The team from Penncrest High School in Delaware County won the 33rd annual Pennsylvania Envirothon, scoring 548.3 points of a possible 600.

By Rona Kobell, Chesapeake Bay Journal

Lee Ann Murray, assistant executive director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Pennsylvania, issued this statement Monday following the resignation of John Quigley as secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection—

Rep. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming), who represents Pennsylvania on the Chesapeake Bay Commission, Tuesday introduced a bipartisan resolution-- House Resolution 908-- calling for a study of a new water use fee to fund water quality improvement programs.

While many people are caught up in the soap opera of the latest change in DEP Secretaries, few are focused on the real issue-- how to make Pennsylvania a leader again in protecting and restoring the environment.

PA Environment Digest now has a Google+ Circle called Green Works In PA.  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--

Sen. Ryan Aument (R-Lancaster) Tuesday called for an investigation into the conduct of John Quigley, former Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, who resigned from Gov. Wolf’s cabinet on May 20.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA applauds the Centre County commissioners, for adopting a Clean Water Counts resolution, calling on state officials to make clean water a top priority for the Commonwealth.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service is now accepting applications for up to $150,000 in funding through its PA Conservation Innovation Grants to promote the development and adoption of innovative approaches to cropping systems and grazing management in Pennsylvania.

The PA Highlands Coalition will be hosting a webinar on June 10 starting at 2:00 p.m. on the History and Importance of Dam Removal and the Successes, Challenges and Opportunities in Pennsylvania.

The Department of Environmental Protection recently installed a new water quality buoy in Presque Isle Bay in Erie.  The buoy will provide information about the daily conditions of the bay and help staff in monitoring for harmful algal blooms.

July is "Lake Appreciation Month," a time set aside by the Department of Environmental Protection to appreciate the value of Pennsylvania's local lakes and streams.

The Center for Watershed Protection, Inc. has released a new guide for citizen science groups and watershed organizations across the nation to take a role in finding and eliminating sources of harmful bacteria in their communities.  

The May 23 Watershed Winds newsletter is now available from Penn State Extension featuring articles on--

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is scheduled to meet in June 16 in Lancaster to consider adoption of its FY 2017 regulatory program fee schedule. (formal notice and agenda)

Pennsylvania American Water’s G.C. Smith Water Treatment Plant, which serves approximately 19,000 customers in Dauphin and Lebanon counties, has received the prestigious Presidents Award from the Partnership for Safe Water.

Register now for Penn State Extension’s 2016 Youth Water Educators Summit! The Dive Deeper III: Youth Water Educators Summit will be held September 22 at The Central Hotel and Conference Center, 800 East Park Drive in Harrisburg.

The Brodhead Watershed Association will host a Penn State Master Gardener Workshop on June 2 to share the secrets of gardening with native plants. The workshop will start at 7 p.m. at Hughes Library, 1002 N. Ninth St., Stroudsburg.

The Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance based in Butler County was one of five award winners recognized at the 2016 Dominion, PA Environmental Council Western PA Environmental Awards ceremony on May 26 at the Westin Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh.

For over a century, the Garden Club of Allegheny County has been a guiding hand in environmental education and conservation, stewardship, and horticulture whose goal is the establishment of values and practices that support and sustain civic improvement.  

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful invites local residents, organizations, civic groups, and businesses to join programs to adopt local areas, such as municipal roads, communities, parks, neighborhood blocks, greenways, waterways and trails to keep them litter free.

The PA Environmental Council organized volunteers to conduct 24 illegal dumpsite cleanups in Potter, Susquehanna and Wayne counties resulting in the removal of over 91 tons of trash.

The Chester Ridley Crum Watersheds Association’s 19th Annual CRC Streams Cleanup in Chester and Delaware counties on April 30 featured a record-setting crowd of 693 volunteers, the most ever in the event’s history.

Sixteen individuals from various county, state and federal agencies recently completed a 40-hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) course at DEP's Northcentral Regional Office in Williamsport.

The May 26 DEP News is now available from the Department of Environmental Protection featuring articles on--

SustainPHL is now accepting nominations for the first SustainPHL Awards to recognize individuals, businesses, nonprofit and civic-government organizations for the sustainability efforts.  Nominations are due June 2.

Sustainable Energy Fund Wednesday announced the addition of Emerging Tech Talks to Energypath 2016 Conference to be held July 28-29 in State College.

The PA Technical Assistance Program will host a Pollution Prevention-Energy Efficiency webinar on June 16 starting at noon.

Nine university faculty attended a free three-day workshop this week at The Navy Yard in Philadelphia to learn how to instruct a course titled "Leadership in Building Energy Efficiency."

Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center Tuesday announced the 4 winners of the 5th Annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest who each walked away with a winner’s check for $20,000--

The latest natural gas production report from the Independent Fiscal Office shows natural gas production in Pennsylvania is up 12.8 percent so far in 2016 over 2015 production levels.  The number of producing wells has also increased 15.4 percent.

Results of PJM Interconnection's second auction with stringent pay-for-performance standards attracted a significant amount of new resources at competitive prices to the PJM footprint.

Exelon Corporation Wednesday announced its Quad Cities and Three Mile Island nuclear plants did not clear in the PJM capacity auction for the 2019-2020 planning year and will not receive capacity revenue for that period.

The Clean Power PA Coalition, representing Pennsylvania's environmental, clean energy business and conservation community, today criticized the House State Government Committee for passing Senate Bill 562 (Gordner-R-Columbia), a bill that would give legislators excessive power to intervene in Pennsylvania's regulatory process.

All three of the young peregrine falcons that hatched last month in a nest on the 15th floor of the Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg took their first flights this week.

It began with a ribbon-cutting on a soggy day in 2006, but the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park in Erie opened its doors to the public on May 26 that year with sunny aspirations to be the peninsula’s prime place for nature learning and interpretation.

On June 5 the Phipps Conservancy and Botanical Gardens at One Schenley Park in Pittsburgh will host its first-ever BioBlitz Festival to bring together volunteer scientists, , families, students, teachers and community members to conduct a biological survey of all of the living species in a given area.

The Lacawac Sanctuary and Biological Field Station in Wayne County Friday published its list of upcoming June programs and events. 

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn Wednesday announced DCNR is partnering with the Keystone Trail Association to offer guided hikes across the state during the week starting May 28.

When the Memorial Day holiday weekend ushers in the traditional start of the camping season, state park visitors will find more areas open to pets, more smoking controls on swimming beaches, and a revamped reservation system that makes it easier to sample these and other major changes at many of Pennsylvania’s 121 state parks.

Lehigh Valley Greenways Conservation Landscape announced 15 local recipients of state mini-grant conservation awards at a ceremony on May 10 at Upper Saucon Township Community Park in Lehigh County.

The May 25 edition of the Resource newsletter is now available from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources featuring articles on--

The PA Land Trust Association awarded John C. Oliver III with the Lifetime Conservation Leadership Award at an awards dinner in State College on May 20.

The PA Land Trust Association honored West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, with the 2016 Government Conservation Leadership Award for demonstrated leadership in the conservation of our special landscapes and critical natural resources.

The Joint Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee is  accepting applications for full and part-time (20-30 hours per week) internships for the fall semester of 2016.  The deadline for applications is June 30.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice of an opportunity to bid on a mine reclamation project in Washington County.

This section lists House and Senate Committee meetings, DEP and other public hearings and meetings and other interesting environmental events.

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 are NewsClips from around the state on all environmental topics, including General Environment, Budget, Marcellus Shale, Watershed Protection and much more.

No new regulations were published this week.  Pennsylvania Bulletin - May 28, 2016

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