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

-- Gov. Shapiro, First Lady Visit Kinzua Bridge State Park, Re-Announce DCNR Local Recreation, Conservation Grants

Budget

-- The Center Square: Report On State Fiscal Health Calls Pennsylvania Taxpayer ‘Sinkhole’

-- Post-Gazette/Capitolwire.com: Review: Some PA Tax Credit Programs Seem To Be Working While Others Are Largely Unused 

-- AP: PA Universities Still Waiting For State Subsidies, It Won’t Make Them More Affordable

Flooding

-- Reading Eagle: State Officials Tour Communities Ravaged By July Flooding In Berks

-- Patch: Flooding Assessment Underway In Lower Makefield Twp., Bucks County

-- ABC27: What Is The Worst Natural Disaster To Hit Pennsylvania?

-- The Guardian: Climate Crisis Costing $16 Million An Hour In Extreme Weather Damage, Study Estimates

-- Financial Times: Global Water Cycles Are ‘Spinning Out Of Balance,’ Weather Agency Reports

Energy - Hydrogen Hubs

-- DOE Awards Natural Gas-Based Hydrogen Hub In Western PA, Renewable/Nuclear Power-Based Hydrogen Hub In Eastern PA; Reactions  [PaEN]

Natural Gas Explosions

-- Reading Eagle: Chocolate Company Pushes Back Against OSHA Finding Company Was Responsible For Deaths From Natural Gas Explosion

Village Of Reno Water Supply Contamination

-- The Derrick: Permanent Alternate Water Supply Being Considered For Village Of Reno, Venango County After Contamination By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill  [PaEN]

Train Derailments

-- TribLive: Allegheny, Westmoreland Emergency Units Practice Hazard Response With Norfolk Southern’s ‘Safety Train’

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Policy Group Says PA’s $200 Million Rail Service Deal With Norfolk Southern Picks Taxpayers’ Pockets

-- WTAE: ‘Unity Council’ Advocacy Group Expresses Continuing Health Concerns At Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Site

-- The Allegheny Front: Health Experts To Hold Online Workshops Looking Into Impacts Of Norfolk Southern Train Derailment In Ohio

-- AP: NTSB Chair Says New Locomotive Camera Rule Is Flawed Because It Excludes Freight Railroads

PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Gasoline Prices:  PA- $3.77; National- $3.60; Ohio- $3.18

-- Warren Times: Gasoline Prices Fall In Region, But Not In Warren County  [In Middle Of Conventional Oil Drilling Country]

-- WNEP: Higher Heating Oil Prices Make For Chilly Consumers

-- Reuters: US Home Heating Bills Seen Flat To Lower This Winter Over Last, Natural Gas Maybe Lower EIA Says

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Up One From Last Week To 21

-- PJM Interconnection Formally Files Changes To Electric Capacity Market Rules With FERC Based Largely On Unreliability Of Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants During Winter Storm Elliot  [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg: Fear Grips Europe’s Natural Gas Market Facing Winter Supply Threats [War, Strikes, Infrastructure Sabotage, Leaks]

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Pause Increases As Traders Monitor Australia LNG Talks

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Price Surges 9.7% Amid Pipeline Leak, Crude Oil Price Gains  [Oil, Natural Gas Industries Again Poised To Profit From War]

-- USA Today: Could Israel-Hamas War Raise Gasoline Prices To $5?

-- Financial Times: Oil Jumps Above $90 On Concerns Over Escalation In Israel-Hamas War  [‘Prices Could Easily Get A Lot Worse’]

-- The Guardian: Oil Price Leaps After Hamas Attack On Israel

-- Financial Times: Oil Price Jumps To $89 A Barrel Following Hamas Attack On Israel

-- Bloomberg: Exxon To Buy Pioneer Shale Oil For $60 Billion

-- Financial Times: Behind ExxonMobil’s Contrarian $60 Billion Shale Oil Bet

Environment/Energy Issues

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Still Fighting To Make Road Dumping Its Wastewater Legal; DEP Introduces Concepts Of A ‘Life Insurance Policy’ For Plugging Wells; Certified 3rd Party Inspectors  [PaEN]

-- Vice Chair Of DEP Citizens Advisory Council Asks DEP To Report On University Of Pittsburgh Study That Found At Least 800,000 Tons Of Oil & Gas Production Waste Sent To Landfills Was Unaccounted For In One Year  [PaEN]

-- DEP Reports Shale Gas Operations Sent Over 138,000 Cubic Feet Of Radioactive TENORM Waste To Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facilities For Disposal In 2022 - Over  911,000 Cubic Feet Since 2017  [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - October 7 to 13 - More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Spills; Venting Gas; Emergency Well Plugging  [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection Formally Files Changes To Electric Capacity Market Rules With FERC Based Largely On Unreliability Of Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants During Winter Storm Elliot  [PaEN]

-- The Allegheny Front: After Fayette County’s First Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well Permit Was Withdrawn From EPA; Residents Worry There May Be More To Come

-- TribLive: Some Plum Boro, Allegheny County Residents, Activists Push Back Against 2nd Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well

-- Post-Gazette: Plum Boro, Allegheny County, Environmental Group Go To Commonwealth Court Trying To Stop New Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well

-- Inside Climate News: Plum Boro, Allegheny County, Environmental Group Go To Commonwealth Court Trying To Stop New Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Plum Boro, Allegheny County Residents Battle Penneco, Zoning Board Over Oil, Gas Wastewater Injection Well

-- PA Physicians For Social Responsibility: MarkWest Carpenter Natural Gas Compressor Station Natural Gas Leaks In Washington County [Video]

-- Better Path Coalition: Oct. 18 Webinar Launching 9th Compendium Of Scientific, Medical Findings Demonstrating Risks, Harms Of Natural Gas Development, Infrastructure  [PaEN]

-- House Committee Meets Oct. 16 On Cryptocurrency Mining Moratorium Bill; Resolution To Study Potential Of Geothermal Energy From Abandoned Mine Pools  [PaEN]

-- The Derrick: $30 Million, 20 MW Solar Energy Facility To Break Ground In Clarion County Next Spring

-- Centre Daily Times Climate Watch: Make Community Solar Legal In Pennsylvania

-- The Center Square: Public Electric Vehicle Charging May Get Private Boost Thru C-PACE

-- The Daily Item Letter: Fossil Fuels Have A History Of Being Unreliable

-- Warren Times: Exposed Veterans Can Benefit From PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Act

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 (October 16): 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; House Bill 1474 (Ciresi-D-Montgomery) that would expand the  C-PACE clean energy financing program to include electric vehicle charging infrastructure; House Resolution 79 (Pisciottano-D-Allegheny) urging the Biden Administration and Congress to designate Pennsylvania as a hydrogen hub; House Resolution 196 (Matzie-D-Beaver) designating the week of September 18-24 Rail Safety Week. <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (October 16): Senate Bill 723 (Phillips-Hill-R-York) prohibits public employees from lobbying the agencies they worked for for two years, but does not apply to lawmakers or lawyers. <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings

House   

October 16-- House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 1476 (Vitali-D-Delaware) establishes reporting requirements for certain cryptocurrency mining operations and a two-year moratorium on air permits for behind-the-grid energy generation used for cryptocurrency mining; House Resolution 185 (Webster-D- Montgomery) directs the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study on the feasibility of using geothermal energy technologies that utilize abandoned mining locations and operations in this Commonwealth (sponsor summary); House Resolution 228 (Otten-D-Chester) designates the week of October 1 through 7, 2023, as "Climate Week" in Pennsylvania (sponsor summary). Room G-50 of the Irvis Building. 10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch live online.   Read more here.

October 18-- House Local Government Committee meets to consider House Bill 913 (Shusterman-D-Chester) authorize counties to adopt open space taxes (sponsor summary).  Room 60 East Wing.  10:00.  Click Here to watch online.

<>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate

October 17-- Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee holds an informational meeting on Project Canary Program to identify, measure, report oil and gas industry methane emissions.  Room 8E-A East Wing. 10:00 a.m.  Click Here to watch live.

October 25-- Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure.  Room 8E-B East Wing Capitol Building.  1:30 p.m. Click Here to register to attend via Zoom.   Click Here to watch live.

 <>  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

October 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

November 13, 14, 15

December 11, 12, 13

House

October 16, 17, 18, 30, 31

November 1, 13, 14, 15

December 11, 12, 13

[Posted: October 15, 2023]

10/16/2023