Opportunities to learn more about environmental and energy issues affecting Pennsylvania for students and adults--

Awards/Recognition

-- EPA Accepting Nominations For President's Environmental Student & Teacher Awards  [PaEN]

-- FracTracker Alliance Recognizes 5 Individuals With The 2023 Community Sentinel Awards - 3 From Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

-- PennDOT, Keep PA Beautiful Name 33 Students As The 2023-24 Young Ambassadors Promoting A Clean And Beautiful Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

-- Dickinson College Farm Anaerobic Digester Project Wins National Recognition  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: Paul W. Meyer, Celebrated Former Executive Director Of The Morris Arboretum & Gardens, Has Died At 71

Upcoming Events

-- Federal Interagency Working Group On Coal & Power Plant Communities Holds Oct. 20 Program On Catalyzing Economic Development In PA's Energy Communities At Westmoreland Community College  [PaEN]

-- PA Resources Council, Partners Expand Traveling Glass Recycling Bin Program To Pilot In Delaware County - Oct. 21-26 [PaEN]

-- DEP Adds 3 More Hearings On Interim Final Environmental Justice Permit Review Policy [PaEN]

-- Scranton Times: DEP Holds Hearing At University Of Scranton For New Environmental Justice Policy

-- Protect PT, Partners Host Oct. 26 Webinar On PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' In Pennsylvania's Oil & Gas Production  [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: Lead Poisoning A Silent Menace In Lancaster: Test Soil, Toys And Even Kids At Free Event Oct. 28

-- Warren Times: Audubon Community Nature Center ‘Investigators’ To Explore Water’s Journey Oct. 28

-- Susquehanna Greenway Partnership Now Accepting Applications For 2023 Mini-Grants; Webinar Nov. 2  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Nov. 16 Webinar On Agrivoltaics And Large-Scale Solar Facilities  [PaEN]

-- Registration Open For PASA Sustainable Agriculture Conference Feb. 8-10

Programs/Information

-- Altoona Mirror: Community Members’ Efforts Help Establish Rain Garden At Duncansville Memorial Park

-- NextPittsburgh: Behind-The-Scenes Look At Allegheny County Sewage Treatment Plant And New Construction

-- The Center Square: More Trees Coming To Low-Income,Historically Black Neighborhoods Across Pittsburgh

-- Williamsport Sun - Ryan Reed, DCNR: Forests Help With Climate Change

-- Keep PA Beautiful Community News, Resources: Young Ambassadors; Open Your Eyes To Litter Student Book Series; Litter Hawk Youth Award Nominations Due Jan. 31

-- Williamsport Sun: Lycoming College Clean Water Institute’s Matt Kaunert Speaks About Declining Populations Of Hellbenders In Pennsylvania

-- Erie Times: Erie Council OKs Lease With Gannon University To Build Great Lakes Water Research And Education Center Inside Library

-- USDA NRCS-PA  Opens Urban Service Center In Philadelphia To Support Urban Agriculture

-- USDA NRCS-PA: Federal, State Officials Launch New Training Center For Ag Professionals In Pennsylvania

-- Rodale Institute 2022 Annual Report: Growing The Regenerative, Organic Agriculture Movement

-- Stroud Water Research Center UpStream: Bringing Stream Life To You! Add Green Space, Reduce Flooding; Never Too Old To Learn To Build Soil Health  [PaEN]

-- Oct. 20 Take Five Fridays With Pam Now Available, PA Parks & Forests Foundation  [PaEN]

-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation Penn’s Stewards Newsletter Features History Of Lehigh Gorge State Park Wilderness  [PaEN]

-- North Branch Land Trust, Earth Conservancy, DCNR Preserve 1,400 Acres In Luzerne County  [PaEN]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Groups Complete Protection Of 1,400 Acres Of Wilkes-Barre Mountain

-- Natural Lands Adds 47 Acres To William Penn State Forest Zimmerman Natural Area In Berks County  [PaEN]

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bower: Reflections In Nature: Spider Silk Is Extremely Strong Despite It’s Very Thin Width

Public Participation

-- DCNR To Hold Nov. 6 Public Meeting On Big Elk Creek State Park Planning Process In Chester County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Adds 3 More Hearings On Interim Final Environmental Justice Permit Review Policy [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Holds Nov. 2 Hearing On Water Withdrawal Requests, Including Shale Gas Drilling In Loyalsock, Pine Creek Exceptional Value Watersheds  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - October 21  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 62 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In October 21 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

-- MCall: DEP To Take Public Comment On Controversial Warehouse Proposal For Lowhill Twp.

Background On Issues

-- Gov. Shapiro: We Need Stronger Laws To Deal With The ‘Corporate Greed’ That Let Oil & Gas Operators Get Away With Abandoning Wells For Far Too Long [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - October 14 to 20 - 6 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Conventional Gas Migration Incident; Inactive Shale Gas Wells [PaEN]

-- 9th Compendium Of Studies On Health & Environmental Harms From Natural Gas Development Released - ‘The Rapidly Expanding Body Of Evidence Compiled Here Is Massive, Troubling And Cries Out For Decisive Action’  [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Research By Public Health Experts Shows ‘Damning’ Evidence Of Harms From Natural Gas Development; Industry Rejected The Reports As ‘Junk Science’

-- The Derrick - Makayla Keating: Village Of Reno ‘Getting Back To Normal’ After July Conventional Oil Wastewater Spill Caused Water Crisis  [PDF of article]

-- The Derrick: Late Sugarcreek Boro Mayor Charlie McDaniel Praised For Leadership Responding To Village Of Reno Water Supply Emergency Caused By Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill

-- TribLive: West Deer Twp., Allegheny County Set To Hear Plan For 2nd Olympus Energy Shale Gas Well Pad

-- TribLive: Upper Burrell Twp., Westmoreland County To Consider 5th Olympus Energy Shale Gas Well Pad Related Pipelines

-- Gov. Shapiro Marks Plugging 100th Conventional Oil & Gas Well In 10 Months; New Initiative Allows Texting Abandoned Well Photos/Locations To Governor That Need Plugging  [PaEN]

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: The Long Road Ahead For Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging Effort

-- WTAE: Shapiro Announces 100th Abandoned Conventional Well Plugged; Homeowner With Contaminated Drinking Water Frustrated By Delays

-- Observer-Reporter: Milestone Moment: Hillman State Park Site Of State’s 100th Conventional Abandoned Well Plugging

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: 100 Plugged And 300,000+ To Go: Abandoned Conventional Well Cleanup Effort Jumps With Federal Money

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Editorial: Praise To Shapiro Administration For Plugging Old Conventional Abandoned Oil & Gas Wells

-- Senate Committee Briefing Finds No Definition Or Standard For ‘Responsibly Sourced’ Natural Gas; PA Producers Already Below One RS Threshold  [PaEN]

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Methane Emissions Monitoring Grabs Senate Committee’s Attention

-- PA Physicians For Social Responsibility: Methane Leaks From SEPTA Gas Generation Plant, Philadelphia  [Video]

-- Encina Fort Union LLC Withdraws Stormwater Permit Application For A Facility That Chemically Recycles Waste Plastics In Northumberland County After It Could Not Respond To Major Deficiencies In 4 Months  [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News: Sen. Fetterman, Cong. Cartwright, Other Members Call For GAO Investigation Of Environmental Damage Caused By ‘Temporarily’ Inactive Coal Mines

-- TribLive: Clean Energy Funds Investment Can Aid Hard-Hit Communities

-- Guest Essay: My Hometown Shows The Benefits Of The Fossil Fuel Industry Come At A Tremendous Cost - Gov. Shapiro, Let's Hold Them Accountable - Support The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative  - By Rev. Mitchell Hescox, Evangelical Environmental Network - Action  [PaEN]

-- WITF: How Pennsylvania Churches Are Addressing Climate Change By Tapping The Power Of The Sun

-- Republican Herald: Solar Panels Brighten Energy Picture In Pottsville Schools

-- Williamsport Sun: Township Zoning Officials Grill Solar Energy Company, Set Conditions For Special Exception Approval

-- NextPittsburgh: Solar-Powered Millvale Community Hub Breaks Ground… Kind Of

-- The Shenandoah Sentinel: Reading Anthracite Gets First Solar Energy Facility Approved

-- WESA: Planned Pittsburgh Solar Energy Facility On Brownfield Site Generates Continued Interest With Neighbors

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster County Seeks To Ramp Up Renewable Energy Amid Slow State Progress

-- Guest Post: Bobscaping Blog: When Will Peters Twp., Washington County Finally ‘Go Green;’  Failed To Install Solar Energy On Their Buildings Despite Multiple Opportunities

-- Erie Times: Venango Township Residents Raise Concerns About Proposed Solar Energy Facility

-- Reading Eagle: Experts Testify In Hearing On Fate Of 440-Acre Solar Energy Facility In Northern Berks

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Nov. 16 Webinar On Agrivoltaics And Large-Scale Solar Facilities  [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Directs North American Electric Reliability Corp. To Draft Reliability Standards For Wind, Solar And Storage

-- US DOE Awards $3.5 Billion In Grants To Strengthen Power Grid Against Extreme Weather, To Deliver Cheaper, Cleaner, Reliable Energy, PA Included  [PaEN]

-- WHYY: Millions Of Federal Dollars Could Help PA Build Climate-Ready Electric Grid

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Duquesne Light Gets $23 Million In DOE Funding For Electrical Grid Upgrades

-- Hilco Redevelopment Breaks Ground For Bellwether District In South Philadelphia On Former Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery Site

-- WHYY/BillyPenn: What To Know About The Bellwether District, The Giant Complex Now Rising On The Site Of The Former Philadelphia Refinery

-- Courier Times: Nooses And Slurs vs. Contested Firing: PA Workplace Discrimination Cases Yield Very Different Outcomes; Case Of Oil & Gas Employee vs. Starbucks Manager

-- NPR: How Natural Gas Utilities Used Tobacco Tactics To Avoid Gas Stove Regulations

-- Spotlight PA: Potter County Township Wants To Make It Easier For Other Places In PA To Fight Oil/Gas Wastewater Injection Wells

-- Inside Climate News: Answers About Old Conventional Gas Wells Repurposed As Injection Wells For Oil/Gas Wastewater May Never Be Fully Unearthed

-- House Committee Reports Out Cryptocurrency Mining Bill Without Permit Moratorium; Resolution To Encourage Geothermal Energy From Abandoned Mine Pools; Hearing On Gas Facility Setbacks Oct. 30  [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: PA House Environmental Leader Guts His Own Bill To Manage Cryptocurrency Mining Growth

-- Lancaster Farming: Legislation Setting Rules For Cryptocurrency Mining Gutted, Threatening Rural Pennsylvania

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: House Committee Revives Plans For Impact Study On Cryptocurrency Mining

-- MCall: Panther Creek Power Plant Wants To Burn Tires To Fuel Its Cryptocurrency Mining Operation, Why Environmentalists Are Fighting It

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: DEP Secretary: Hydrogen Hub Announcement ‘Dawn Of Clean Energy Economy;’ DEP Overseeing Projects With Eye Toward Environmental Justice

-- Observer-Reporter: Southwest PA Poised To Play Large Role In Hydrogen Energy

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: New Southeast PA Hydrogen Hub Will Create 20,000 Jobs, May Power SEPTA Buses And Trash Trucks

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Mapping The Hydrogen Hub In The Midst Of DEP’s ‘Environmental Justice’ Communities On PennEnviroScreen 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Blacklick Valley H.S. Students Get Inside Look At $26 Million Plan To Treat Mine Drainage Pollution, Revive Blacklick Creek

-- Altoona Mirror: Sediment Reduction Project On Beaverdam Branch, juniata River Makes Progress

-- Guest Essay: Guardians Of The Susquehanna: The Vital Role Of The Susquehanna River Basin Commission - By Gene G. Veno, SRBC Director Of Government Affairs

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Oct. 20 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Post-Gazette - Mary Ann Thomas: 21 Species Declared Extinct, But Not The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

-- Courier Times: Is Bucks County’s Once Booming Bird Population Beginning To Dwindle?

-- KYW: New Documentary About Lyme Disease- The Quiet Epidemic-- Is Coming To Philadelphia

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Pennsylvanians Should Educate Themselves About Spotted Lanternfly

-- AP: Atlantic Hurricanes Now Twice As Likely To Grow From Minor To Whopper Than Decades Ago Study Says

-- Bloomberg: Climate Change Driving A Global Water Trade You Can’t See

Visit the PA Parks & Forests Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events for activities happening near you.

Visit DEP’s Teaching Green webpage to learn about more environmental education resources.

Visit the PA Environment Digest Calendar Of Events for more opportunities.

[Posted: October 22, 2023]

10/23/2023