Gov. Tom Corbett Tuesday presented his 2014-15 budget to the General Assembly, telling lawmakers that the $29.4 billion spending plan continues to drive the values of strategic investment and prudent fiscal management to address the Commonwealth’s core funding needs.

Gov. Corbett’s proposed FY 2014-15 budget includes the Enhance Penn’s Woods initiative, a 2-year, more than $200 million effort to repair and upgrade State Parks and State Forests through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

The PA Environmental Council sent a letter to DCNR Secretary Ellen Ferretti Thursday saying it would be premature for DCNR and the Governor to proceed with the proposal to lease additional DCNR land for natural gas drilling until significant questions about the environmental impact of existing drilling on DCNR land is finished and the best management practices employed to limit those impacts in the leasing plan are discussed with the public and stakeholders.

The 2014-2015 budget proposed Tuesday by Gov. Tom Corbett factors in $75 million in drilling revenue to be accrued via the lifting of a moratorium on further leasing of state park and forest lands for gas development.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA Friday issued the following statement from Pennsylvania Executive Director Harry Campbell in response to Gov. Corbett’s 2014-15 budget proposal:

The PA Growing Greener Coalition, the largest coalition of conservation, recreation and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth, Tuesday issued the following statement from Executive Director Andrew Heath in response to Gov. Corbett’s 2014-15 budget proposal:

The PA Association of County Conservation Districts Tuesday thanked Gov. Corbett for his investment of $3.3 million from the General Fund to support county conservation districts.

PA Environment Digest now has a Google+ Circle called Green Works In PA.  Just go to your Google+ page and search for DHess@CrisciAssociates.com, the email for the Digest Editor David Hess,  and let us join your Circle.

Here are the Senate and House Calendars and Committee meetings showing bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced-- 

The following bills of interest saw action this week in the House and Senate--

The PA Parks and Forests Foundation Monday recognized the outstanding service, programs and exemplary work being done in state parks and forests with the announcement of its 2014 award winners.

Gov. Tom Corbett Wednesday signed a disaster emergency proclamation to assist state and local authorities in responding to an ice and snow storm that has damaged infrastructure, slowed travel across much of the state and caused widespread power outages.

The Executive Board published notice of a reorganization of the Department of Environmental Protection on February 8 (PA Bulletin, page 785).  

The Environmental Quality Board will meet on February 18 to consider a number of agenda items including final regulations setting new VOC emission limits on printing operations, a proposed rule updating Land Recycling Program regulations, DEP’s response to a rulemaking petition to upgrade the Perkiomen Creek and Stony Run watersheds and a report on NPDES permit and administration fees.

The February 18 meeting of DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council features a presentation on the draft Chesapeake Bay Agreement now out for public review by Andrew Zemba, Director of DEP’s Interstate Waters Office.

Monday Attorneys General from 21 states filed an amicus brief in an effort to derail the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

A multi-pronged, systems approach to solving water pollution caused by nutrients in the environment is the focus of a new center housed in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Penn State’s landscape architecture undergraduate program is the best in the country, providing students with hands-on experiences both in and out of the classroom.

On March 8 ALCOSAN will host an educators workshops entitled, “Low Impact Development Techniques to Reduce Non-Point Source Pollution in Our Waterways” in Allegheny County.  Click Here for more information.

ALCOSAN Summer Science offers students in grades 4 through 8 an exciting week of hands-on activities and field trips related to the sciences of wastewater treatment and engineering in June and July.  Each session is designed using Pennsylvania standards for Environment & Ecology as well as Science & Technology and Engineering Education.  Click Here for more information.

Trout Unlimited and the West Branch Susquehanna River Coalition will hold its second River Researchers Teen Camp in Penfield, Clearfield County where students ages 14-17 will learn about abandoned mine drainage, brook trout and coldwater conservation.  Click Here for more information and download a Camp brochure.

The Department of Environmental Protection invites middle school teachers, administrators and building managers to a March 6 training workshop in State College, Centre County on the Keystone Energy Education Program (KEEP) to teach and track energy efficiency in school buildings and homes.

The School District of Philadelphia, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic will host a Healthy Schools-Healthy Children Conference March 6 at the Philadelphia Education Center, 440 N. Broad St., Philadelphia from 8:30 to 4:30.

Want to learn more about environmental education?  Need teaching resources or environmental education training?  Visit the PA Association of Environmental Educators’ Linking Pennsylvania website for all things environmental education.

The American Farmland Trust Tuesday praised final Congressional adoption of the new Farm Bill which makes the biggest reform in agricultural policy in years, according to Andrew McElwaine, President and CEO of AFT.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Federal Policy Director Alix Murdoch issued this statement Tuesday following passage of the Farm Bill in the Senate:

American Farmland Trust Tuesday announced the national Farmland, Food and Livable Communities Conference will be held in Lexington, Kentucky on October 20-22.

The City of Reading Monday announced that on January 31 the United States Bankruptcy Court in Philadelphia invalidated the Commonwealth Court's October 23, 2013 decision in Iezzi v. City of Reading, a decision that held that the City of Reading could not support its recycling program with a small user fee.

The PA Recycling Markets Center will host the annual PA Recycling Markets Development Summit on February 20 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Philadelphia Center City from 9:30 to 3:00.

The PA Resources Council, ECOvanta and their partners are gearing up for another great year of electronic waste recycling in Southeast PA kicking off on February 8.

Let the competition begin.  Through March 29, a special kind of madness is in the air at college campuses across the nation – the 14th annual RecycleMania, the national tournament for colleges and universities competing to reduce, reuse and recycle the most.

The Recycling Bin Grant Program sponsored by Coca-Cola and Keep America Beautiful is now accepting applications through March 3.

Two Pennsylvania volunteers-- Boris Weinstein of Allegheny County and Nicole Chandler of Philadelphia were both honored for the efforts in litter reduction and beautification at the Keep America Beautiful Conference this week.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Friday announced it has received $94,336 to continue the removal and abatement of illegal dumpsites in Washington County from the Department of Community and Economic Development, Washington County Commissioners – Local Share Account Fund.

The PA Resources Council has kicked off its winter/spring 2014 community workshop series by scheduling workshops on covering watershed protection, composting and environmental health at various locations in Allegheny County, PA.

The February issue of the PA Resources Council e-PRC newsletter is now available.  This year PRC celebrates its 75th anniversary as one of the Commonwealth’s oldest citizen action environmental organizations.

If you’re looking for ways you can save energy, water, plant smart and save the environment, look no further than the iConservePA.org website.  Visit and see how you can make a difference and sign up for their newsletter.

The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnership have forecast an Air Quality Action Day for Saturday, February 8 in the 8 county Susquehanna and Lehigh Valleys.  Click Here for details.

The departments of Environmental Protection and Community and Economic Development are teaming up to hold half-day seminars on brownfield development for municipal officials, township, borough and community leaders, county/city planners, redevelopment authorities, economic/industrial development agencies.

DEP emergency responders last week joined the U.S. Coast Guard and other members of an incident management team to assess the release of about 1,000 gallons of crude oil from Monroe Energy’s refinery in Trainer, Delaware County.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition has scheduled several upcoming workshops for environmental and other professionals working in the natural gas development industry.  Topics include pipeline safety, pre-drill water sampling, pre-drill database, transportation safety and other subjects.  Click Here for more information.

The Public Utility Commission Thursday issued for comment a proposal to provide consumers with more information from their electric generation suppliers on their utility bill.

A state-based study showing that increasing energy costs are straining the budgets of lower and middle-income Pennsylvanians underlines the need to examine the factors that are driving up costs and compromising the reliability of the electric supply, the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance said Wednesday.

The Department of Environmental Protection invites code enforcement officials, builders, contractors and designers to a February 20 training workshop in State College, Centre County on the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code.

The PA Association of Environmental Professionals will hold its next Pollution Prevention and Energy Efficiency Roundtable meeting at 8:30 a.m., February 20 at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Monroe County.

Staff from DEP’s energy office were among those on hand January 29 for a demonstration of a successful biomass green energy project at Hughesville Junior-Senior High School in the East Lycoming School District.

Piney Creek waste coal power plant in Clarion County is now being offered for turnkey sale for a limited time only. Otherwise, the assets will be sold through a live auction on February 20.

Penn State Extension and DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry will hold its annual PA Forest Health Update Conference on March 4 at the Red Fern Conference Center in St. Mary’s, Elk County.

The PA Horticultural Society has scheduled a series of Tree Tender workshops in the Spring and Fall where participants can learn how to plant and care for trees in your, region, community or your own yard.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Thursday announced the designation of a new Wild Plant Sanctuary in Chester County.

The February 5 issue of DCNR’s Resource newsletter is now available.  Go to the bottom of the Resource webpage to sign up for your own copy.

The February issue of the Artisan Trail newsletter is now available from the PA Wilds program.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources published notice of an opportunity to bid on projects in Clinton, Lycoming and Schuylkill counties.

This section gives you a continuously updated thumbnail sketch of issues to be considered in upcoming advisory committee meetings where the agendas have been released

This section gives you a heads up on upcoming deadlines for awards and grants and other recognition programs.  NEW means new from last week.

Here's a selection of NewsClips on environmental topics from around the state--

Here are NewsClips on topics related to Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling---

Here are NewsClips on watershed topics from around the state--

The Environmental Quality Board will meet on February 18 to consider a number of agenda items including final regulations setting new VOC emission limits on printing operations, a proposed rule updating Land Recycling Program regulations, DEP’s response to a rulemaking petition to upgrade the Perkiomen Creek and Stony Run watersheds and a report on NPDES permit and administration fees.

Upcoming legislative meetings, conferences, workshops, plus links to other online calendars.  Meetings are in Harrisburg unless otherwise noted.  NEW means new from last week.  Go to the online Calendar webpage.

Send your stories, photos and links to videos about your project, environmental issues or programs for publication in the PA Environment Digest to:  DHess@CrisciAssociates.com.

PA Environment Digest is a supporting member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association, Pennsylvania Council Trout Unlimited and the Doc Fritchey Chapter Trout Unlimited.