One of the riders the Senate passed in the Administrative Code bill-- House Bill 118 (Kaufer-R- Luzerne)-- was a provision eliminating the requirement in place for 28 years that the water quality standard for manganese be met when water is discharged into a stream, and replacing it with a requirement the standard be met at the point water is taken out of a stream for use as drinking water and without regard for the potential impact on fish and aquatic life in between.

The PA Environmental Council Monday posted this statement on the budget deal that saw environmental provisions unrelated to funding the state budget stuck in a variety of code bills—

The PA Resources Council Friday sent a letter to all members of the General Assembly and to Gov. Wolf urging them to oppose provisions contained in the budget-related Tax Code bill-- House Bill 542 (Thomas-D-Philadelphia)-- that would undercut the permitting review authority of the Department of Environmental Protection.

Gov. Wolf said Thursday on WITF’s SmartTalk it’s up to the House Republicans to sign on to the Senate-passed revenue package endorsed by all the other parties in the budget negotiations-- Senate Republicans and Democrats, House Democrats and him.

The PA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Phase 3 Implementation Planning Steering Committee Monday heard from panelists on the changes they would like to see come out of the process and among the suggestions was expanding the REAP Farm Conservation Tax Credit Program to bring real private capital to the Bay cleanup effort.

The Lacawac Sanctuary will honor three individuals and one company with Lifetime Achievement Awards at its annual Farm To Plate Dinner on August 12 at the Sanctuary’s 113-year-old Waters Lodge in Lake Ariel, Wayne County. The awardees are:

Here are the Senate and House Calendars for the next voting session day and Committees scheduling action on bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced--

The U.S. Senate Thursday voted to confirm Public Utility Commission member Rob Powelson for a seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Department of Environmental Protection Tuesday announced the launch of a coal mine reclamation project in Sproul State Forest to help restore 40 acres and Cooks Run Watershed, a designated High-Quality Coldwater Fishery that was home to native brook trout before acid mine drainage impaired it.

Capital Region Water will hold a public meeting August 15 on the draft Regional Joint MS4 Stormwater Pollution Reduction Plan for Paxton Creek Watershed in the City of Harrisburg, Lower Paxton and Susquehanna Townships in Dauphin County.

The Paxton Creek Watershed and Education Association in Dauphin County, a volunteer group working to protect the Paxton Creek, is holding four free educational workshops for students and adults--

Pennsylvania Sea Grant and the Benedictine Sisters of Erie are hosting a public walking workshop to view restoration activities, now underway, to restore approximately 500 feet of Sevenmile Creek.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA will host the 3rd Annual Veterans On The Susquehanna event August 26 starting out at Shank’s Mare Outfitters in Wrightsville, York County.

The August Green Infrastructure newsletter is now available from Lancaster-based LandStudies featuring articles on--

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA Friday named Molly Cheatum as its Pennsylvania Watershed Restoration Program Manager.

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, with support from the U.S. Forest Service, is now accepting nominations for their annual Chesapeake Forest Champions Contest.  The deadline for entries is September 1.

The 2018 Keystone Coldwater Conference is accepting proposals for presentations and posters now through October 20. The Conference will be held in State College on February 23-24.

Bucknell University has issued a call for abstracts for the 12th Susquehanna River Symposium on November 10-11 at its campus in Lewisburg, Union County.  The deadline for submissions is September 17. 

During a visit to the Pennsylvania Organic Farm Fest at Centre County Grange Fairgrounds, state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding last Friday recognized Pennsylvania Certified Organic for helping make the Commonwealth one of the nation’s leading states for organic agriculture.

A grazing school for livestock farmers of all experience levels will take place in Lebanon County on August 25 and 26, hosted by the Capital Resource Conservation & Development Area Council.

The Delaware River Basin Commission will hold a hearing on water withdrawal requests and other proposals on August 16 at the Washington Crossing Historic Park Visitor Center, 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing in Bucks County starting at 1:30.

The Environmental Quality Board is scheduled to meet on August 15 to consider accepting a rulemaking petition asking the Board to adopt a maximum contaminant level for perfluorooctanoic (PFOA) in the Delaware River.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Friday announced grants totaling $40,000 from Keep America Beautiful and Lowe’s were awarded to Keep Blair Beautiful, Keep Lancaster County Beautiful and Keep Philadelphia Beautiful for high impact community improvement projects.

Over 5,400 pounds of organics and recyclable material were collected during the four day Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts & The People’s Choice Festival in Centre County. 

The Department of Environmental Protection has extended the deadline for applying for Section 904 Recycling Performance Grants for calendar year 2016 until October 2. (formal notice)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Friday announced the award of $600,000 in brownfields grants to Pittsburgh’s North Side Industrial Development Company.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday issued its final cleanup plan for the BoRit Asbestos Superfund Site in Montgomery County  that includes establishing new safeguards to support capping work that has already been constructed over much of the site.

Gov. Wolf announced Tuesday three technology initiatives undertaken as part of GO-TIME have been selected as finalists by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) for its 2017 recognition awards.

The Pittsburgh PowerSource and StateImpact Friday reported the Environmental Hearing Board this week agreed with a request by Sunoco to allow a resumption of construction on the Mariner East 2 Pipeline at 16 of the 55 sites the EHB shut down on July 25.

StateImpact, in cooperation with the FracTracker Alliance and the Clean Air Council, have mapped the 90 spills at 61 locations across Pennsylvania documented so far during the construction of the Mariner East 2 Pipeline.  Click Here for all the details.

By Jake Lemon & Josh Wood, TU Eastern Shale Gas Monitoring Program

The PA State Association of Township Supervisors is looking for subject matter experts to present educational workshops at its 2018 Annual Conference to be held April 22-25 in Hershey.  The deadline for proposals is September 1.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro was joined by Gov. Tom Wolf Tuesday to announce he filed a lawsuit along with 14 other states challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to delay implementing a rule to reduce levels of ground-level ozone or smog -- critical to protecting Pennsylvanians and Americans from dangerous pollution.

On August 7, DEP’s Climate Change Advisory Committee will review a draft 2017 PA Greenhouse Gas Inventory showing carbon dioxide emissions have dropped by a total of 3.6 million tons between 2013 and 2014.

Two new reports released Thursday find Pennsylvania has largely untapped market potential of $9 billion in economically viable distributed clean energy projects.

The U.S. Green Building Council Central PA Chapter, the USGBC Chapter In New York Upstate and Greenbuild in Boston will host a Road To Greenbuild event at the Skytop Lodge in Skytop, Monroe County from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Sustainable Pittsburgh will host a September 14 Sustainability: A Winning Playbook For Workplaces and the Region Workshop at the Heinz History Center, 1212  Smallman Street, in Pittsburgh at 6:00 p.m.

The PJM Interconnection Monday said it expects to temporarily lose up to 2,500 megawatts of solar power generation from 1:30 to 3:40 on the afternoon of the August 21 solar eclipse.

The Department of Environmental Protection Friday announced positive mosquito results for West Nile Virus have been found in Columbia Borough, East Hempfield, Elizabethtown, Lancaster Townships, Lancaster County and Buffalo Township, Union County.

The Physician General and the Secretaries of the departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources Thursday reminded residents they can take steps to prevent mosquito and tick bites and highlighting the increase of Lyme disease cases in Pennsylvania over the past two years at an event in Gifford Pinchot State Park in York County.

The latest Community Trees update from the Penn State Extension Urban and Community Forestry Program includes--

Tree-of-heaven — or Ailanthus — is an invasive triple threat, according to a team of plant pathologists. The species produces seeds early in its lifespan, tends to make millions of viable seeds during its life, and continues to produce seeds for decades and, in some cases, for more than a century.

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn Tuesday commended three Pennsylvania communities for their effort to raise funds for local park improvements by engaging supporters online.

The PA Water Trails Partnership, with funding provided by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Thursday announced the awarding of 10 grants totaling $25,000 to improve water trails in the Commonwealth. 

By Lizzie Hessek, PA Environmental Council

Centred Outdoors, an invitation for people of all ages and fitness levels to explore nine outdoor destinations across Centre County, has led hundreds of participants on outdoor adventures all around Centre County.

The Summer newsletter from the PA Council of Trout Unlimited in now available featuring articles on--

Natural Lands Thursday announced a rare bird species was recently spotted by visitors at Gwynedd Preserve in Montgomery County-- the Sedge Wren, a small bird that breeds in grass, sedges, marshes, and meadows.

The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration presents its Distinguished Member Award to a select few who have distinguished themselves through notable contributions to the technology and professional activities encompassed by the Society and the Industry.

Lisa Daniels has been named Acting Deputy for Water Programs at the Department of Environmental Protection.  She replaces Dana Aunkst in that position.

Department of Environmental Protection is seeking qualified applicants for several Environmental Engineering Specialist and Environmental Engineer positions.

This section lists House and Senate Committee meetings, DEP and other public hearings and meetings and other interesting environmental events.

Here are NewsClips from around the state on all environmental topics, including General Environment, Budget, Marcellus Shale, Watershed Protection and much more.

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

No new regulations were published this week.  Pennsylvania Bulletin - August 5, 2017

CLICK HERE to Print The Entire PA Environment Digest. This Digest is 72 pages long.

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.

2018 Keystone Coldwater Conference February 23-24 in State College.

PA Environment Digest is a supporting member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association, Pennsylvania Council Trout Unlimited and the Doc Fritchey Chapter Trout Unlimited.