Here are 64 new stories in the PA Environment Digest about individuals, groups, local governments, farmers, businesses, watershed groups and many more working all across Pennsylvania to restore and protect the environment and show others the beauty that surrounds us.

While PA Environment Digest’s priority is to highlight positive examples of environmental and energy leadership, 2022 is an election year which demands accountability to voters.

PA Environment Digest Is Putting The Best Links To Environment & Energy Articles and NewsClips Here.   Are You Telling Your Story?

On December 9, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it has issued three orders to Equitrans L.P. the gas storage operator of the Rager Mountain Gas Storage Reservoir and George L Reade 1 storage well located in Jackson Township, Cambria County.

On December 6, Marcellus Drilling News reported three industry groups representing the conventional oil and gas industry filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court December 5 in an attempt to block implementation of DEP’s emergency final VOC/methane limits regulation on conventional oil and gas facilities.

The agenda for the December 15 meeting of DCED’s PA Grade Crude [Oil] Advisory Council includes a variety of current issues of interest to the conventional oil and gas industry and the affected public--

The Better Path Coalition is encouraging individuals and groups to sign a petition urging Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro to make banning the road spreading of conventional drilling wastewater a priority in his incoming Administration.

On December 7, the Delaware River Basin Commission voted to adopt final regulations banning the discharge of wastewater to the waters or land from high volume hydraulic fracturing drilling operations in the Basin and strengthening rules on exporting and importing water to support fracking.

By Ad Crable, Chesapeake Bay Journal

On December 8, the Public Utility Commission voted unanimously to approve a $48,000 refund of a $51,000 penalty paid to the PUC by Sunoco Pipeline for Mariner East Pipeline construction violations.

To give the public a better understanding of the compliance record of oil and gas industrial facilities in Pennsylvania, PA Environment Digest developed this feature summarizing the more serious violations DEP reports through its Compliance Reporting Database on a weekly basis -- Saturday through Friday.

The following DEP notices were published in the December 10 PA Bulletin related to oil and gas industry facilities.  Many of the notices offer the opportunity for public comments.

On December 5, the Public Utility Commission released 2022 Winter Reliability Overview Reports from the state’s major natural gas distribution companies (NGDCs), along with a related Readiness Report from the Energy Association of Pennsylvania (EAP).

On December 5, the Independent Fiscal Office reported third quarter natural gas production in Pennsylvania declined by 0.8% over 2021, the third consecutive quarter in which production did not increase year-over-year.

On December 7, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced it has begun providing renewable natural gas (RNG) for the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority in Bellefonte, Centre County, supporting a transition to a cleaner, low-carbon fuel produced from organic waste.

The University of Pittsburgh is now accepting proposals for the Pitt Sustainability Challenge, which will award $300,000 to an integrated, impactful, durable, and feasible solution to advance carbon neutrality with lasting benefits for the Pitt community.

The Ohio River Valley Institute will host a December 12 webinar on Mapping A Clean Energy Transition for Southwestern Pennsylvania starting at 2:00 p.m.

The PA Association of Environmental Professionals recognized former DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell with the Karl Mason Award and Lorie Erb and the MACHAC Bog Turtle Recovery Program with the Walter Lyon Award.

On December 8, the Department of Environmental Protection announced, after a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force, the drought watch has been lifted for 15 counties and remains for five counties. 

On December 9, Department of Community and Economic Development Acting Secretary Neil Weaver announced an in-person and virtual public hearing will be held on Wednesday, December 14, in Montgomeryville to discuss federal disaster funding to help residents rebuild and recover from Hurricane Ida.  (formal notice)

In 2018, Mark Heller looked out over his property in Lancaster County and saw a muddy, heavily used meadow right up to the edge of a stream with eroding banks. He thought “this doesn’t look healthy.”

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the December 10 PA Bulletin inviting comments on an application to transfer the Little Blue Run Residual Waste Disposal Impoundment Permit from Energy Harbor Generation LLC to LBR Acquisition Company, LLC in Green Twp., Beaver County and Hancock County, WV.  (PA Bulletin, page 7530)

On December 8, the Pennsylvania Sea Grant College Program announced $1.07 million in funding for six aquatic and watershed-related research projects in Pennsylvania.

The Perkiomen Creek in Montgomery County is in the running for the state’s 2023 River of the Year Award presented by the Pennsylvania Organization of Watersheds and Rivers.

Voting began on November 30 for the 2023 Pennsylvania “River of the Year,” and the Endless Mountain Heritage Region and the Susquehanna Greenways Partnership are asking the public to cast votes for the Susquehanna River North Branch.  Voting ends on January 14.

By: Bri Geiner, Crew Member, 2022 Harrisburg Young Adult Crew

The December 9 Take Five Fridays With Pam is now available from the PA Parks & Forests Foundation--

On December 7, the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education announced preservation-minded donors have pledged a $3 million gift that will protect the entire 24-acre Boy Scout Tract from development in perpetuity.

The Pocono Heritage Land Trust is seeking partners to help protect the 755-acre Camp Trexler property from development in Monroe County.

On December 6, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Bureau of Plant Industry Director Dr. Ruth Welliver visited Star Roses Nursery in Cochranville, Chester County to highlight concerted efforts to protect Pennsylvania’s economy and environment from damage threats posed by invasive species.

On December 7, botanists from the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Museum of Natural History and an international team of researchers warn of risks posed to North American ephemeral wildflowers caused by warmer spring temperatures in a recent study published in Nature Communications. 

The Center for Land Use and Sustainability (CLUS) at Shippensburg University is currently hiring for two positions:

Opportunities to learn more about environmental and energy issues affecting Pennsylvania for students and adults--

The PA Forestry Association Forest Heritage Committee, in cooperation with the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, is proud to bring you the sixth video in the Discovering PA’s Forest Heritage series-- PA Forest Fire Towers.

The PA Organization for Watersheds and Rivers will host a December 13 webinar on Managing Invasive Species and Overgrown Landscapes With Goats from Noon to 1:00 p.m.

The Pennsylvania Solar Center Watts & Learn Webinar series will shake things up with something fun and different on December 16 with a new program Uncovering Probably True Solar Stories With Tor 'Solar Fred' Valenza from Noon to 1:15 p.m.

The next session will begin on January 3 when all this fun starts from scratch all over again!

Articles and NewsClips about federal actions impacting Pennsylvania--

Click Here for a list of public participation opportunities and a calendar of events.

Click Here for grants, awards, recognition programs and contest deadlines.

Highlights of the environmental and energy notices in the December 10 PA Bulletin--

Send your stories, photos and links to videos about your project, environmental issues or programs for publication in the PA Environment Digest to: PaEnviroDigest@gmail.com.

PA Environment Digest is a supporting member of the PA Organization for Watersheds & Rivers, PA Outdoor Writers Association, PA Council Trout Unlimited and the Doc Fritchey Chapter Trout Unlimited.