On August 29, the Appalachian Regional Commission announced the 30 community foundations, serving communities in 10 Appalachian states, selected to participate in READY Community Foundations.

One of four tailored tracks under ARC’s capacity-building initiative, READY Appalachia, READY Community Foundations provides no-cost training and funding access to help Appalachia’s local philanthropic organizations improve their programming, operations, fundraising and financial impact.

Across all learning tracks, special emphasis will be placed on serving Appalachia’s most underrepresented communities, including economically distressed areas, counties targeted by the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities, and marginalized populations.

The Pennsylvania foundations selected are--

-- Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers, based in Sayre, Bradford County (major conventional oil & gas, shale gas (#4 in gas production) county)

-- Community Foundation of Fayette County, based in Uniontown, Fayette County (major coal, conventional oil & gas county)

-- Community Foundation of Monroe County, based in Stroudsburg, Monroe County

-- Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains, based in Montrose, Susquehanna County (conventional oil & gas, shale gas (#1 in gas production) county)

-- Bridge Builders Community Foundation, based in Franklin, Venango County (major conventional oil and gas county)

All of the READY Community Foundations participants serve at least one of the following:

-- Distressed areas and census tracts

-- Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities priority communities

-- Rural Partners Network Community Networks communities

-- Historically underserved and marginalized populations

Following completion of the training program, participants will be eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in funding (no match required) to implement internal capacity-building projects that will help them better serve Appalachian Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

“ARC remains committed to providing our Appalachian communities with the resources they need to build toward a prosperous future, including training to strengthen community foundation capacity,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “Through the training provided by READY Community Foundations, Appalachia’s philanthropic organizations will be better able to respond to community needs and foster economic development in the areas they serve.”

Click Here for complete announcement.

Resource NewsClips:

-- Post-Gazette: 5 PA Foundations Selected For Job Training And Funding Program In Bradford, Fayette, Monroe, Susquehanna, Venango Counties

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Rural Revitalization Commission Wants To Tackle Local Capacity Problems

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - August 24 to 30 - Water Pipeline Blowout; 9-Year-Old Hits Conventional Gas Well; 5 Abandoned Shale Gas Wells  [PaEN]

-- Range Resources Shale Gas Water Pipeline Suffers Blowout In Washington County  [PaEN]

-- 9-Year-Old Drives Tractor Into Conventional Well Causing Gas Leak  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - August 31 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 66 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In August 31 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

Related Articles:

-- Sept. 19 Webinar: A Year Later: Have Leaders Addressed Health Concerns From Natural Gas Development Raised In University Of Pittsburgh Public Health Studies?  [PaEN]

-- DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Board Meets Sept. 5 On Strategies To Prevent Well Abandonments; Injection Well Primacy; Tracking Water Contamination; Other Topics  [PaEN]

-- State, United Mine Workers Announce First-In-PA Registered Apprenticeship Program To Plug Oil And Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners; DEP Issued 711 Violations For Well Abandonment So Far In 2024  [PaEN]

-- Appalachian Regional Commission Selects Job Training, Revitalization Groups For Communities Impacted By Coal, Power Plant Closures; Underserved, Marginalized Communities; 5 In PA Serving Coal, Oil & Gas Counties  [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh Works Together Releases New Report: The PJM Grid In Peril: What Will Keep The Lights On?  [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw To Introduce Bills To Establish PA Baseload Energy Development Fund Based On Texas Model; And Have One Permit For Power Plants  [PaEN]

-- Ready For 100% Montgomery County: Communities With Half The County Population Support Clean Energy Future  [PaEN]

-- DEP Permitting Efficiency: 19,222 Permits Since 11/2023; Decisions On 15,794;  2 Currently Eligible For PAyback Did Not Meet Decision Deadlines; No Application Fees Refunded [8.27.24]

-- Washington & Jefferson College To Host Pittsburgh Regional Carbon Capture Conference Oct. 22 In Washington County  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Gov. Shapiro Needs To Step Up His Environmental Game - By Tom Pike, Protect PT

-- Public News Service: Shale Gas Fracking Boom In PA Raises Health, Environmental Concerns

-- Tribune-Democrat: Shapiro, Mineworkers Create Apprenticeship To Plug Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: State Announces Apprenticeship Program To Plug Oil, Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners

-- TribLive: PA Apprenticeship Program Expands To Including Training To Plug Oil, Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: State, United Mine Workers Partner On New Apprenticeship On Plugging Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Natural Gas Subsidy Plan Rolled Out To Stabilize Grid [Sen. Yaw’s Energy Development Fund ]

-- Utility Dive: PA Senator [Sen. Yaw] To Introduce Energy Fund Bill, Bill To Require One Permit With One  ‘Statute of Limitations’ For Power Plant Projects

-- Reuters: Texas Energy Fund Approves Gas-Fired Power Plants For Next Stage Of Consideration

-- Utility Dive: Texas Energy Fund Elects 17 Gas-Fired Power Plant Projects Totaling Almost 10 GW For Possible Loans

-- Utility Dive: PJM December Electricity Auction Prices Could Jump 157% Over July Auction, Morgan Stanley

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Pittsburgh Works Report: Red Tape, New Power Plant Delays Put PJM Electric Grid ‘In Peril’

-- Utility Dive Guest Essay: Getting Real About Electric Grid Reliability In PJM After July Capacity Auction - By Glen Thomas, Former Chair of the PA Public Utility Commission

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Troubling Times Are Ahead For American Energy - By Commonwealth Foundation  [59% Of Energy On PA’s Electric Grid Comes From One Fuel]

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Biden Clean Power Plant Reboot Will Cripple PA’s Energy Affordability - By Sen. Greg Rothman (R-Cumberland)  [Need To Diversify Our Energy Generation Away From 59% Natural Gas To Prevent Price Spikes]

-- WHYY/BillyPenn: PECO Customers Could Face Double-Digit Electricity Bill Increases Next Year; Experts Blame Growing Demand, Lagging Transition To Renewable Energy

-- Inside Climate News: US Appetite For Electricity Grew Massively In First Half Of 2024; Solar Power Rose To The Occasion

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Air Monitoring Study By CNX Resources Finds Fracking ‘Poses No Public Health Risk’; Environmental Groups Critical

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Gas Commission Passes Rules To Limit Public Participation In Budget Process

[Posted: August 31, 2024]

9/2/2024