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

Awards & Recognition

-- PA Conservation Heritage Project Profile: Jack Winieski Dedicated His Professional Career To Improving Trees Through Genetics - By Wayne W. Kober  [PaEN]

-- DCNR’s Square Timber Wild Area In Cameron County Inducted Into The Old-Growth Forest Network  [PaEN]

-- Warren Times: Allegheny Outdoor Club Recognizes Bill Massa For Years Of Service To The Club

-- Reminder: Keep PA Beautiful Accepting Nominations For Litter Hawk Youth Award Thru January 31  [PaEN]

Grants

-- WESA: Carnegie Mellon University Announces Free Tuition For All Students Of Families Earning $75,000 Or Less

-- The Allegheny Front: New ClearWater Conservancy Conservation Education Center In Centre County Lands Federal, State Funding

-- Rothrock Trail Alliance Awarded $500,000 Grant To Improved Recreation Access To Rothrock State Forest In Centre County  [PaEN]

-- The Allegheny Front: Rothrock State Forest Trail Initiatives Gets DCNR Grant In Centre County

Help Wanted

-- Penn State Extension Master Watershed Stewards Accepting Volunteer Applications For Spring 2025 Training  [PaEN]

-- Volunteers Invited To Be Part Of Pennsylvania Bird Atlas First Ever Winter Bird Survey Starting Dec. 1  [PaEN]

Upcoming Events

-- Moms Clean Air Force Nov. 20 Webinar On Clean School Buses Funding For Pennsylvania, Noon to 1:00 p.m.

-- PA Solar Center, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services Release New Guidebook For PA Municipalities On Development Of Large-Scale Solar Facilities; Nov. 22 Webinar  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension: In-Person Workshop Nov. 24 Meadow Seeding For A Hands-On Stormwater Solution. Rose Tree County Park, Media, Delaware County 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

-- PUC To Host Nov. 25 Technical Conference On Adequacy Of Electricity Supplies In Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

-- PA Emergency Management Agency, Delaware River Basin Commission: Nov. 26 Hazard Mitigation Grant Funding Webinar, 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

-- LehighValley-Based Wildlands Conservancy Highlight December Activities, Programs

-- Dickinson College To Host Atmospheric Scientist Katharine Hayhoe To Discuss Finding Hope In The Face Of Climate Change During Public Talk Dec. 4  [PaEN]

-- Green Building Alliance Invites New Kensington Commercial Property, Business Owners To 2030 District Launch and Energy Efficiency Info Session Dec. 4 In Westmoreland County  [PaEN]

-- Federal Highway Administration, Fish & Wildlife Service Host Dec. 4 Online Pollinator Conservation And Transportation Symposium  [PaEN]

-- DEP Oil & Gas Advisory Board Meets Dec. 5 On Methane Emissions Reduction; Federal Plugging Program; Injection Well Primacy; Financial Assurance; Drilling & Permitting Activity Impacts On DEP Budget   [PaEN]

-- PA Recycling Markets Center Hosts Dec. 17 Webinar On Glass For A Sustainable Future  [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Firefly Festival Lottery For 2025 Festival & Glow & Know Campouts Will Start January 1  [PaEN]

Public Participation

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - November 23 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 60 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In November 23 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

-- DEP Prints Corrected Notice Inviting Comments On New Air Pollution Permit For Revolution Natural Gas Cryogenic Processing Plant In Washington County; Plant Suffered Major Explosion, Fire In 2022  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Center For Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training Seeks Input On Shaping Agenda For ACAP Ag Conservation Con 2025 In April  [PaEN]

-- EPA Accepting Comments On New Draft Framework To Advance Consideration of Cumulative Impacts On Communities  [PaEN]

Programs/Information

-- Warren Times - Audubon Community Nature Center: Empathy Brings Hope For Sustainability - By Mac Dawson, Nature Educator

-- Nominations Now Being Accepted For Wildlife Leadership Academy Student Conservation Ambassadors Program  [PaEN]

-- Applications Now Being Accepted For Rivers Conservation Fly Fishing Youth Camp June 15-20, Messiah University, Cumberland County  [PaEN]

-- Tribune-Democrat: Class Creates Natural Holiday Ornaments At Prince Gallitzin State Park

-- DEP Briefs Water Resources Committee On Proposed Changes To PAG-13 General Permit For Small Municipal Stormwater Dischargers; Latest Emerging Contaminants Sampling Results; Microplastics Study  [PaEN]

-- Berks Nature: New Data On The Annual Economic Value Of Nature Documents $853 Million In Savings, $938 Million In Outdoor Recreation Benefits To Citizens of Berks County  [PaEN]

-- Reading Eagle: Berks Nature Emphasizes Community Planning During State Of The Environment Breakfast

-- Penn State Extension:  Private Water Supply Education, Water Testing Accomplishments In 2024  [PaEN]

-- Managing Your Well During A Drought, Tips From Penn State Extension  [PaEN]

-- Republican Herald: New StoryWalk Promotes Fitness, Literacy At Pine Grove

-- Republican Herald: New Schuylkill Conservation District Educator Aims To Get People Outdoors

-- Spotlight PA: Flood Damage That Destroyed Antietam Middle School Reveals Deep Divisions Between Berks County Communities Over How And Where To Continue Schooling Students

-- Spotlight PA: Paint, Pipes, Soil Can Expose PA Children To Lead, How To Stay Safe

-- PennLive: Chloronitramide In Drinking Water Could Be Toxic

-- TribLive Guest Essay: My School District Saved Over A Million Dollars In Energy Costs By Going Solar, With Solar For Schools Your District Could Be Next - By Carlisle Area School District

-- Altoona Mirror: Central Cambria School District Considering Solar Energy To Save Up to $500,000 Over Next 25 Years

-- Centre Daily Times: Centre County Solar Energy Facility Takes Big Step Forward As State College Area School District Commits To Project

-- Warren Times: US Forest Service Notes Danger Of Dead ‘Zombie’ Trees After Leaf Fall

-- Penn State Extension Home Garden News: Master Gardener Manual; Winter Outdoor Arrangements; Leaf Printing; Season Extenders More

-- Lancaster Farming: What To Know About Coming Herbicide Label Changes

-- PA Resources Council What’s Up Watershed: Fireflies, A Magical Reason To Leave Your Leaves

Background On Issues

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 16 to 22 - $5.257 Million In Penalties; Conventional Well Owners Issued More Violations Than All Of 2023; More Abandoned Wells; Failure To Submit Shale Gas Reports  [PaEN]

-- EPA, Justice Dept., DEP Announce $5.275 Million In Penalties, Plus $1.4 Million In Abandoned Well Plugging Funding Against Shale Gas Drilling Companies-- XTO Energy, Inc., Hilcorp Energy Company For Federal, State Clean Air Act Violations  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Exxon And Hilcorp Shale Gas Drillers Settle Environmental Violations With Millions In Fines And Promised Air Quality Benefits

-- CNHINews: Hilcorp Shale Gas Company One Of 2 Firms Facing EPA, DEP Penalties For Air Pollution

-- DEP So Far In 2024:  6,907 Violations Issued To Owners Of Conventional Oil & Gas Wells - 153% More Than In 2021;  830 Violations For Abandoning Their Wells -- Exceeding All Of 2023  [PaEN]

-- Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group Update: Industrial Shale Gas Development In Tioga State Forest Prioritizes Industry Profit Over Constitutional Mandate To Preserve, Protect State Forest Lands  [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Wastewater Release At Bear Lake Properties Injection Well In Warren County Went Unreported For 109 Days; More Contamination Discovered Along Related Wastewater Pipeline Route  [PaEN]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Bear Lake Shale Gas Wastewater Injection Well Leak Went Undiscovered For 109 Days [PDF of article] 

-- National Review: Northeast Pennsylvania Needs Natural Gas - New Congress, New Federal Administration Should Overturn Delaware River Basin Commission Moratorium On Shale Gas Fracking - By Jason Adams  [PDF of Article]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Meets Dec. 12 On New Fee Schedule; Water Withdrawals, Including 4 Shale Gas; New General Permit For Into-Basin Diversions  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 42 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In October; 274 General Permits So Far In 2024  [PaEN]

-- Erie Times Letter: A Boon? Consider The Price Pennsylvania Pays For Fracking - By Katie Jones, FracTracker Alliance, Johnstown

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: PA Environmental Groups Urge Biden To Keep Block On LNG Gas Export Projects  [PDF of Article]

-- Environmental Health Project Releases 2024 Year In Review [Shale Gas Drilling Health Impacts]

-- Lancaster Farming: Game Commission’s New Plan To Spend Shale Gas Drilling Lease Royalties Applauded By Sen. Martin 

-- DEP Awards $2.55 Million In Federal Funding To Support 5 Local Abandoned Mine Reclamation Projects   [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Major DEP Abandoned Mine Subsidence Report Project Set For Belle Vernon Area Impacting 230 Properties In Westmoreland County

-- The Derrick: Aqua Pennsylvania Lifts Boil-Water Advisory For Fryburg Water Customers In Place For Six Days [One Of The Companies Involved In Venango County Conventional Well Spill Incident]

-- Reuters: How Big Fossil Fuel Producing Countries Export Emissions Abroad

-- DEP Reduces Permit Backlog By 75%, Completely Eliminates Backlog For Oil & Gas Permits; You Can’t Blame DEP Anymore For Project Delays  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Protecting Public Health Means Enforcing Environmental Regulations While Helping Businesses Thrive - By Jessica Shirley, Acting DEP Secretary  [PaEN]

-- Gov. Shapiro Signs Executive Order Creating PA Permit Fast Track Program; Can't Blame DEP Anymore For Delaying Projects  [PaEN]

-- DCNR Speeds Up Endangered, Threatened Species Environmental Permit Review Times, ATV Permitting, Ginseng Certification  [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Will Fight Preliminary FERC Permit Granted For Proposed Susquehanna River Pump Storage Hydroelectric Project In York County  [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline - Rachel McDevitt: FERC Gives Initial Approval To Contested Hydroelectric Pump Storage Project On Susquehanna River [PDF of article]

-- York Daily Record: Cuffs Run Gets Preliminary Permit For Massive Pump Storage Hydroelectric Project On Susquehanna River

-- York Dispatch: Susquehanna River Pump Storage Hydroelectric Project Gets Initial Federal Permit In York County

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Eaton Rolls Out New Energy Storage Battery System

-- The Allegheny Front/WHYY: So Beautiful But So Terrible: Philly Exhibit Traces The Ecology Of Fashion

-- Post-Gazette/AP: Climate Change Increased Hurricane Wind Strength By 18 MPH Since 2019, Study Says

-- PUC Highlights National Critical Infrastructure Security And Resilience Month With A Focus On Utility Resilience And Security

-- Master Watershed Stewards Naturalize Stormwater Basin In York County  [PaEN]

-- Master Watershed Stewards In York Introduce Urban Youth To Fishing [PaEN]

-- Lancaster Clean Water Partners Newsletter: Our Values In Action; News Around The Watershed; Recreation Access For All; Opportunities For All; New Podcast; Upcoming Events

-- PA Dept. Of Agriculture Issues Firewood Quarantine Order For Firewood From Outside The State Or Traveling Through The State Unless Heat-Treated To Prevent The Spread Of Invasive Species [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension:  Private Water Supply Education, Water Testing Accomplishments In 2024  [PaEN]

-- PennLive: Susquehanna River Level Drops Due To ‘Very Bad’ Drought Across Much Of Central PA

-- Citizens Voice: Drought Has Susquehanna River At Exceedingly Low Levels

-- WNEP: Aqua Pennsylvania Issues Mandatory Water Conservation Notice In Northumberland, Columbia, Schuylkill Counties

-- KYW: Officials Eyeing Delaware River Salt Levels As Philly-Area Drought Worsens

-- WNEP: Drought Impacts Lake At Beltzville State Park In Carbon County

-- WNEP: PA American Water Finishes Dredging Silt Released From Dam Rehab Project Into Roaring Brook

-- Scranton Times: PA American Water Dredges Silt Released From Dam Rehab Project Into Roaring Brook

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Should Ban Single Use Plastic Bags - By Sedona Boyle, Lehigh University Student

-- Post-Gazette: Styropek Seeks Buyer For Old Plastics Manufacturing Plant Set To Close In January

-- DEP: Some Guidance Now Available To Apply For $396 Million In RISE PA Industrial Decarbonization Grants; Application Period Opens Early In 2025  [PaEN]  

-- Financial Times: Restart Of Three Mile Island Tests US Appetite For Nuclear Revival

-- TribLive: Eureka, Citizens Gifted Eplugs To Fire Company To Thwart Electric Vehicle Dangers

-- Post-Gazette: Despite Drought, Christmas Tree Crop And Prices Holding Steady In PA

-- PennLive: From PA’s Christmas Tree Mega-Auction, Here’s What Buyers Can Expect To Pay This Season

-- PennLive: Will Drought Impact Central PA Christmas Tree Sales, Prices?

-- DCNR Blog: Pennsylvania Is Investing In Recreation And Nature For All

-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation: New Friends Of Chapman State Park Group Formed In Warren County  [PaEN]

-- NextPittsburgh: Pittsburgh’s Indigenous Legacy Is Alive And Thriving

Visit the  DEP Calendar of Events;  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: November 24, 2024]

11/25/2024