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

-- Reading Eagle: Gov. Shapiro Says Rodale Institute Key To Economic Future

-- Gov. Shapiro, Agriculture Secretary Redding Visit The Rodale Institute In Berks County To Celebrate Organic Field Day, Meet Veteran Farmers

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Budget Mess Stalls Priorities For Gov. Shapiro And Others As Impasse Hits 18 Days Without A Deal

Budget

-- ABC27: Republican Senate Leader Kim Ward Says ‘At Some Point In August’ The Republicans Can Get The General Appropriations Bill Signed

-- Politics PA: House Republican: ‘Not Going To See Any Budget Movement Until October At The Earliest’

-- PennLive Guest Essay: No One Lied To Senate Republicans, they Chose Not To Hear The Truth On State Budget - By House Democratic Leader Matt Bradford

-- Erie Times: The Budget Deal That Wasn’t: 5 Things To Know About The State Budget In Harrisburg

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Budget Mess Stalls Priorities For Gov. Shapiro And Others As Impasse Hits 18 Days Without A Deal

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: State’s Budget ‘Impasse’ Is A Self-Inflicted Wound - By House Democratic Leader Matt Bradford

-- AP: PA Counties Plan To Miss Big Social Services Payment As Budget Stalemate Drags On

-- PennLive: Funding For Government Flows During PA Budget Impasse - But Some Agencies Fear Well Will Run Dry

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: What PA’s Past Budget Impasses Can Tell Use About The Current Standoff

-- Spotlight PA: Dark Money Group Puts Pressure On PA Lawmakers After Shapiro Vows Private School Voucher Veto

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports Record Tax Revenue In 2022-23 -- $2,369,249,258

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports June Revenue Increased 13% Over June 2022

Flooding

-- WHYY: Bucks County Flood Victims Identified, Search For Missing South Carolina Family’s Children Expands

-- AP: Search Continues For South Carolina Family’s Kids Swept Away In Bucks County Flood

-- Inquirer: Bucks County Tragedy Occurred In A FEMA Hazardous Flood Zone

-- MCall: Bushkill Park, Under Several Feet Of Water, Hopes To Reopen Next Week; Asking For Volunteers To Help With Cleanup

-- MCall: After Disastrous Weekend Flooding, Slate Belt Begins Long Process Of Recovery

-- Courier Times: It Happened Quickly, How The Fatal Bucks County Flooding Unfolded

-- Gov. Shapiro: State Continues To Support Communities In Flood Recovery Efforts

-- Penn State Extension: After The Flood: Recovery Considerations For Rural Pennsylvanians

-- Reading Eagle: Antietam Officials Discuss Steps Forward After Flooding Of Middle-Senior High School; Bringing Students Back To That Building Not An Option For 2023-24 School Year

-- WESA: After Fatal Flash Floods, PA Officials Urge Residents To Stay Aware And Avoid Flooded Roads

-- MCall: What Caused The Flash Flooding In Northampton County This Weekend? Can We Expect More?

-- WHYY: Climate Scientists Say Extreme Rain Behind Deadly Bucks County Flood Is Becoming More Frequent

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Bucks County Flooding Showed The Violent Forces Of Natur

-- WHYY: 5 Deaths Confirmed In Bucks County Flash Flooding, 2 Still Missing

-- AP: Heavy Rains Swamp Northeast Again As Flash Flooding Claims At Least 5 Lives In Pennsylvania

-- MCall: ‘Severe’ Flash Flooding In Northampton County Leads To Business, Road Closures, Water Rescues

-- MCall: Flood Damages Now Exceed $5 Million In Northampton County

-- MCall: Bushkill Park, Under Several Feet Of Water, Hopes To Reopen Next Week; Asking For Volunteers To Help With Cleanup

-- Reading Eagle: Reading’s Youth Interns Clear Storm Drains After July 9 Storm

-- Williamsport Sun: Flood Levee Relief Well Project Scope Changes May Mean Cost Savings

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Pittsburgh Region Faces Increasing Rain, Flood Risks As Planet Warms

-- WHYY: The Next Big Storm Could Hit Coatesville, Will The Flood-Prone City Be Ready?

Train Derailments

-- WITF/LancasterOnline: Toxic Trains - Real-Time Hazmat Info Hard To Get, Even For Lancaster County’s First Responders

-- WITF/LancasterOnline: At Least 28 Hazardous Materials Moved Through Lancaster County In 2021

-- WITF/LancasterOnline: Who Responds?  When Do You Evacuate?  A Look At Lancaster County’s Hazardous Rail Transit Plan

-- WITF/LancasterOnline: We Sought Railroad Hazmat Records From 12 Central PA Counties, Only 3 Provided Detailed Lists

-- WITF/LancasterOnline: Hazardous Material On PA Trains, How We Got The Information

-- KYW: Homes Being Evacuated After Train Derailment In Whitemarsh Twp., Montgomery County

-- Inquirer: Montgomery County Train Derailment Spilled Plastic Pellets, But No Toxic Chemicals

-- WHYY: Sinkhole May Be To Blame For Montgomery County Train Derailment

-- City & State PA: PA Lawmakers Renew Calls For Rail Safety Reforms After State’s Latest Train Derailment

-- Inquirer: It’s Imperative Officials Look At The Bigger Picture Of Train Derailments, Says Drexel Environmental Expert

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Activists Bring Supplies And Support To Residents Impacted By Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- WTAE: Ahead Of Ohio Rally, Activists Argue Residents Impacted By Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Should Get Free Health Care

-- WTAE: Study To Explore Human Side Of Environmental Impacts And Crisis Communications Related To Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- KDKA: Testing Finds Toxic Chemical Levels Near Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Site Substantially Higher Than Samples In Neighboring Towns

PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- The Intercept: Energy Company Plotted LNG Natural Gas Plant In Chester, Delaware County

-- GridPhilly.com: A Global Climate Debate Heats Up  As A Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal Looks For A Home In Chester, Delaware County

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Same As Last Week - 23

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Slump 7.5% As Key Norway Gas Processing Plant Maintenance Ends

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Market Still Prone To Price Volatility Risks This Winter, IEA Warns

-- Bloomberg: US, European Commission, Japan, South Korea, Australia Collaborate On LNG Natural Gas Supply Chain Methane Emission Reductions

Environment/Energy Issues

-- Marcellus Drilling News/The Allegheny Front: University Of Pittsburgh Study Finds At Least 800,000 Tons Of Oil & Gas Waste Sent To Landfills Unaccounted For In One Year; Oil & Gas Waste Adds To Radiation Accumulation In Stream Sediments  [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: 800,000 Tons Of Drilling, Frack Waste Unaccounted For In NY-PA-OH [In One Year]

-- The Allegheny Front: Pitt Study Finds Radioactive Materials In Waterways Near Wastewater Treatment Plants Associated With Fracking Waste

-- PJM Interconnection Reports Higher Percentage Of Natural Gas-Fired Electric Generation Outages Than Originally Thought During Winter Storm Elliott - 70%  [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: PJM Interconnection Report: Natural Gas-Fired Electric Generation Accounted For 70% Of Unplanned Outages In Winter Storm Elliott

-- The Intercept: Energy Company Plotted LNG Natural Gas Plant In Chester, Delaware County

-- GridPhilly.com: A Global Climate Debate Heats Up  As A Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal Looks For A Home In Chester, Delaware County

-- Steering Committee Releases Protocol To Allocate $5 Million Penalty Fund Related To The Shell Petrochemical Plant In Beaver County  [PaEN]

-- Beaver County Times: Panel Sets Criteria For $5 Million Shell Petrochemical Plan Penalty Fund In Beaver County

-- TribLive: Beaver County Communities To Receive $5 Million From Shell Petrochemical Plant Penalty Settlement

-- KDKA: $5 Million From Shell Petrochemical Plant Penalty To Fund Environmental, Health Or Quality Of Life Projects

-- Governor’s Regulatory Agenda: DEP To Propose Annual Permit Fee For Unconventional Shale Gas Operations; Updated Waste, Other Regulations Covering Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Coming  [PaEN]

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA House Resolution Brings Natural Gas Severance Tax Idea Back Around, Raising An Old Debate

-- AP: Congressional Republicans Proposed Planting A Trillion Trees As Climate Measure To Avoid Restrictions On Burning Natural Gas, Coal, Oil

-- Scranton Times Editorial: The Trillion Tree Evasion

Other

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Luzerne County Community College To Unveil Statue Of Patrick J. Solano

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Patrick Solano Remembered As ‘A Mentor, A Confidant, A Genius And Our Backbone’

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

House (September 26): House Bill 962 (Vitali-D- Delaware) to restore DEP’s authority to review conventional oil and gas well plugging bonding amounts to help prevent the routine abandonment of between 400 and 600 conventional oil and gas wells a year by operators Read more here;  House Resolution 79 (Pisciottano-D- Allegheny) urging the Biden Administration and Congress to designate Pennsylvania as a hydrogen hub.<> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (September 18): Senate Bill 286 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would redefine when a spill needs to be reported by letting the polluter decide when to notify DEP taking into account control and remedial measures, whether the discharge will harm receiving waters or public health  Read more here; Senate Bill 382 (Laughlin-R-Erie) exempting Lake Erie coastal property owners from annual groin structure fees; Senate Bill 831 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would direct the state to apply for primary authority to regulate Class VI carbon dioxide underground injection wells from the U.S. EPA  Read more here.  <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings

House   

<>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate

 <>  Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.

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

September 26, 27

October 2, 3, 4, 16, 17, 18, 30, 31

November 1, 13, 14, 15

Senate

September 18, 19, 20

October 2, 3, 4, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

November 13, 14, 15

December 11, 12, 13

[Posted: July 23, 2023]

7/24/2023