Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful announced Wednesday 141,264 volunteers collected over 6.7 million pounds of trash at 4,421 cleanup events during the 2012 Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Great American Cleanup of PA.

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

Rep. Camille George (D-Clearfield), Minority Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, Tuesday said that a bill passed by Congress has threatened about $178 million in federal funds used for mine reclamation projects around the Commonwealth.

Rep. Jesse White (D-Washington) announced the introduction of two bills-- House Bill 2606 and House Bill 2607-- which would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to change the Department of Environmental Protection’s appointed secretary position to a commissioner post elected by Pennsylvanians.

The House Republican Policy Committee, Chaired by Rep. Dave Reed (R-Indiana) Friday held a hearing in Latrobe where a bipartisan group of state legislators heard from representatives of Pennsylvania's coal industry about the positive impacts the sector has on the Commonwealth's economy and potential roadblocks preventing additional job creation.

The Department of Environmental Protection has awarded $652,161 to reclaim an abandoned mine site in East Keating Township, Clinton County. Last mined in 1976 by Fran Contracting Inc., the site is part of the Cooks Run watershed, which stretches into Cameron County.

This year, Westmoreland Conservation District’s awards banquet returns on September 13, featuring a bountiful local foods buffet made from products that have been grown, raised, or produced right here in Westmoreland County. 

The 5th annual Lehigh Valley Watershed Conference will be held on October 9 at the Steps Building at Lehigh University in Bethlehem starting with registration at 7:30 a.m.

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary released its "State of the Estuary Report" Thursday, just feet from the Christina River in Wilmington.

The Lancaster County Clean Water Consortium will hold the first seminar in a three-part series called “What’s Clean Water and How Do We Get It Back?” on September 13 from 9 a.m. to noon.

The Penn State Master Well Owner Network has released its schedule of training opportunities for new MWON volunteers for the next year.

Pennsylvania American Water Thursday announced the launch of a social media campaign inviting consumers to post photos of themselves using reusable water bottles, and the company will send each entrant a free water bottle. The campaign runs through October 15.

The Delaware River Basin Source Water Collaborative is hosting a free webinar in recognition of the Drug Enforcement Administration's National Drug Take-Back Day on September 25 starting at 10:00 a.m.

The PA Section of the American Water Works Association is hosting the Great Lakes Summit in Erie on October 16 to 18.  The PA AWWA is also issuing a call for presentations for the Summit.

Photographers have only three more weeks to submit their photos of Wissahickon Valley Park to the Friends of the Wissahickon Photo Contest, sponsored by The Cedars House. Winners of the contest will be selected by the public through online voting.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has opened registration for student teams from colleges and universities across the country to participate in its new design competition, the Campus RainWorks Challenge, through which teams will compete to develop innovative approaches to stormwater management.

The annual Conference of the PA Association of Floodplain Managers will be held October 23-24 at the Ramada Inn in Wilkes-Barre.  Click Here for more information and the agenda.

The Friends of the Wissahickon are leading free hikes in Wissahickon Valley Park in September, led by FOW Trail Ambassadors.  The hikes include--

RiverQuest presents an interactive full-group session, adapted from the National Energy Education Development project’s Energy and Our Rivers curriculum called Who Works the Rivers On October 23 in Pittsburgh for students in Grades 11 and 12.

Nature Abounds, a Clearfield-based non-profit working to bring people together for a healthy planet, is competing with charities nationwide for grants ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 from the Chase Community Giving program.

Volunteers are needed to weed and water trees and plants in the school gardens, outdoor classrooms and natural play spaces at more than 50 Pittsburgh public schools that have been enhanced through Western PA Conservancy’s School Grounds Greening Project.

The ClearWater Conservancy will bring the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival to State College for the fourth time this fall. Hosted by presenting sponsor Appalachian Outdoors and benefitting ClearWater Conservancy, the festival will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at the State Theatre in State College.

Weis Markets announced it will be a sponsor of Farm Aid 2012, a concert dedicated to American family farmers featuring music performed by America’s premier artists, including Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews.

DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry Botanist Carrie Gilbert describes how invasive species can be destructive to local ecosystems and how to control them in this iConservePA video.  Click Here to watch the video.  Learn more about how to protect and restore your environment by going to iConservePA.org.

The PA Resources Council and its partners will hold an electronics waste and paper shredding collection event in Pittsburgh Mills on September 29.  Click Here for details.

The Department of Environmental Protection invites the public to improve the Lake Erie watershed by participating in the PA-Lake Erie International Coastal Cleanup on September 15, from 9 a.m. to noon.

The State Electronics Challenge will hold a webinar on September 27 starting at 3:00 p.m. on how Pennsylvania organizations can reduce their environmental footprint, including climate impact, saving energy, and conserving natural resources, through improved management of office equipment; including computers, monitors, copiers, printers, and multifunction devices.

Daniel Gallo, a resident of Brookhaven, Jefferson County, is one of only 10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employees nationwide honored for helping federal agencies protect the environment by making smarter purchases and use of electronics products.

The PA Resources Council will hold its annual awards dinner on November 15 at the Radisson at Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia.  Sponsorship information is now available. Check the PRC website for more information in the near future.

Chatham University was recently honored by The Princeton Review by being named to the exclusive 2013 Green Honor Roll, the only Pennsylvania college or university named.

Air and Waste Management Association's Allegheny Mountain Section and Duquesne University are sponsoring the Energy in the Alleghenies Conference at the Duquesne University Power Center in Pittsburgh on September 24-25.

West Penn Power has scheduled four more energy efficiency seminars for business and industrial customers to learn more about incentives for reducing energy use.  The seminars will be held--

The Department of Environmental Protection will hold the first of several Natural Gas Vehicle seminars on September 14, in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, to help municipal and commercial fleet owners make informed decisions about converting their fleets to compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas.

As part of the Game Commission’s efforts to highlight its ongoing habitat improvement initiatives, the public is invited to take part in upcoming tours of several State Game Lands between September 22 and October 14.  All tours are free.

The Western PA Conservancy this week acquired a significant property in the French Creek watershed. The more than 283-acre tract in Hayfield Township, Crawford County has 5,650 feet of frontage along Cussewago Creek, a major tributary of French Creek.

The PA Historical and Museum Commission's new mobile website can help connect smartphone users to the state's rich history, according to Sen. Richard Alloway II (R-Franklin).

The Department of Environmental Protection published a notice inviting bids on a well plugging project in Butler County.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has named Jenifer Christman as Associate Vice President for Watershed Conservation.

Gov. Tom Corbett Wednesday nominated Steven C. Beckman to the five-member Environmental Hearing Board which hears the first-line appeals of actions by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences will hold a Career Day on October 16 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park.  Click Here to register.

By Timothy Puko, Tribune-Review, September 2, 2012

We all remember where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001, but the employees of the Department of Environmental Protection remember better than most because they played a key role in the responding to the Somerset County crash site of Flight 93.

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 NewClips 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--

No new regulations were published this week.  Pennsylvania Bulletin - September 8, 2012

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.