       Rules Room.  Off the Floor. [No video coverage]

April 26-- Senate Game and Fisheries Committee holds a hearing on Game Commission and Fish & Boat Commission annual reports.  Hearing Room 1, North Office.  9:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch live.

May 1-- Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee informational briefing from energy industry operators to discuss grid reliability as well as PJM policies and procedures.  Room 8E-B East Wing Capitol Building. 10:00 a.m.

May 1-- Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee hearing on reauthorization of Chapter 14 related to termination of utility customers.  Room 8E-A East Wing.  10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch live.

<>  Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule. 

Bills Introduced

Good Idea?  Beneficial Use Of Oil/Gas Drill Cuttings: House Bill 914 (Leadbeter-R- Columbia) directs DEP to allow the beneficial use and reuse of drill cuttings from oil and gas operators as structural fill, soil substitutes, soil additives, raw materials for other products including for aggregates, construction-related materials or agricultural uses and for the extraction and recovery of critical minerals.

Decommissioning Solar Energy Facilities: House Bill 925 (Rapp-R-Forest) establishing requirements for the decommissioning of solar energy facilities.

Stream “Cleaning”:  House Bill 935 (Pickett-R-Susquehanna) authorizing emergency maintenance permits for stream “cleaning.”

Diesel Vehicle Idling: House Bill 938 (Pickett-R-Susquehanna) would eliminate penalties for overtime diesel vehicle idling on property owners and keep them for vehicle owners.

Authorize Review Of Conventional Oil & Gas Well Bonding: House Bill 962 (Vitali-D- Delaware) corrective legislation removing the ban on the ability of the Environmental Quality Board to review the adequacy of bonding for conventional oil and gas wells every two years.

Bills Pending In Key Committees

Check the PA Environmental Council Bill Tracker for the status and updates on pending state legislation and regulations that affect environmental and conservation efforts in Pennsylvania.

Session Schedule

Here is the latest voting session schedule for the Senate and House--

House

April 24, 25, 26

May 1, 2, 3, 22, 23, 24

June 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Senate

April 24, 25, 26

May 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10

June 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

[Posted: April 23, 2023]

4/24/2023