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

Awards/Recognition

-- Voting Begins For Pennsylvania’s 2024 River Of The Year: Allegheny, Lackawaxen, Youghiogheny Rivers  [PaEN]

-- WNEP: Cast Your Vote For The State’s River Of The Year - Lackawaxen River In Running

-- WITF: DCNR Wants You To Pick Pennsylvania’s River Of The Year

-- Warren Times: Allegheny River Nominated For River Of The Year

-- Rep. Rob Mercuri Presents Allegheny County Resident Lynn Appman With Keep PA Beautiful Community Pride Award  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Ranks 4th In US In 2024 QS World University Rankings For Sustainability

-- Philadelphia Solar Energy Assn. Accepting Entries In Student Imagine A Clean Energy Future Contest  [PaEN]

-- Reminder: Nominations Due For 2024 Parks & Forests Foundation Awards Dec. 15  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Go Laurel Highlands Recognizes 9 Photo Contest Winners

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Remembering Mike Burke, The Bard Of The On The Wing Column, Born And Raised In Loretto, Cambria County

Grants

-- Williamsport Sun: Rep. Flick To Host DCNR Grant Seminar Dec. 20

-- American Farmland Trust Seeking PA Corn, Soybean Farmers To Join Soil Health Practices Study, $1,000 Stipend Offered For Qualified Farmers  [PaEN]

Help Wanted

-- EPA Announces $1 Million In Grants For Brownfield Job Training In Pittsburgh, Cumberland County [PaEN]

Upcoming Events

-- Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Bay: Dec. 7 Screening Of ‘A Plastic Wave’ - How To Reduce Your Plastic Waste, 7:00 p.m.

-- House Environmental Committee To Hold Dec. 11 Hearing On Bill To Expand Renewable Energy Mandates In Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards  [PaEN]

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: What’s The Current State of Clean Energy Transition?

-- Hydrogen Tax Credit Changes, Riparian Buffers, Light Pollution On House Environmental Committee Agenda For Dec. 13  [PaEN]

-- PA Firefly Festival Update: Applications For 2024 Firefly Festival Ticket Lottery Available Jan. 1

-- Penn State Extension Host Jan. 8 Webinar On Private Water Supply Education & Water Testing  [PaEN]

-- PASA Sustainable Agriculture 2024 Sustainable Agriculture Conference Feb. 8-10 In Lancaster

-- Registration Open!  Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Bay Faith & Waters Restoration Summit Feb. 19  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Climate Solutions Symposium May 14-15 To Focus On Forging New Partnerships In Climate, Research, Solutions  [PaEN]

Programs/Information

-- DCNR State Parks Winter/Holiday Environmental Education Activities, Teaching Ideas!  [PaEN]

-- Western PA Conservancy Protects 410 Acres Of Forestland Along Clear Creek In Somerset County; Land Added To Forbes State Forest  [PaEN]

-- Natural Lands Announced Acquisition Of 46 Acres For Use As A Park In Aston Township, Delaware County  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Roman Catholic Nuns’ Convent Land Is Becoming Delaware County’s Newest Park

-- WeConservePA: New GIS Dashboard Displays 20 Years Of Land Trust Land Conservation Information

-- DCNR Forest Focus Newsletter Highlights Draft Forests For All Plan; Extended Wildfire Season; 2024 Spongy Moth Outbreak; Forest Carbon Management  [PaEN]

-- DCNR Blog: Caring For Forests In Pennsylvania’s State Parks

-- Citizens Voice Blog: Forest Stewardship Is Critical In State Parks

-- Inquirer: A Christmas Tree Shortage Means Farms Could Run Out Of Trees Early

-- Penn State: Novel 3D Agro-Hydrologic Model Informs Land Use And Nutrient Control In Troubled Waters

-- DCNR Awards Grant To French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust For Lawn Conversion, Streamside Tree Planting In Chester County  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Center For Ag Conservation Assistance Training Names Jennifer Fetter Director

-- US DOT Awards Pennsylvania $840,000 To Develop Statewide Wildlife Crossings Plan  [PaEN]

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: PA Gets $840,000 Federal Grant To Reduce Animal-Vehicle Crashes

-- PA Capital-Star: PA To Receive Grant Funding For Development Of Wildlife Corridors Plan

-- Reading Eagle: Forum Focuses On Mount Penn Preserve Trails And Forest Stewardship

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition: Winter Fun At Jennings Environmental Ed Center, Annual Student Symposium On The Environment

-- Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance Names Phil Dunn As New Executive Director  [PaEN]

-- Penn State To Launch Climate Consortium To Identify, Create, Implement Solutions To Climate Change

-- PA Environmental Council In Case You Missed It In November Now Available  [PaEN]

Public Participation

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Senate Republican Leaders Urge DEP To Withdraw Environmental Justice Policy Saying They Lack Statutory Authority, And Out-of-State Groups Not Actual Residents Express EJ Concerns  [PaEN]

-- PA Business Report: Senate Republicans Urge DEP To Withdraw Updated Environmental Justice Policy

-- Herald-Standard: Mountain Watershed Assn. To Present Final Plan For Youghiogheny River Watershed Dec. 7

-- DEP Hosts Dec. 7 Outreach Session In Luzerne County On Priority Climate Action Plan Initiatives

-- DEP Hosts Dec. 12 Outreach Session In Bradford County On Priority Climate Action Plan Initiatives

-- Williamsport Sun: DEP Shares Details About Funding To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions At Outreach Session

-- Williamsport Sun: DEP Looking For Local, State Input On Climate Change Action

-- Reminder: DEP Holds Dec. 18 Hearing On Panther Creek Power Application To Burn Waste Tires In Carbon County

-- DEP Invites Comments At Jan. 9 Hearing On Jessop Steel, LLC Air Quality Permit In Washington County  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - December 9  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 68 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In December 9 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

-- DEP Sets Jan. 23 Hearing On Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Frazer Compressor Station In Chester County  [PaEN]

-- Hearing Set For Jan. 23 On DEP Air Quality Permit For The Cleveland Cliffs Plate Facility In Chester County  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Community & Urban Forestry Team Invite You To Take Survey On Education Resources

Background On Issues

-- DEP Expects $44 Million To Plug Conventional Wells Leaking Methane; $76 Million For 2nd Year Of Federal Conventional Abandoned Well Plugging Program  [PaEN]

-- DEP Plugs 132 Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells So Far;  DEP Issued 499 NOVs For New Conventional Well Abandonments So Far In 2023  [PaEN]

-- Roulette Oil & Gas LLC Withdraws Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Application In Potter County  [PaEN]

-- Scranton Times: Landfill Gas Processing Plant Holds Public Information Session In Throop About Storing Carbon Dioxide Deep Underground

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: PA May See Biggest Drop In Decade For New Shale Gas Wells

-- TribLive: Murrysville Council OKs Lease For Gas, Oil Rights Under 2 Public Parks

-- Williamsport Sun Guest Essay: Refund Should Be Due For University Of Pittsburgh’s Shale Gas Health Impact Studies - By Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair Senate Environmental Committee  [Sen. Yaw called bill to reduce shale gas industry impacts ‘stupid’ ]

-- Bay Journal: After 40 Years, Chesapeake Bay Program Yields Mixed Results

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Healthy Waters Update: Funding Opportunities; County Implementation Accomplishments

-- PA Capital-Star: Millions In Federal Farm Conservation Funds In Jeopardy For PA Farmers If Programs Eliminated By Congress

-- Courier Times Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Can Shape Its Conservation Future By Leading On New Federal Farm Bill - By PA Cong. Brian Fitzpatrick & Molly Parzen, Conservation Voters Of PA

-- Delaware Currents: Sewage Is Overflowing Into Philly’s Rivers, Is The City’s $2 Billion+ Fix Working?

-- Delaware River Basin Commission: Recap Of Dec. 6 Business Meeting

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Dec. 8 RiverWatch Video Report

-- Perry County Dairy Producer Gives Inside Look At Rotational Grazing Operation, How To Drive Strong Milk Production And Pasture Health  [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline - Ad Crable: Fake Beaver Dams May Be Next Big Restoration Tool For Watersheds, Susquehanna University Freshwater Research Institute

-- Susquehanna University: Dam Good Engineering! Beaver Dams The Blueprint For Conservation - Freshwater Research Institute

-- PA Capital-Star: Millions In Federal Farm Conservation Funds In Jeopardy For PA Farmers If Programs Eliminated By Congress

-- TribLive: Stream Restoration Work Being Done Along Powers Run Road In Allegheny County

-- Gettysburg Times: Watershed Alliance of Adams County Reports 2023 Accomplishments

-- Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance Names Phil Dunn As New Executive Director  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Rain Fails To Ease Concerns Over Falling Water Level At Beaver Run Reservoir In Westmoreland

-- New Legislation Creates Task Force To Address Rising Flood Insurance Premiums  [PaEN]

-- Courier Times: PA Creates Flood Mitigation Task Force, What It Will Do And What It Means For Homeowners

-- WESA/WPSU: New PA Task Force To Increase Accessibility To Flood Insurance

-- WNEP: Flood Sensors Installed In Williamsport’s Grafius Run

-- WHYY: Heavy Rain, Floods, Heat: How Climate Change Makes Life Tougher For Unhoused People In The Philly Area

-- WITF/WPSU: National Weather Service In State College Forecasts A Warmer Winter This Year

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission: Low Stream Flows Trigger Shutdown Of 4 Shale Gas Drilling Water Withdrawals In Bradford, Tioga County  [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: Study Of Traffic Emissions Expands Millersville University’s Efforts To Assess Local Air Quality

-- PennEnvironment, Three Rivers Waterkeeper Sue Styropek USA To Stop Plastic Pollution In Raccoon Creek, Ohio River In Beaver County  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Lawsuit Alleges Federal Clean Water Act Violations From Beaver County Plastics Manufacturer

-- Beaver County Times: Lawsuit Claims Styropek Polluted Beaver County Waterways

-- Post-Gazette: Local Environmental Groups File Federal Lawsuit Against Plastics Manufacturer In Beaver County

-- Beaver County Radio: Shell To Test Petrochemical Plant Emergency Alarm Monthly In Beaver County

-- Inside Climate News: From Fracked Gas In PA To Toxic Waste In Texas, Tracking Vinyl Chloride Production In The US

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports 3rd Quarter Natural Gas Production Down 0.5% Over 3rd Quarter 2022, But Increased Over Last 12 Months  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Southwest PA Enjoying Low Natural Gas Prices After Large Drop From Last Year

-- Tribune-Democrat: Peoples Gas Says Credit Offsets 149% Natural Gas Price Hike

-- TribLive: Natural Gas Smell Causes Evacuation At Plum Boro Middle School, Allegheny County  [Plum Boro Natural Gas Home Explosion Killed 6 People In August] 

-- WESA: More Than A Year After Natural Gas Explosion, McKeesport’s 9th Street Clinic Reopens In New, Permanent Space

-- The Derrick Editorial: Reliable Power Means Shoring Up Natural Gas Infrastructure

-- Centre Daily Times Guest Essay: Time To Make Our Electric Grid More Reliable By Increasing Renewable Energy, Storage - By State College Citizens’ Climate Lobby

-- Inside Climate News: Massachusetts Public Utilities Agency Sets Framework For Reducing Natural Gas Use For Heating

-- 9News: Abandoned Oil Well Plug Fails In Weld County, Colorado Causing A Geyser Of Yellow Fluid  [Video]

-- EQT Joins The Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter To Reduce Methane Emissions

-- Solar Power World: New 46 MW Solar Energy Facility In Beaver County To Generate Funds To Support Local Nonprofit Organizations

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Solar Power With Savings In November - 8th Electric Bill Under $8.00 In 2023

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Must Build Electric Vehicle Infrastructure - By Bob Donnan, Bobscaping Blog

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Controversial Solar Energy Project In Adams County Loses In Court Again

-- Erie Times: Venango Township Tables Vote On Proposed Solar Energy Facility Until January

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: 4 Ways Pennsylvania Can Prepare For Climate Change

-- PennFuture Blog: Mapping Climate Change By Viewing USDA's New Plant Hardiness Zones Map - By Brigitte Meyer, Staff Attorney  [PaEN]

-- PA Senate Hearing Focuses On Minimizing Risk And Harm In Development Of PA’s Hydrogen Infrastructure  [PaEN]

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Concerns Grow Over Perceived Viability Of Hydrogen Hubs

-- PA Capital-Star: Hydrogen Hubs Face Scrutiny At PA Senate Dems Hearing

-- Williamsport Sun Guest Essay: Hydrogen Hubs Won’t Create Jobs - By Commonwealth Foundation

-- PennLive Guest Essay: PA US Senators Are Going To Bat For Hydrogen Hubs, Treasury Needs To Listen - By PA Building & Construction Trades Council

-- The Allegheny Front: Lawsuit Claims Ohio Approvals To Frack State Lands Violated Law

-- Tribune-Democrat: Conemaugh Twp. Schools Eye Energy Savings Study

-- Columbia University: ‘A Miracle Will Occur’ Is Not Sensible Climate Policy - By James Hansen, Pushker Kharecha and Makiko Sato

-- The Nature Conservancy-Pennsylvania Nature News: 2023 Impact Report; Volunteer Accomplishments; 50 Years Of Federal Endangered Species Act

-- TribLive: Probe Continues After Hunter, Mistaken For Coyote, Is Shot In Westmoreland

-- York Daily Record - Brian Whipkey: PA Native Outdoor Allie Turns Love Of Hunting, Outdoors Into Influencer Career

-- Warren Times: Audubon Nature Center - Wildlife Ripples In The Water

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bower: Reflections In Nature: Rabbits Are In A Low Cycle Within PA

-- TribLive: 2 Men Accused Of Releasing Alligator Along Kiski River Ordered To Pay Fines

-- Observer-Reporter: Marie Exotics Reptile Rescue Protects Scaly Friends From Abandonment

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: December 10, 2023]  PA Environment Digest

12/11/2023