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

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Here’s What Gov. Shapiro Says About Permitting Reform In PA

-- Inside Climate News: Documents Reveal [A Few] New Details About Gov. Shapiro’s Secret Working Group On Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

-- Richard Negrin Sworn In As DEP Secretary By Gov. Shapiro With Former Sen. Kury, Author Of State Environmental Rights Amendment, Looking On

-- Governor’s Office Publishes Catalog Of Nonregulatory [Guidance] Documents By Agency

Budget

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Gov. Shapiro Signs State Budget Bill, But Vetoes $100 Million For Private School Tuition Vouchers

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: What’s Delivered In PA’s New State Budget And What Needs More Work

-- Post-Gazette: Pitt, Penn State Funding Still In Limbo Despite Shapiro Signing Main State Budget Bill

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: PA Budget Impasse Nears End As Gov. Shapiro Signs Main Spending Bill

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Shapiro Signs Main Budget Bill, Moving Process Forward, Even As Challenges Remain

-- AP: Governor Signs PA’s Main Budget Leaving Work Ahead For Some Programs’ Funding

-- Gov. Shapiro Signs ‘Common Sense, Bipartisan’ State Budget Into Law

-- TribLive Editorial: Pennsylvania Politics’ Annual Game Of Chicken

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Republican Senate Leader Kim Ward Is A ‘Tough As Nails’ Force In PA’s Budget Drama

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports July State Tax Collections $2.9 Billion In July

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports July State Revenues Increased $185.3 Million, 6.9% Over Last Year

-- TribLive Editorial: PA Lawmakers Can Fix Court Filing Fee Problem [Surcharge Lapsed]

Flooding

-- WHYY: FEMA Tells Mid-Atlantic Residents To ‘Be Ready’ As Peak Hurricane Season Nears

-- Scranton Times: Engineer From PennDOT’s Dunmore Office Assisting With Flood Recovery In Vermont

-- Lancaster Farming: Managing Increased Drought And Flooding Risk For Pennsylvania

-- York Daily Record: Farmers’ Almanac: Don’t Expect A Mild Winter In Central PA Like Last Year

-- Erie Times: ‘A Catastrophe Has Befallen Us:’ The Mill Creek Flood Of 1915 

Train Derailments

-- Gov. Shapiro: Darlington Twp., Beaver County To Receive $544,700 From Norfolk Southern To Pay For Road Repairs As A Result Of The Train Derailment

-- LancasterOnline: Norfolk Southern Fails To Notify Local Fire Crews Of Maintenance Work That Caused Dozens Of Small Fires Along Tracks

-- TribLive: Half A Year After Norfolk Southern Train Derailment, East Palestine’s Fight To Recover Continues

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: As 6-month Anniversary Of Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Nears, East Palestine, OH Residents Press Officials, Fight Burnout

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Rattled Region 6 Months Ago, Fight For Accountability, Safer Rail Freight Continues - By Cong. Chris Deluzio

-- AP: 6 Months After Norfolk Southern Train Derailment, Congress Is Deadlocked On New Rules For Safety
-- The Guardian: ‘It Feels Like An Apocalyptic Movie:’ Life In East Palestine, OH 6 Months After Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- WESA/AP: Norfolk Southern Changes Policy On Overheated Bearings, Months After Ohio Train Derailment

PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: Pennsylvania- $3.90; National- $3.83; Ohio- $3.44

-- MCall: PA Region Gasoline Prices Show Biggest Weekly Increase In More Than A Year

-- TribLive: Gasoline Prices Soar Amid Heat-Related Refinery Outages, Analyst Says

-- AP: Saudi Arabia Extends Cut Of Oil Production Thru September, Trying To Boost Prices 

-- WFMJ: National Fuel Gas To Reduce Natural Gas Supply Charges 58% Due To Lower International Prices For Natural Gas

-- Buffalo News: Falling Natural Gas Prices Take A Toll On National Fuel Gas Profits

-- Reuters: Chesapeake Energy Profit Slides On Lower Natural Gas Prices [As War Profits Ebb]

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs-- 21-- Down 1 From Last Week

-- Inquirer Column: Why PA Should Lead On LNG Natural Gas Exports - By Former Rep. Becky Corbin

-- Bloomberg: Weaker European Natural Gas Pricess Push LNG Imports To Lowest Since 2021

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Poised To Erase About 25% Of Value In July

-- Reuters Column: US Oil And Natural Gas Production Begins To Flatten

-- Reuters: US Oil Supplied Rises In May To Highest Since August 2019 - EIA

Environment/Energy Issues

-- DEP Investigates Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Leak As Possible Source Of Village Of Reno Water Supply Contamination In Venango County; Customers Under Do Not Consume Advisory For 2 Weeks+  [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - July 29 to August 4; More Abandoned, Leaking Wells, Reno Water Supply Contamination; Rager Mtn. Natural Gas Storage Area Spills  [PaEN]

-- New Penn State Study: Brine Water Pumped From Played-Out Conventional Oil & Gas Wells And Used As Dust Suppressants, Winter Road Treatments Exceed Environmental, Health Standards, Just Like Conventional Oil & Gas Brine Water  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Take A Deep Breath! Now Think What You Just Inhaled. If You Live Along A Dirt Road You Could Be Inhaling Oil & Gas Wastewater - By Siri Lawson, Warren County   [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: ‘Halliburton Loophole’ Allows Shale Gas Fracking Companies To Avoid Chemical Regulation

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Negotiating Community Benefits, Like Those With Shell Petrochemical Plant Penalty Fund In Beaver County, Takes A Village; So Does Mitigating Harm

-- StateImpactPA: PASA Sustainable Agriculture Pitches Farms On Solar Energy Facility Model That Keeps Farmland Usable, Takes Up Less Space

-- The Center Square: Senate Bill Argues Brownfields Are Better For Solar Energy Facilities Than Farmland

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Bill To Boost Solar Energy In PA Schools Has Bipartisan Support

-- Citizens Voice Editorial: Build Solar Energy Facilities In Urban, Rural Settings

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Spread Solar Power

-- AP: First Generation Of Solar Panels Will Wear Out, A Recycling Industry Is Taking Shape

-- Environmental Health Project: Shale Gas Development And Cancer Fact Sheet

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Lawmakers Hear Testimony On PA’s Urban Search And Rescue Capabilities

-- Wall Street Journal: 3 Men Battle FBI Over Buried Civil War Gold Near Dents Run, PA: ‘Stuff Just Doesn’t Add Up’

-- WESA: Lenape Nation Of Pennsylvania Seeking State Recognition For 30 Years

-- Post-Gazette - Salena Zito: A Government That Listens Is No Longer A Fish Story [Fish & Boat Commission Fish Stocking Rule Changes]

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 (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.

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.

Committee Meetings

House   

August 8-- Senate/House Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committees hold information session on 2023 Federal Farm Bill. Ag Progress Days, 2170 W. Pine Grove Road, Furnace, PA. 8:30 a.m.

<>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate

August 8-- Senate/House Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committees hold information session on 2023 Federal Farm Bill. Ag Progress Days, 2170 W. Pine Grove Road, Furnace, PA. 8:30 a.m.

 <>  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--

Senate

September 18, 19, 20

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

November 13, 14, 15

December 11, 12, 13

House

September 26, 27

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

November 1, 13, 14, 15

[Posted: August 6, 2023]

8/7/2023