At a press conference this week, Gov. Rendell said there was progress in a meeting with the four Caucus leaders where they laid out a schedule to get the state budget done almost on time.

Legislators, environmental groups and citizen lobbyists held a press conference at the Capitol this week to urge action on legislation and regulations related to Marcellus Shale drilling.

Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc., a civil and environmental engineering firm, has just joined the PA Environment Digest Professional Services Directory.

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--

Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger told the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee this week his agency's investigation into the June 3 Clearfield County Marcellus Shale gas well blowout should be completed in about three weeks.

The House this week overwhelmingly passed House Bill 708 (Ross-R-Chester) which requires manufacturers of computers and televisions to arrange to recycle them.  The bill also bans dumping these devices in a landfill. 

The sufficiency of local emergency response plans in gas drilling areas and the capacity of state officials to act quickly when problems hit will be the subjects of a public hearing on June 29 by the state Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.

The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets on June 21 to consider House Bill 1489 (George-D-Clearfield), another version of legislation which would impose a severance tax on natural gas production.

The director of Penn State University’s Center for Green Roof Research will be the presenter at the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee’s June 21 Environmental Issues Forum.

Rep. Karen Boback (R-Columbia) announced her intent to introduce legislation to provide additional protections for public drinking water supplies, as the natural gas drilling industry continues to grow in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference’s coveted “Mayfly Award” recognizes individuals who have dedicated a lifetime of knowledge and expertise to the reclamation of abandoned mines in Pennsylvania.  

The May 6 West Branch Susquehanna Symposium attracted over 125 people from Trout Unlimited chapters, watershed groups, local colleges and universities, and conservation districts, as well as folks representing various agencies and abandoned mine reclamation agencies from across Pennsylvania.

Delaware River Basin Commission Executive Director Carol R. Collier this week announced she has supplemented her May 19, 2009 determination to include natural gas exploratory wells and as a result, the moratorium imposed on new wells in May applies.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group promoting Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania, put out this piece in response to the extended moratorium on drilling issued by the Delaware River Basin Commission this week.

U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan this week unveiled Conewago Creek as one of three showcase watersheds designed to demonstrate what can be achieved by combining strong partnerships, sound science and funding to solve natural resource problems in a targeted area in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. 

The Governor's Office this week published its regulatory agenda which shows which regulations it is planning to adopt or propose in the next six months. (Pa Bulletin page 3431)

The non-profit group Natural Biodiversity based in Windber, Pa is seeking candidates to fill four positions--

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

On June 15 the Environmental Quality Board approved final regulations on hazardous waste exclusions, control of VOCs from large appliance and metal furniture surface coating operations, water and wastewater operator certification (which includes a project decrease in fee income from $1.1 million to $938,128 annually) and proposed rulemaking revising noncoal mining permit fees which will increase fees from about $25,000 annually to $2.5 million annually.

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 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.