The February 13 PA Environment Digest is now available. Here are just a few of the headlines--
Gov. Tom Wolf Tuesday proposed a $32.3 billion General Fund budget which he said includes $2 billion in cuts and savings resulting from reinventing and reforming the way the public’s money is spent and $1 billion in new taxes, mostly on business.
The proposal does include more funding for cleaning up Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, but goes back to relying on using the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to pay for DCNR’s administrative expenses.
It also proposes a several part plan to fund the continuation of the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program through several fund transfers.
The proposed budget does not end the downward spiral of funding and staffing at the Department of Environmental Protection.
John Stefanko, DEP Executive Deputy for Programs, told the Senate Transportation Committee Wednesday the keys to improving turnaround times for environmental permits for PennDOT projects (or any permit reviews) is to get complete applications in the door and to give DEP more staff.
The PA Organization For Watersheds and Rivers, DEP and other partners will hold the 2017 PA Statewide Watershed Conference on March 5-6 at the Ramada Inn in State College. The deadline for registration is February 14.
In February, Black History Month, DCNR recognizes the great contributions of African Americans across the United States. And looking back on black history in Pennsylvania, there are important links to conservation.
The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry again is preparing for an aerial spraying effort to combat gypsy moth populations poised for spring outbreaks in the eastern and central portions of Pennsylvania, DCNR officials said Wednesday.
The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service-PA is accepting applications from northcentral Pennsylvania forest landowners in 15 counties for financial assistance to apply conservation practices that enhance forest ecosystems. The deadline for applications is March 17.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful announced Wednesday applications are now being accepted for the 2017 Dr Pepper Snapple/Keep America Beautiful Park Recycling Bin Grants. The deadline for applications is February 24.
Since 2014, the PA Resources Council has partnered with Alcoa Foundation to work with multi-family properties around the Greater Pittsburgh Area to find best management recycling practices as well as increase recycling rates.
The American Institute of Architects-PA will host a Designing Schools for Success Discussion in on February 21 from 9 a.m. to Noon at Harrisburg University in Harrisburg.
American consumers spent less than 4 percent of their total annual household spending on energy in 2016, the smallest share ever recorded by the U.S. government, a new study finds.
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
