Articles and NewsClips about federal actions impacting Pennsylvania--

Work For PA!

-- Gov. Shapiro Signs Executive Order To Fill Critical Public Service Vacancies In PA By Recruiting Talented, Experienced Federal Employees, Streamlining Hiring Process

-- WESA: PA Says Hundreds Of Fired Federal Workers Have Applied For State Jobs

-- Post-Gazette: Allegheny County Receives Over 80 Applications In First Week Of Job Portal Aimed At Laid-Off Federal Workers

-- TribLive: Employees Cut By Feds Could Get PA, Allegheny County Jobs

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Signs Executive Order Aimed At Attracting Federal Employees

Environmental Health

-- PA Parks & Forests Foundation: Being Outside In Nature Can Relieve Stress, Improve Mood, Lowers Your Blood Pressure

-- Warren Times - Audubon Community Nature Center: Nature As A Healer

-- WESA: Stressed By Current Events? Instead Of Unplugging, A Pittsburgh Psychology Researcher Says-- Lean In

EPA Deregulation For Industry

-- EPA Launches Biggest Deregulation Action For Industry In US History, 'Driving A Dagger Straight Into The Heart Of The Climate Change Religion,’ Unleashing The American Energy Industry  [PaEN]

-- EPA Pulls Back Regulations Setting Methane Emission Limits, Regulating Wastewater From Oil & Gas Operations, Risk Management Rule At Petrochemical Plants  [PaEN]

-- Clean Air Council: EPA To Reverse Life-Saving Finding Carbon Pollution Is Endangering Public Health By Driving Climate Change  [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: EPA Deregulation Bombshell A Blow To The Chesapeake Bay  [PaEN]

-- Evangelical Environmental Network: EPA Announces Plan To Put Pollution Before Our Health  [PaEN]

NewsClips

-- WHYY- Susan Phillips: Former Regulators Say EPA’s Planned Rollbacks Would Reverse 50 Years Of Environmental Progress

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: As Washington Unwinds Its Commitments, State And Local Governments Will Have To Step Up

-- Republican Herald Editorial: One-Sided Discussions On Issues Don’t Promote True Progress, EPA Visit Was Not A 'Roundtable Discussion,' But A 'Rally' For Natural Gas In Delaware River Basin  [PaEN]

-- Bloomberg Opinion Editor: EPA Decided Protecting The Environment Is Just Too Much

-- AP: EPA Head Says He’ll Roll Back Dozens Of Environmental Regulations, Including Rules On Climate Change

-- AP: A Breakdown Of Major EPA Deregulatory Moves Around Water, Air, Climate

-- E&E News/Politico: EPA Launches Assault On Environmental Regulations

-- Environmental Defense Fund: EPA’s Deregulation Plan Will Increase Pollution In Daily Lives

-- NYT: EPA Declares ‘Greatest Day Of Deregulation Our Nation Has Seen’

-- The Guardian: EPA To Reconsider Whether Greenhouse Gases Cause Harm Amid Climate Rollbacks

-- Bloomberg: President Mounts Sweeping Attack On Pollution, Climate Rules

-- The Guardian: President’s Environmental Rule-Shredding Will Put Lives At Risk, Ex-EPA Democrat, Republican Heads Say

-- Reuters: EPA Moves To Unwind Over Two Dozen US Air, Water Regulations

-- Utility Dive: EPA Aims To Roll Back Power Sector Regulations In Broad Deregulatory Push 

-- Bloomberg: US Considers Emergency Powers To Restart Closed Coal Power Plants

-- Erie Times/Reuters: EPA To Roll Back Regulations On Power Plant Emissions, Tailpipe Pollution

-- Utility Dive: EPA Aims To Roll Back Power Sector Regulations In Broad Deregulatory Push  

-- Reuters: EPA Plans To Give Dirty US Coal-Fired Power Plants A Reprieve On Soot

New Federal Administration

-- Republican Herald Editorial: One-Sided Discussions On Issues Don’t Promote True Progress, EPA Visit Was Not A 'Roundtable Discussion,' But A 'Rally' For Natural Gas In Delaware River Basin  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: As Washington Unwinds Its Commitments, State And Local Governments Will Have To Step Up

-- Financial Times: US DOE Secretary Says US Shale Can ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ At Low Oil, Gas Prices; Industry Says No

-- Grist: Federal Pipeline Safety Agency Withdraws Proposed Rules To Prevent Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Releases In Response To President’s Executive Order

-- EPA Withdraws Update Of Regulations On Testing Chemicals Under The Toxic Substances Control Act

-- Bloomberg: US Considers Emergency Powers To Restart Closed Coal Power Plants

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: CNX Resources [Again] Pauses Involvement In Remaining Appalachian Hydrogen Hub Projects Amid Federal Policy Uncertainty 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Future Of National Energy Technology Lab In Pittsburgh’s Backyard In Doubt

-- Reuters: US DOE Secretary Says Global Warming A Side Effect Of Modern Economy; Vows to End Climate Policies To Promote Fossil Fuels At Oil/Gas Industry Conference 

-- NYT: US Energy Secretary Pledges To Reverse Focus On Climate Change At Oil/Gas Conference, Climate Change A ‘Side Effect’ Of Building The Modern World 

-- Reuters: US Supreme Court Rejects Republican State Efforts To Block Democratic State Lawsuits Against Major Oil Companies For Deceiving The Public About The Role Of Fossil Fuels In Climate Change

-- The Guardian: Environmental Groups Sound New Alarm As Fossil Fuel Lobby Pushes For Immunity From Climate Damage Lawsuits 

-- Wall Street Journal Editorial: ‘This North American Trade War Is The Dumbest In History, And We Were Being Kind’ [PDF of Article]

Federal Funding Cuts, Freeze

-- Environmental Council Of The States, Other State Organizations Write Congress About The Importance Of Federal Funding To State Agencies Implementing Federal Programs  [PaEN]

-- PA Council Of Trout Unlimited: Millions In Trout Unlimited Watershed Projects Improve The Environment, Local Economies Across The US; Federal Funding Freeze, Office Closures, Staff Cuts 'Sacrificing Our National Conservation Legacy'  [PaEN]

-- Pocono Record - Brian Whipkey: Trout Unlimited Officials Worry Over Potential Impacts From Reduced Federal Funding In PA [PDF of Article]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Anti-Drilling Trout Unlimited Crying Over $180 Million In Frozen Federal Funds  [PDF of Article]

-- WESA: PA Says Hundreds Of Fired Federal Workers Have Applied For State Jobs

-- National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Responds To Termination Of Critical USDA Local Farm To School, Child Care Food Purchase Program  [PaEN]

-- Beaver Times: USDA To Cut $36.7 Million From Local Food Purchase Assistance In PA

-- National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: USDA Staffing Cuts Hurt Farmers And Rural Communities; Staffing Chaos Has Reigned

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Poll - Chesapeake Bay Watershed Cleanup Faces Unprecedented Federal Upheaval; Restoring The Bay Is Now MORE Of A Priority  [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: What’s the State Of Bay Restoration 50 Days Into the New Administration?

-- The Hill: Farmers Sue USDA Over President’s Freeze Of Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency Funding [They Already Made Purchases]

-- Washington Times: New EPA Chief Sets Out To Slash The Agency’s Budget By 65%: ‘We Don’t Want The Extra Money And We Don’t Need It’

-- MCall Guest Essay: PA Must Protect Citizen’s Health By Removing Lead Water Pipes - By Food & Water Watch

-- Inquirer: EPA Pulls Back $700,000 Grant To Overbrook Environmental Education Center As Part Of Federal Cuts

-- PennLive: Federal Cuts Force Shutdown Of Campgrounds, Beaches, Recreation Areas At Popular Raystown Lake (Huntingdon County), Tioga-Hammond, Cowanesque Lakes (Tioga County) [Local  Recreation Economy To Take A Hit]

-- WITF/WPSU: Raystown Lake Federal Recreation Area Cancels Campground Reservations Amid Federal Job Cuts, Hiring Freeze

-- Rails To Trails Conservancy: US DOT Has Frozen Trails, Biking Improvements Funding; Act Now To Make Decision Makers Know How Important This Funding Is

-- MCall Guest Essay: Musk’s Reckless Business Model Imperials Our National Parks - By John Plonski

-- The Hill: President Eyes 30% Payroll Reduction At National Park Service

-- Frederick News-Post: FEMA Cancels In-Person, Most Virtual National Fire Academy Training For First Responders In Emmitsburg, MD, Disrupting Training

-- York Daily Record: DOGE Closure Of National Fire Academy In Emmitsburg, MD Alarms York County Fire Chiefs

-- EPA Cancels 400+ More Unnecessary, Wasteful Environmental Justice, DEI Grants Saving Americans $1.7 Billion 

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Transportation, Climate Projects In Limbo Due To Federal Funding Uncertainty

-- NYT: EPA Plans To Close All Environmental Justice Offices

-- EPA Terminates $20 Billion In National Clean Investment Fund And Clean Communities Investment Accelerator Grants  [National Clean Fund + Clean Communities Hubs]

-- The Guardian: Federal Judge Demands ‘Some Kind Of Evidence’ Of Wrongdoing From EPA To Halt Climate Grants; Issues Restraining Order Pending New Filings

-- Utility Dive: Federal Inflation Reduction Act Funding Freeze Has Put ‘Many’ Clean Energy Projects On Pause

-- WNEP: NOAA/Weather Service To Cut More Than 1,000 Jobs On Top Of Firing Nearly All New Employees Last Month

-- Financial Times: Insurers Warn That US Weather Agency Mass Firings Will Hit Climate Risk Data

-- WPost: Federal Judge Orders Federal Agencies To Offer Jobs Back To Fired Probationary Workers In Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, Veterans Affairs

-- AP: 2 Federal Judges In Mass Firings Cases Order President’s Administration To Rehire Probationary Workers For Now

Federal Buildings

-- York Dispatch: DOGE Lists York County USGS Water Science Center Among Lease Cancellations

-- AP: Hundreds Of Federal Offices Could Begin Closing This Summer At DOGE’s Behest, Internal Records Show

[Posted:  March 16, 2025]

3/17/2025