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The information you need to follow legislation in the House and Senate- starting with articles and NewsClips from last week--
Environment & Energy NewsClips--
-- Pennsylvania Environmental Council Celebrates 200th Podcast Recognizing Another Milestone: Issue #1,000 Of PA Environment Digest [PaEN]
-- Erie Times: Gov. Ridge Addresses Erie Crowd About Nation’s 250th Birthday
Gov. Shapiro
-- PA Capital-Star: Gov. Shapiro Wants You To Text Him
Budget
-- PA Capital-Star: Lawmakers Look For Answers To Fix PA’s Unconstitutional School Funding System
-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Both Parties Take Credit For PA’s Improved Financial Outlook
-- PennLive - John Baer: State Budget Battles Hide The Good, Prevent The Possible
-- Post-Gazette Editorial: A State Budget Compromise Is Possible, If Pragmatism Can Overcome Ideology
Oil & Gas Health Study
-- Environmental Health Project Finds Results ‘Very Concerning’ From University Of Pittsburgh Studies Showing Links Between Natural Gas Development And Lymphoma Cancer, Worsening Asthma Conditions, Lower Birth Weights [PaEN]
-- Public Source: ‘It’s Just Too Close:’ People Living Near Natural Gas Drilling, Industrial Facilities Suffer As State And Local Governments Fail To Buffer Homes
-- Bedford Gazette Editorial: Natural Gas Development is Making Pennsylvanians Sick, Lawmakers Must Act
-- Oil & Gas Industry Spills, Releases Created Over 575 New Brownfield Sites So Far In Pennsylvania, With More Every Week [PaEN]
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: PA Oil, Natural Gas Industry Urge EPA To Drop Plans To Tighten Particulate Matter Limits
Village Of Reno Water Supply Contamination
-- Petro Erie, Inc. Says It Lacks The Financial Ability To Comply With DEP’s Order To Clean Up Conventional Oil Well Wastewater That Contaminated The Village Of Reno’s Water Supply In Venango County; Will Taxpayers Be Stuck With Cleanup Costs Again? [PaEN]
-- The Derrick - Makayla Keating: Residents In Village Of Reno, Venango County Still Reporting Problems With Water Supply Contaminated By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater; Late Mayor Of Sugarcreek Boro Praised [PDF of Article]
-- The Derrick - Makayla Keating: Some Residents Of Village Of Reno, Venango County Didn’t Receive Water Updates Relating To Contamination Of Their Water Supply By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater [PDF of Article]
-- The Derrick - Makayla Keating: The Late Sugarcreek Boro Mayor Charlie McDaniel Praised For Leadership Responding To Village Of Reno Water Supply Emergency Caused By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill [PDF of article]
-- The Derrick: Sugarcreek Boro Mayor Found Deceased [Was dealing with Village Of Reno water emergency since July 20 caused by conventional oil well wastewater contamination]
Home Explosions
-- WTAE: Records Show Dozens Of Abandoned Natural Gas Wells In Plum Boro, Allegheny County
Train Derailments
-- TribLive: PA Cong. Deluzio, US Sen. Fetterman Renew Calls For Action On Railway Safety Act
-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Rail Cutbacks Threaten Communities, Cities In Ways That Could Be ‘Catastrophic,’ Officials Urge Passing Of Federal Rail Safety Legislation [PA Bill Stuck In Senate]
-- TribLive: CNX Workers At Site Of Train Derailment Near Connellsville Repairing Damaged Rail Lines [No Leaks]
-- AP: Norfolk Southern CEO Promises To Keep Improving Safety On The Railroad Based On Consultant’s Report
Flooding
-- NRCS-PA Conducting Rapid Flood Disaster Recovery Needs Survey In Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties; Responses Due Oct. 7 [PaEN]
-- Scranton Times: Flash Flooding Catastrophic For Lackawanna County
-- Scranton Times: Flash Flood Sweeps Away ‘The Love Of My Life’
-- Citizens Voice: Flash Flood Interrupts Wedding In Luzerne County
-- PA Capital-Star: ‘Resources Are Going To Be Spread Thin:’ NE PA Rallies After Weekend Storms
-- Scranton Times: PEMA Opens Web Link For Residents, Businesses To Report Storm Damage In NE PA
-- Scranton Times: Sen. Casey Surveys Lackawanna County Flood Damage As Recovery Work Continues In Region
-- Scranton Times: Scranton Eyes Request For Federal Flood Victim Buyout As Recovery Continues
-- Scranton Times: Scranton Offers Assistance For Flooded Properties At Pop-Up Town Halls
-- Scranton Times: Scranton Area Community Foundation To Collect Funds For Flood Relief
-- Scranton Times: Trolley Trail Troubles: Flash Flooding Damage Closes Popular Path In Lackawanna County
-- Scranton Times Editorial: Relocation Best Answer For Floods
-- Inquirer: Army Corps Of Engineers Propose 1,400 Foot Levee In Eastwick To Ease Flooding
-- Reading Eagle: Flooding In Northern Berks Township Puts Homes, Residents At Risk, Officials Say
-- Reading Eagle: Berks County Leaders Want Response On Federal Flood Disaster Declaration
-- Republican Herald: Pottsville Putting Plans In Place To Address Flooding While Businessman Calls For Action
-- AP: As Climate Risks Increase, New York Could Require Flood Disclosures In Home Sales
-- AP: Louisiana, 9 Other States Ask Federal Judge To Block Changes In National Flood Insurance Program
-- AP: US Sets Record For Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters In A Year, And There’s Still 4 Months To Go
PA Politics Of Russian Invasion
-- AAA Gasoline Prices: PA- $3.89; National- $3.86; Ohio- $3.63
-- Warren Times: Warren County Leading Region In High Gasoline Prices
-- AP: High Gasoline Prices Push Up Inflation, but Prices Overall Moving In Right Direction
-- Financial Times: Why Oil Is Back To $90 A Barrel
-- Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia’s Oil Squeeze Rekindles Talk Of $100 Oil
-- Wall Street Journal: Oil Production Cuts By OPEC, Allies Means Fuel Prices Are Soaring
-- Reuters: US Crude Oil Output To Rise To Record 12.76 Million BPD In 2023, EIA
-- Baker Hughes PA Natural Gas Drilling Rig Count Unchanged At 21
-- The Irish Times: Irish Planning Board Refuses Permission To Build LNG Natural Gas Terminal On Shannon Estuary Near Ballylongford, County Kerry
-- Reuters: Freeport LNG Natural Gas Facility Cancels 4 Cargoes Since Feedgas Intake Fell; Still Not Commenting On Plant Operations
-- Reuters: Freeport LNG Natural Gas Feed Intake Cut For 5th Day Suggesting Plant Outage; Company Refused To Comment
-- NYT: Meet The Oil Man In Charge Of Leading The World Away From Oil, Natural Gas
Environment/Energy Issues
-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - September 9 to 15; First Abandoned Shale Gas Well Pad? Another Leaking Equitrans Storage Well; Plugging Grant Twp. Injection Well [PaEN]
-- Oil & Gas Industry Spills, Releases Created Over 575 New Brownfield Sites So Far In Pennsylvania, With More Every Week [PaEN]
-- Environmental Health Project Finds Results ‘Very Concerning’ From University Of Pittsburgh Studies Showing Links Between Natural Gas Development And Lymphoma Cancer, Worsening Asthma Conditions, Lower Birth Weights [PaEN]
-- Public Source: ‘It’s Just Too Close:’ People Living Near Natural Gas Drilling, Industrial Facilities Suffer As State And Local Governments Fail To Buffer Homes
-- Bedford Gazette Editorial: Natural Gas Development is Making Pennsylvanians Sick, Lawmakers Must Act
-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Abandoned Conventional Oil, Gas Wells In PA Must Be Plugged - By Well Done Foundation [In The Business Of Plugging Wells]
-- Inside Climate News: Ohio Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well Suspended Over ‘Imminent Danger’ To Drinking Water [PA gas drillers use Ohio sites for disposal]
-- The Allegheny Front: Ohio Attorney General Investigating Disputed Public Comments That Urge Natural Gas Development In State Parks
-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Natural Gas Industry Says Not Enough Pipelines Could Cut Off Expansion Of Natural Gas Supplies [Pipelines are the most penalized industry in PA for environmental violations]
-- EPA Issues Final Rule Strengthening State Section 401 Water Quality Certification Rule For Infrastructure, Pipeline, Development Projects [Pipelines are the most penalized industry in PA for environmental violations]
-- The Hill: EPA Gives States More Authority To Block Pipeline Projects [Section 401 Certification Rule]
-- Growing Greener Coalition Opposes Senate Amendment Taking $150 Million From Game Commission Fund That Threatens Federal Wildlife Funding [PaEN]
-- PennLive Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Can Help Our Country Meet The Growing Demand For Rare-Earth Minerals - By Rep. Mike Armanini (R-Clearfield) [Already Started With Federal Grants]
-- Evangelical Environmental Network Applauds Members Of Congress For Introducing Legislation To Build Better, More Stable Integrated Electric Grids
-- Warren Times: PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Ban, Testing Proposed
-- PA Capital-Star: Senators Fetterman, Braun Introduce Organic Agriculture Research Bill To Protect Funding
-- Financial Times: World At ‘Beginning Of End’ Of Fossil Fuel Era, Says Global Energy Agency [Demand For Oil, Natural Gas, Coal Will All Peak Before 2030]
-- Wall Street Journal: Demand For Oil, Natural Gas, Coal To Peak This Decade, IEA Chief Says
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 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
September 26-- House Game and Fisheries Committee informational meeting on problems with Game Commission launch of license sales. Room 523 Irvis Building. 9:00 a.m. Click Here to watch live online.
<> Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.
Senate
September 18-- Senate Appropriations Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 382 (Laughlin-R-Erie) exempting certain landowners from paying annual fee for constructing groins into Lake Erie. Rules Room. Off The Floor. [No video coverage]
September 19-- Senate State Government Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 723 (Phillips-Hill-R-York) prohibiting a former public official or employee from representing a matter before the governmental body with which he was associated for two years, instead of one [does not include members of the General Assembly or lawyers]. Room 8E-A East Wing. Noon. Click Here to watch live.
September 20-- Senate Game and Fisheries Committee hearing on online sales of hunting licenses by the Game Commission. Room 8E-B East Wing. 10:00 a.m. Click Here to watch live online.
<> 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: September 17, 2023]
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