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

Awards/Recognition

-- In Memoriam: Jim Brett - Conservation Educator, Naturalist, Recognized For His Local And Global Leadership  [PaEN]

-- Inside Climate News - Jake Bolster: Longtime PA Environmental Official Turned Blogger, Reflects On His Career And The Rise Of Fracking

-- Reading Eagle: Schuylkill County 13-Year-Old Teen Snags Rare Piebald Deer Nicknamed ‘The Ghost’ As Her First Deer

-- Still Time To Enter! Keep PA Beautiful Accepting Entries For Litter Hawk Youth Award Program For Students In Grades K to 6  [PaEN]

Grants

-- DEP Accepting Project Applications For $5 Million Shell Petrochemical Plant Beaver County Environmental Mitigation Community Fund  [PaEN]

-- Beaver County Times: Submissions Open For $5 Million Beaver County Environmental Mitigation Fund Supported By Shell Petrochemical Plant Penalties

-- WPXI: $5 Million In Environmental Project Funding Up For Grabs In Beaver County From Shell Petrochemical Plant Penalties

-- Beaver County Times Guest Essay: The Impact Of The Times On Beaver County; Shell Petrochemical Plant, Other Issues

-- Warren Times: Warren Conservation District, Sportsmen’s Clubs Accepting Applications For College Scholarships

-- Delaware Highlands Conservancy Accepting College Scholarship Applications  [PaEN]

Help Wanted

-- Help Wanted: Keystone Trails Assn. - Manager Of Events/Programs; Regional Trail Care Coordinator  [PaEN]

Upcoming Events

-- WITF: PA Farm Show Is Just About Upon Us, Here’s What To Know - Jan. 6 to 13

-- Dept. Of Agriculture: 2024 Pennsylvania Farm Show Website

-- PA Dept. of Agriculture Unveils 2024 PA Farm Show Butter Sculpture

-- Penn State College Of Agricultural Sciences Jan. 9 Town Hall Discussion On State Of Pennsylvania Agriculture. PA Farm Show Building, Susquehanna Room, 2300 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg.  3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

-- Planet Philadelphia Radio Show: Jan. 5 - Progress On Cleaning Up Our Energy; The Role Of the Arts In Addressing The Climate Crisis - 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

-- Warren Times - Audubon Nature Center: Audubon To Host Sunday Story Time

-- EPA, PennEnvironment, Moms Clean Air Force PA, PECO Host Jan. 9 Webinar On Applying For EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program  [PaEN]

-- WESA: Photography Exhibit Celebrates Frick Park During Pandemic In Pittsburgh

-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Hosts Jan. 12 In-Person Workshop On Climate Art And Networking For Watershed Leaders & Stewards  [PaEN]

-- Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Host Jan. 15 Webinar On Climate Change Impact On Black Communities  [PaEN]

-- Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area Visitor Center Reopens Jan. 16; 2024 List Of Events Available  [PaEN]

-- PA Assn. Of Environmental Professionals: Jan. 17 Webinar On Abiotic & Biotic Factors Affecting Restored Pollinator Habitat In Solar Energy Installations, Noon to 1:00 p.m.

-- PA Emergency Management Agency, DRBC, FEMA Host Jan. 18 Webinar On Flood Loss Reduction Project Funding In Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton Counties   [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension To Host Jan. 18 Webinar On Unlocking The Power Of Hydrogen  [PaEN]

-- Water Center At Penn Hosts Jan. 25 Webinar On Lower Delaware River Bacteria Study  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Jan. 29 Webinar On Green Infrastructure And Salty Stormwater  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA Hosts Jan. 30 Webinar On Building Reliable Support For Land Preservation [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals: Registration Now Open For Level I Training, Certification; PA DCNR Offering Scholarships  [PaEN]

-- PA Sea Grant, Partners Offer Choose Native Plants Workshops For Landscape Professionals In Erie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia  [PaEN]

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: 6 Outdoors Shows Coming In Early 2024 Around PA

-- Registration Open!  WeConservePA PA Land Conservation Conference April 3-5 In Bethlehem  [PaEN]

-- Cameron County Chamber of Commerce Announces Schedule For Sinnemahone Triple Crown Events In 2024  [PaEN]

Programs/Information

-- PA Lung Association: High Levels Of Cancer-Causing Radon Gas Detected In 40% of PA Homes; Test Kits Available At No Charge In Priority ZIP Codes  [PaEN]

-- DEP Highlights National Radon Action Month, Provides Free Radon Test Kits

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Residents Urged To Check Homes For Radon In January

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Update: Funding Opportunities, Projects Supported; County Clean Water Updates; Much More!   [PaEN]

-- DEP Announces Over $12 Million In Watershed Restoration, Stormwater Infrastructure Grants Funded In-Part By Mariner East Pipeline Penalties, Federal American Rescue Plan Funding  [PaEN]

-- WFMZ: Sen. Boscola Announces $475,000 In Lehigh Valley Stormwater Management Grants

-- Sen. Tartaglione Announces $350,000 In Growing Greener Grants For Philadelphia Water Department

-- Rep. Freeman Announces $175,000 In Growing Greener Grants In Northampton County

-- TribLive: Conservation Leader From Hampton, Allegheny County, Finishes Master’s Studies With Project Dragonfly

-- Lancaster Farmland Trust: The Salisbury Township Story - The Impact Of Community Outreach On Farm Conservation Work [Video] 

-- Penn State Extension: Home Garden News: Highlights Of 2023 From Master Gardener Program

-- Warren Times - Audubon Nature Center: Adrift On The River Of Life, Connecting People And Nature

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Pitt And Carnegie Mellon University Close On Sites For Major Development At Hazelwood Green Brownfield Redevelopment Site

Public Participation

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - January 6  [PaEN]

-- DEP Disapproves Land Recycling Risk Assessment For Dozens Of Chemicals At American Refining Group Refinery In Bradford, McKean County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Reviewing Act 2 Cleanup Reports For Trainer Refinery, Delaware County; Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery  [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 49 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 6 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

-- New Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force Seeks Public Input On Flood Insurance Access, Affordability In Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

-- WESA: PA Task Force Seeks Public Comment On Flood Insurance

Background On Issues

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Dec. 30 to Jan. 3 - Saga Of Plugging Nancy 13; Conventional Well Emission Offsets; Venting Since June; Still No Well Integrity Reports  [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro: PA Receives Over $44.4 Million In Federal Funding To Plug Active Conventional Gas Wells To Reduce Methane Emissions

-- DEP: Shale Gas Operator Found Responsible For Water Supply Contamination After Investigation Documents Chemical Contamination Spread Across 3 Townships In Greene County  [PaEN]

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Fracked Up Greene County Water - Shale Gas Operator Found Responsible For Water Supply Contamination

-- AP: New Mexico Considers 1 Mile Safety Zone Around Gas, Oil Wells For Schools, Day Care Centers

-- Saga Continues For DEP Trying To Get A Conventional Operator To Plug Warren County Well Venting Gas Since At Least 2018  [PaEN]

-- Zefiro Methane Corp To Begin Monitoring Abandoned Conventional Wells For Plugging To Create Emission Offsets [PaEN]

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Celebrating EPA’s New Safeguards To Reduce Methane Emissions From Oil and Gas Facilities - By Vanessa Lynch, Moms Clean Air Force

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Gov. Shapiro Has Done An About-Face On Fracking By Aligning Himself With CNX After Charging Them With Environmental Crimes - By Karen Elias, Climate Reality Project, Better Path Coalition

-- TribLive: Lack Of Snow, Rainfall Factors In Declining Beaver Run Reservoir Levels In Westmoreland; Natural Gas Drillers Prohibited From Withdrawing Water

-- Group Against Smog & Pollution: US Steel Fined $2.2 Million By Allegheny County For Hydrogen Sulfide Exceedances At Clairton Coke [Coal] Works From March to November

-- KDKA: US Steel Fined $2.2 Million By Allegheny County For Air Emission Violations

-- Bob Donnan Blog: 2023 Savings From Rooftop Solar - Home Energy, Electric Vehicle

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Dollar Energy Fund Helps People Keep The Lights On In Dark Times, Now It Runs A Solar Energy Facility To Help Them

-- WITF/AP: States, Congress Wrestle With Cybersecurity After Iran Attacks Small Town Water Utilities In PA, Other States

-- TribLive Editorial: Cybersecurity Important To Infrastructure

-- PUC Offers Safety Tips On Power Outages, Natural Gas Appliances To Prepare For Winter Storms

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Frack History - The Massive Dunkard Creek Fish Kill 

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Dunkard Creek Fishkill In Greene County Caused By Consol Mine Discharge [Video]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Luzerne County Manager Checks Out Coal Refuse Bank Removal Project

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Volunteers Aim To Restore Stream With Artificial Beaver Dams

-- Pike Conservation District: 2023 Water Quality Report; Pennsylvania's Forests; Vote For Lackawaxen River!  [PaEN]

-- Protecting Clean Water Together: What’s The Big Deal About Water Anyway? - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association   [PaEN]

-- Water At Risk Series: The Brodhead Watershed Association Helps Monroe County Municipalities Protect Clean Water - How About Yours? - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association   [PaEN]

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: At My Farm In Mercer County The Creeks Have Run Dry, We Need A Climate-Smart Federal Farm Bill - Michael Kovach

-- PA Resources Council: Resolve To Waste Less In 2024, PRC Has Lots Of Tools To Help  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: Plastic Bag Bans Coming To Philly Suburbs, What You Need To Know

-- Erie Times: Majority Of PA Counties Projected To Lose Population By 2050; Rural Areas Bear The Brunt  [Current Policies Fail To Sustain Communities]

-- Post-Gazette: Casey Says Proposed DOE Rule Could Hurt Efforts To Develop Hydrogen Industry In PA

-- The Allegheny Front: Proposed Federal Hydrogen Tax Credit Rules Could Be Worth Billions For Projects, Including Those In PA 

-- PJM Urges United Action To Sustain Grid Reliability Through The Energy Transition, Avoid Unreliability Issues Of Natural Gas, Other Generators  [PaEN]

-- WHYY/Plan Philly: City Of Philadelphia’s Vehicle Fleet Getting Cleaner, But Has A Long Way To Go

-- Inquirer: Public Electric Vehicle Charging Is On The Way, But PA Is ‘Playing Catch-Up’

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Used To Lead On Energy, Now It’s Falling Behind - By Patrick McDonnell, Former DEP Secretary now CEO of PennFuture

-- WPost: What Climate Scientists Are Predicting For The Globe In 2024

-- WPost: 2023 Will Be Remembered As Year Climate Change Arrived

-- Williamsport Sun: Collaborative Grant Award To Restore Freshwater Mussels In West Branch Susquehanna River

-- River Reporter: Practicing ‘Eagle-Eyed Etiquette’ In The Brodhead Watershed, Monroe County

-- NYT: Why Mister Grouse Is The Friendliest Bird In The Forest

-- Western PA Conservancy Conserve Magazine: Preserving Biodiversity In Pennsylvania

-- Tinicum Conservancy Protects 86 Acres In Little Tinicum Creek Watershed Bucks County  [PaEN]

-- Western PA Conservancy Protects 163 Acres Of Forestland, Streams In Westmoreland County  [PaEN]

-- Natural Lands Preserves 458-Acre Girl Scout Camp In Montgomery County  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: 458-Acre Girl Scout Camp Preserved In Montgomery County; Part Will Be Open To Public

-- Outdoor News: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Game Commission Conserve 649 Acres Of Private Land In The Heart Of PA’s Elk Range

-- Jan. 5 Take Five Fridays With Pam, PA Parks & Forests Foundation  [PaEN]

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

-- The Nature Conservancy: Pennsylvania Nature News - 2023 Accomplishments

-- The Guardian: Invasive Plants, Birds, Feral Pigs Cost US Millions [Includes PA]

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bower: Reflections In Nature - Crows Are Remarkable And Intelligent Birds

-- Financial Times: Saffron (Crocus) Supplies Dry Up As Climate Change Shrivels Iran’s ‘Desert Gold’

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: January 7, 2024]  PA Environment Digest

1/8/2024