Three environmental protection and conservation programs from throughout Western Pennsylvania will share $15,000 from Dominion and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for innovation and effectiveness in making a positive impact on the Western Pennsylvania environment.

The PA Bar Association Environmental and Energy Law Section Thursday recognized former DEP Secretary and EPA Region III Administrator Jim Seif with its Lifetime Achievement Award.  The Section also recognized Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox with its first Law Office Sustainability Award.

Republican and Democratic members of the Senate and House held a press event Wednesday at the Capitol in Harrisburg urging the adoption of a natural gas severance tax to fund education, environmental programs and close gaps in the upcoming state budget.

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--

Three bills expanding the rights of landowners who are currently leased with natural gas companies were approved Monday with strong bipartisan support by the full Senate, according to prime sponsor, Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

Work is continuing in Harrisburg to secure passage of legislation designed to clarify the existing state law on how natural gas royalty payments to Pennsylvania landowners are calculated, according to bill sponsors, Reps. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming), Sandra Major (R-Susquehanna), Tina Pickett (R-Bradford) and Matt Baker (R-Tioga).

Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne), Minority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, Tuesday announced the Senate unanimously passed his legislation that would enhance the quality and safety of drinking water by lowering the maximum lead content of plumbing products.

The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Wednesday amended and reported out Senate Bill 1037 (Vogel-R-Beaver) whose intent is to repeal the requirement for summer low-RVP gasoline in seven Western Pennsylvania counties required from May 1 to September 15.

The House Wednesday unanimously adopted House Resolution 765 encouraging all citizens of the Commonwealth to observe Earth Day on April 22 introduced by Rep. Ron Miller (R-York), Majority Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

The House Wednesday unanimously adopted House Resolution 764 recognizing April 25 as Arbor Day was adopted by the House introduced by Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin).  The text of the resolution follows--

Robindale Energy Services, Inc. in Westmoreland County Monday announced they are a recipient of a Governor’s 2014 Award for Environmental Excellence. Each year, projects that encourage and promote environmental stewardship are selected for this recognition.

The PA Environmental Council will lead a cluster of watershed groups in a multi-year initiative to protect and restore critical sources of drinking water in the Delaware River watershed funded by the William Penn Foundation.

Are you 55 years or older, live in Blair or Cambria County and want to become involved in protecting our watershed resources and educating the public on the natural world?  If so, the Senior Environment Corps of Pennsylvania wants you.

The 17th Annual Chester-Ridley-Crum Creek Watersheds Streams Cleanup will be held on May 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at two dozen sites throughout the watersheds in Chester and Delaware counties.

The April issue of the Catalyst newsletter from the Slippery Rock Creek Watershed Coalition in Butler County is now available and features an article on the Paddle Without Pollution group seeking volunteers in Western Pennsylvania.

Managing a large field pond can be a challenging task. Sometimes the best option is to think of unique, innovative ways to approach the management task.

The Department of Environmental Protection Monday announced it will conduct a series of air quality readings in advance of and immediately following the resumption of cokemaking operations at ArcelorMittal’s Monessen coke plant in Westmoreland County.

The Great American Cleanup of PA Kick-Off event was celebrated in Philadelphia on April 5 where Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful joined Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, the Philadelphia Streets Department and Mayor Michael A. Nutter at the 7th annual Philly Spring Cleanup, one of the largest single-day cleanups in the country.

The municipal waste collection, recycling, and disposal industry in Pennsylvania contributes more than $4.2 billion a year to the state’s economy and supports more than 26,000 jobs, according to a new research report prepared by the Philadelphia consulting firm Econsult Solutions, Inc., for the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association.

The Spring issue of the Forum newsletter from the PA Environmental Council is now available featuring articles on the PA Supreme Court Act 13 drilling law decision, the Tidal Delaware River Water Trail, the historic Sheepskin Trail, PEC involvement in the William Penn Foundation Delaware Watershed Initiative and the new Trail Planning Technology Tool.  Click Here to read more.

The Department of Environmental Protection announced that football fans can celebrate Earth Day on April 13 during the Erie Explosion home game at the Erie Insurance Arena.

The Department of Environmental Protection Friday announced it has fined Range Resources- Appalachia LLC of Fort Worth, Texas, $75,000 for a July 2012 manufactured brine spill of 3,066 gallons at its Cornwall Mountain Hunting Club Unit A well pad in Lewis Township, Lycoming County.

Lackawanna College Friday announced a gift of $2.5 million from Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation that will directly fund the School of Petroleum & Natural Gas located in New Milford, Susquehanna County.

The Multi-State Shale Research Collaborative set out to document the local impacts of shale gas drilling in Greene and Tioga counties, as well as in Carroll County, Ohio, and Wetzel County, West Virginia.  Click Here to view a summary and copies of the full case studies.

PennDOT Monday announced it is accepting applications for funding for transportation improvement projects under the Multimodal Transportation Fund created by Act 89.  The deadline for applications is June 30.

On Thursday the Department of Environmental Protection submitted a white paper containing comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection suggesting a new framework for regulating carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired power plants under Section 111(d) of the federal Clean Air Act.

The Department of Environmental Protection, along with Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities, invites fleet managers, school districts, municipalities, nonprofit entities, and for-profit businesses to attend one of two Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant workshops being held in Greene and Cambria counties.   

The Department of Environmental Protection, along with Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities, invites fleet managers, school districts, municipalities, nonprofit entities, and for-profit businesses to attend an Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant workshop being held in Allegheny County.    

Gov. Tom Corbett Tuesday visited Aqua America Inc.’s compressed Natural Gas fueling station in Springfield, Delaware County, to see the company’s growing fleet of vehicles that use CNG, a clean-burning fuel alternative, and discussed how revenues from Act 13 have been benefitting local communities and protecting the environment.

PennSave will host a video conference workshop at five locations around the state April 24 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for school districts and municipal officials on the nuts and bolts of performance contracting for installing building and HVAC upgrades that reduce energy use.

The Environmental Protection Agency Thursday announced the sixth annual list of the top 25 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Energy Star certified buildings, with Philadelphia coming in ninth on the list.

A team at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Architecture has developed a dashboard that helps people to see how much energy they use at work and how to reduce this use to help the environment.

The Department of Environmental Protection invites middle school teachers, administrators and building managers to a May 20 training workshop in Huntingdon, Juniata County, on the Keystone Energy Education Program (KEEP) to teach and track energy efficiency in school buildings and homes.

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Rob McCord, along with businesses and organizations from the public and private sectors, Wednesday announced the creation of a groundbreaking national partnership to bring low-cost financing on a large scale to home energy efficiency improvement.

Public Utility Commission Commissioner Pamela A. Witmer Thursday announced a roughly two-minute video available on the PUC’s Educational Videos webpage to further educate electricity customers about what their options are at the end of their contract.

In a keynote address to the 29th Annual Platts Global Power Markets Conference, Exelon Generation President and CEO Kenneth W. Cornew said that competitive market rules and state and federal energy policies need immediate reforms to ensure a diverse, clean, reliable and affordable energy supply.

The Lower Allen Recreation and Parks Board are proud to announce the 10th annual Gardeners Gathering Event on April 26, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Lower Allen Community Park, 4075 Lisburn Road in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County. 

More than 40 volunteers participated in Trail Day at the Lackawanna College Environmental Education Center, 93 MacKenzie Rd., Covington Township, Lackawanna County, on April 5  from 9 a.m. to noon.

The Wildlife Leadership Academy has extended its deadline for accepting applications for their 2014 summer field schools from youth ages 14-17 and adults to April 30.

Pennsylvania Master Naturalist Program is partnering with three organizations in Southeastern Pennsylvania to offer 55-hour training courses this Fall.

The Game Commission plans to resume controlled burns on the Scotia Barrens on State Game Lands 176 in Patton, Ferguson and Halfmoon townships, Centre County, to improve habitat conditions within this unique ecosystem.

April and May are the best times to plant trees and you can learn how to do it right through this new video from iConservePA.org.  Jeff Woleslagle from DCNR Bureau of Forestry takes you through these easy planting steps.  Click Here to watch the video.

The PA Horticultural Society will host a series of Tree Tender Training Workshops this year in the five-county Philadelphia Region.

Pennsylvania's statewide trout season begins on April 12, prompting the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Friday to urge anglers and other woodland visitors to take steps to prevent wildfires.

Protecting historic African-American burial grounds in the region will be the topic of the next lecture in the South Mountain Speakers Series on April 17 at Shippensburg University.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County Friday named Erin Brown as its first full-time Director of Education in nearly two decades.

The Department of Environmental Protection Tuesday announced the appointment of Joel Koricich as District Mining Manager for DEP’s California mining office in Washington County.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources published notice of an opportunity to bid on projects in Fulton and Northumberland 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 published notice of a final regulations on measuring and reporting condensable particulate matter emissions.

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.

CLICK HERE to Print The Entire PA Environment Digest.

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.