Thank you for your leadership!
— DEP Publishes Final Environmental Justice Permit Review And Public Participation Policy, Update To PennEnviroScreen EJ Tool [PaEN]Â
— Inquirer: PA Was Known For An Arduous Permitting Process, But New Policies At DEP Aim To Accelerate Building Projects
— Delaware Currents Guest Essay: When Local News And Science Go Dark, The River Loses Its Voice – By Stroud Water Research Center [PaEN]
— Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pittsburgh’s A.I. Skepticism Isn’t Ignorance, It’s Memory [Collapse Of Steel] – People Have ‘Every Right To Be Furious’ – By Desmond Daley, Physician and Pittsburgh Resident [PDF of Article]
— PA Resources Council Suggests 5 Green New Year’s Resolutions For 2026Â [PaEN]
— PA Conservation Heritage Project Profile: Mary Herrold Hirst, Pennsylvania’s First Female State Park Superintendent, Blazed New Trails For Others – By Wayne Kober [PaEN]Â
— PA Conservation Heritage Project Profile: Pioneering Environmental Scientist Willard ‘Bill’ McCartney – Protecting Communities And Ecosystems Without Bureaucratic Games – By Wayne Kober [PaEN]Â
— Chesapeake Bay Journal: Study Will Explore Giving Indigenous Tribes A Voice In Chesapeake Bay ProgramÂ
— Republican Herald: Schuylkill County Environmental Educators Launch O.W.L. Summer Nature Camp Offering Immersive Outdoor Learning Experience For Students In Grades 2 to 5Â [PDF of Article]
— PennLive: ‘Pennsylvania 250’ Launches Year-Long Celebration Of Its Role In The Nation’s Founding
— DEP: Range Resources Suffers Casing Failure/Loss Of Control Incident During Fracking At Burkett Shale Gas Well Pad Triggering Area Of Review Report On Any Offsite Impacts In Jefferson Twp., Washington County [PaEN]
— DEP: Seneca Resources Still Experiencing Spills, Releases While New Well Development Continues At Taft Shale Gas Well Pad In Middlebury Twp., Tioga County For 426 Days And Counting [PaEN]Â
— DEP: High Volume Of Truck Traffic, Freeze/Thaw Destabilized EQT Prod Shale Gas Well Pad Access Road Allowing Gravel, Sediment To Wash Off Road In Westmoreland County [PaEN]
— PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard – Dec. 27 to Jan. 2 – Shale Gas Well Casing Failure/Loss Of Control; Shale Gas Well Pad Spills Continue For 426 Days; Abandoned Conventional Well Violations Reach 688Â [PaEN]
— Environmental Hearing Board Denies DEP Motion To Dismiss BCD Properties Appeal Over Its Illegal Disposal Of Oil And Gas Wastewater By Road Dumping; Case To Proceed On Its Merits [PaEN] Â
— DEP To Hold Feb. 3 Virtual Hearing On Chapter 105 Permit For PA General Energy 3.9 Mile Shale Gas Well Pad Development Access Road, Staging Area In Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County [PaEN]Â
— DEP Invites Comments On Water Quality Permit For A 3.7 Mile Natural Gas Gathering Pipeline Route In Elk And Forest Counties [PaEN]
— DEP To Hold Feb. 4 Hearing On First Title V Air Quality Permit For The Tenaska Natural Gas Power Plant In Westmoreland County; Water Quality Permit Up For Renewal [PaEN]
— DEP Invites Comments On Tentative Decision To Not Renew NPDES Wastewater Permits For 3 Fluid Recovery Services Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Indiana, Venango Counties [PaEN]Â
— PennLive Letter: Cleaner Than Coal Isn’t Clean Enough For Pennsylvania’s Future – By Robert Little, Harrisburg
— Protect PT Hosts Jan. 17 Living Near Shale Gas Facilities Community Workshop In Pittsburgh [PaEN]
— Protect PT, FracTracker Alliance Host Jan. 27 Online Program Providing The Latest On Shale Gas Development And Information Tools [PaEN]
— Bucks Courier Times: Lawyer: PECO, Nursing Home Were Aware Of Natural Gas Leak For 2 Hours Before Deadly Blast
— Bucks Courier Times: Residents Smelled Natural Gas Days Before Nursing Home Explosion In Bucks County; No 911 Calls For Gas Odor
— Warren Times: Don’t Count On Lower Electricity Prices In 2026 [Data Centers Driving Increases]
— Wall Street Journal: Be Prepared To Keep Paying More For Electricity – A.I. Data Center Demands, Rising Natural Gas Prices, Grid Infrastructure Costs [PDF of Article]
— The Center Square: Battle To Modernize Pennsylvania’s Energy Generation Mix Will Rage On In 2026, While Preparing For A Surge In New Demand From A.I. Data Centers
— National Fuel Gas Projects 2026-27 Natural Gas Costs To Increase 6.82%
— WTAJ: National Fuel Natural Gas Prices Set To Rise For Over 200,000 Pennsylvanians In 2026Â
— Beaver Times: National Fuel Gas Projected To Raise PA Customers’ Rates 6.82% In August
— TribLive/AP: US Plans To Tap Oil Reserves In Venezuela President Says After Operation To Pluck Maduro From PowerÂ
— Reuters: Venezuelan Oil Industry: World’s Largest Reserves, Decaying Infrastructure [Venezuela- 303 Billion Barrels, Saudi Arabia- 267 Billion Barrels, US- 48.3 Billion Barrels]
— The Guardian: US Oil Giants Silent On President’s Claim They Will Spend Billions On Venezuelan OilÂ
— Reuters Commentary: Five Energy Market Trends To Track In 2026 – The Year Of The Oil, LNG Natural Gas GlutÂ
— Spotlight PA: Map Shows Growing Number Of A.I. Data Centers Planned Across PennsylvaniaÂ
— The Center Square: New Year, Old Challenges As A.I. Data Centers Face Uncertain Path To Power Connections, PA’s Electrical Grid ‘Buckling’ Under Rising Demand
— PJM Interconnection: 2025 Year In Review Part I – Operations Improvement See Regional Electric Grid Through Record Peaks, Growing Demand [PaEN]
— PennLive Guest Essay: The Public’s A.I. Power Problem Is Not Electricity, It’s The Failure To Protect Ratepayers From Costs They Did Not Choose– Matt Hasan, Ph.D, CEO of aiRESULTS
— The Hill Guest Essay: Microsoft Wants To Resurrect Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant – It Will Never Happen – By Neil Chatterjee, Former Chair of Federal Energy Regulatory CommissionÂ
— AP: Big Tech’s Fast-Expanding Plans For A.I. Data Centers Are Running Into Stiff Community Opposition [PA Highlighted]
— TribLive: Jan. 26 Informational Meeting Set For Upper Burrell Twp. A.I. Data Center In Westmoreland County
— PA House Committee Approves Legislation Giving Local Officials Greater Say Over Regional-Scale Developments Like A.I. Data Centers, Warehouses [PaEN]Â
— Altoona Mirror: PA House Moves Legislation Giving Local Governments Authority Over Projects Of Regional Significance [House Bill 1764]Â
— DEP Issues Air Quality General Permit For Diesel-Fired Nonroad Engines At Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus In Indiana County [PaEN]
— In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles – NewClips From Last Week – January 5Â [PaEN]Â
— Reuters Commentary: The 2025 Energy Transition In 8 Charts – Clean Wins, Dirty SetbacksÂ
— PennLive Letter: President’s War On Wind Energy Will Make Your Electric Bill Higher – By David Kyle, New Columbia [Warning]Â
— The Guardian: From Rent To Utility Bills: The Politicians And Advocates Making Climate Policy Part Of The Affordability Agenda
— Reuters Commentary: The 2025 Energy Transition In 8 Charts – Clean Wins, Dirty SetbacksÂ
— AP: President’s EPA In 2025: A Fossil Fuel-Friendly Approach To Industrial Deregulation [Warning]Â
— Financial Times: Climate Action Faces Key Tests In 2026Â [PDF of Article] Â [Warning]
— Sen. Boscola, Sen. Vogel Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Promote Development Of Much-Needed Solar Energy Electric Generation Facilities And Lower Costs For Consumers [PaEN]Â
— WHYY – Susan Phillips: New Financing Available For Philly-Area Homeowners Seeking To Install Rooftop Solar Energy GenerationÂ
— Post-Gazette – Laura Legere: Solar Installers Pivot After ‘Mad Rush’ To Claim Federal Residential Tax Credit That Ended Dec. 31
— TribLive Letter: We Must Focus On Renewable Energy Sources – By Mary Ann Lauffer, North Huntingdon
— Solar United Neighbors, Protect PT Host Jan. 22 Solar Energy In Southwest PA Community Meeting In Westmoreland County [PaEN]Â
— York Dispatch: Cuffs Run Susquehanna River Pump-Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant Developer Says ‘I’m Not Giving Up’ Amid Lawsuit And Public Outcry [PDF of Article]
— WESA – Rachel McDevitt: Electric Vehicle Chargers Now Available For PA Turnpike Travelers
— WHYY – Sophia Schmidt: Concrete Big Contributor To Climate Change; University Of Pennsylvania Researchers Say They Can Shrink Its Footprint
— DEP Accepting Comments On Proposed Consent Decree Resolving Outstanding Cleanup Cost Recovery Claims With The Remaining Defendants In Swimming Pool Doctor Hazardous Waste Site In Beaver County [PaEN]Â
— EPA To Host Jan. 13 Meeting On Status Of Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site Cleanup In Palmerton, Carbon County [PaEN]Â
— WPXI: Over 2 Dozen Train Cars Derail In Butler County Community Carrying Iron PelletsÂ
— Western/Eastern PA Coalitions For Abandoned Mine Reclamation Now Accepting Applications For ARIPPA Watershed Restoration Grants [PaEN]Â
— Scranton Times: Abandoned Mine Subsidence Sinkhole That Swallowed Car Filled, Patched In Blakely, Lackawanna County
— Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Spitz Foundation Awards $10,000 Grant To Lehman Sanctuary To Support Chesapeake Teachers Training Program In Luzerne County
— Chesapeake Bay Journal – Karl Blankenship: Chesapeake Bay ‘Dead Zone’ Varied In 2025 But Near Average OverallÂ
— Chesapeake Bay Journal: Completed Seawall Protects DC Cherry Trees, Memorials From Flooding Caused By Rising Sea Levels In Tidal Basin
— Warren Times: Kinzua Dam To Increase Water Releases Due To Rainfall, Snow Melt
— Penn State Extension Hosts Central Hardwood Forest Conference March 3-6 In State College [PaEN]
— Penn State Extension, DCNR Host March 10 Forest Health, Insect And Disease Update Webinar [PaEN]
— TribLive: Westmoreland Land Trust Names Leanna Bird New Executive Director
— Jan. 2 Take Five Fridays With Pam, Happy New Year From PA Parks & Forests Foundation!Â
— PA Parks & Forests Foundation Blog: Making Nature’s Colors More Accessible Through Special Goggles For The Color Blind At 2 More State ParksÂ
— WESA: Guided Hikes In Western PA Parks Lead Pittsburghers Into The New YearÂ
— NorthPennNow.com: Montgomery County Partnership For Transportation Launches New Project To Expand The Liberty Bell TrailÂ
— PennLive/TNS: Health Officials Look For Coyote That Injured Person On Chester County Trail
— Williamsport Sun: Hyner Mountain Snowmobile Club Safety Course Offered
— Post-Gazette: Lyme Disease Cases Continue To Rise In Allegheny County
— Inquirer Guest Essay: President Is Dismantling Our National Parks – By John Plonski, former DCNR Executive Deputy, finalist for 2023 Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for Promoting Conservation [Warning]Â
— Lancaster Farming: Some Animals Struggle To Adapt As Climate Changes
— Post-Gazette Editorial: Counting Birds, Connecting With People, Serving Nature
— Penn State Extension Hosts Strawberry Hill Animal Ambassador For Jan. 29 In-Person Owls Up Close Workshop In Gettysburg [PaEN]Â
— The Derrick: Seneca Rocks Audubon Chapter Holding Winter Bird Seed Sale Until Jan. 10Â
— York Daily Record- Brian Whipkey: Here’s Why Few Brook Trout Are Stocked In PA StreamsÂ
— Erie Times – Brian Whipkey: Fish Commission Survey Findings Note Differences Between Wild Trout, Stocked Trout Anglers
Visit the PA Environment Digest website to learn more.
REAL Leadership:
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— 3,190 Stories In 2022 – Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA
[Posted: January 4, 2026] Â PA Environment Digest