The March 14 PA Environment Digest is now available. Here are just a few of the headlines--
Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding told the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday more resources are needed to meet Pennsylvania’s commitments to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
In response to a U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers report issued Monday saying the Conowingo Dam reservoir has reached the limit of its ability to trap sediment coming down the Susquehanna River, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Friday called on the federal government to immediately provide Pennsylvania with $5 million to help farmers reduce sediment runoff from agricultural areas.
Denise Coleman, PA State Conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Tuesday announced funding for farm producers and forest land operators to implement improved management practices is now available through the Conservation Stewardship Program.
Here are 10 things we learned from Senate and House budget hearings--
1. We Can’t Cut Our Way To A Better Environment. DEP Secretary John Quigley said the state “can’t cut its way to improving the environment.” Because of “relentless budget cuts,” DEP has lost 14 percent of its staff, but the average state agency lost 6 percent over the last decade. As a result, Secretary Quigley said, the capacity of his agency has been significantly degraded. Any further cuts, he said, would put the public’s health and the environment at risk.
The DEP Water Resources Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on March 24 to review proposed permit fee increase proposals for NPDES (Chapter 92a-- application, annual fees) and Water Quality Management (Chapter 91) permits.
Thursday, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful launched www.eWastePA.org to help ensure Pennsylvania consumers have the information they need to properly manage their electronic waste such as old televisions and computer monitors, commonly referred to as e-waste.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful received top honors at the annual Keep America Beautiful National Awards Dinner, held during Keep America Beautiful’s recent annual National Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale Wednesday announced the start of a performance audit of the Public Utility Commission’s administration of the collection and disbursement of the unconventional shale gas well impact fees provided for in Act 13 of 2012.
The Foundation for Sustainable Forests will host a Loving The Land Through Working Forests Program on May 14 on forestland owned by Foundation board member Dr. Jane Woods at 13360 and 13333 Carter Hill Road, Corry, Erie County from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To read the Digest, visit: www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com. Click Here to print the entire Digest.
PA Environment Digest is edited by David E. Hess, former Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and is published as a service of Crisci Associates.
PA Environment Digest was the winner of the PA Association of Environmental Educators' 2009 Business Partner of the Year Award.
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Questions?: Send email to David Hess at: DHess@CrisciAssociates.com
