September 30, 2016

October 3 PA Environment Digest Now Available

The October 3 PA Environment Digest is now available.  Here are just a few of the headlines--

The PA Independent Oil and Gas Association, representing conventional well operators, Friday delivered a letter to the Joint House Senate Committee on Documents objecting to the publication of DEP’s final Chapter 78a Marcellus Shale drilling regulations, now scheduled for the October 8 PA Bulletin.

Harry Campbell, executive director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Pennsylvania, issued this statement Wednesday after Sen. Tom Killion (R-Delaware) introduced Growing Greener III legislation that would provide $315 million a year for environmental conservation, recreation, and preservation projects in the Commonwealth.

Ad Crable on LancasterOnline.com reported Friday Exelon Generation will provide Lancaster and York conservation districts each with $225,000 annually to help pay for on-farm conservation measures to help cleanup the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
The funding is part of its commitment to $31 million in recreational and project initiatives as part of the Conowingo hydroelectric and Muddy Run pumped storage generation facility license renewals.

The Coldwater Heritage Partnership Wednesday announced it is now accepting applications for its two Coldwater Conservation Grant Programs to help protect and conserve the health of Pennsylvania’s coldwater ecosystems.  Applications are due December 16.

The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Monday recognized state and tribal abandoned mine land programs and mine operators who have innovated and performed notable reclamation of surface coal mines.  Two Pennsylvania projects were recognized by OSM—

By: Robert Hughes, Executive Director, Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation
The RECLAIM Act, currently before Congress, is an opportunity to create both immediate and permanent jobs in communities facing severe economic hardship due to the loss of coal mining jobs and lagging local economies.


Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful awarded 25 grants of up to $1,000 for community improvement projects in three focus areas of Prevent It, Clean It, or Keep It to tax-exempt groups across Pennsylvania.
Grants were awarded in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Blair, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, McKean, Northampton, Philadelphia, Potter and York counties.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday announced it is accepting applications for approximately $7 million in rebates to public school bus fleet owners to help them replace or retrofit older school buses.  Applications are due November 1.

The Department of Environmental Protection is considering or approved 43 applications for natural gas-fired power plants* since January 2014 totaling 17,140 megawatts of electric generation capacity.  That capacity could entirely replace the 12,683 megawatts of coal-fired electric generation capacity now in Pennsylvania.

The Public Utility Commission Tuesday announced it will kick off its statewide annual PA “Be Utility Wise” events in October and November.  The theme for this year’s campaign is “Who to Turn To” – focusing on increasing community awareness of essential utility assistance programs.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Thursday posted its second Fall foliage report showing expected dates when the best forest colors can be found.  Fall foliage visitors can also get suggestions about the best spots to view foliage on DCNR’s Penn’s Woods Fall Foliage Story Map.

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.


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Questions?: Send email to David Hess at: DHess@CrisciAssociates.com