CFA Accepting ARPA-Funded H2O Applications For Water Supply, Wastewater, Stormwater Projects

The Commonwealth Financing Authority is now accepting applications for the federal American Rescue Plan funded H20 Program to support water supply, wastewater and stormwater projects.  The deadline for applications is December 21.

Eligible applicants include municipalities and municipal authorities for projects that involve the acquisition, construction, improvement, expansion, or rehabilitation of all or part of a water supply, sewage disposal, or storm water system which is owned and maintained by an eligible applicant.

An eligible project also includes consolidation or regionalization of two or more water supply systems, sewage disposal systems, or storm water systems which are managed or operated as an integrated system regardless of whether the system is physically connected. Infrastructure that reduces the amount of runoff that needs to be managed by traditional infrastructure is also eligible.

Click Here for all the details and to apply.

[Posted: October 18, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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Tuesday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips 10.18.22

Are You Telling Your Story?

Senate returns to session October 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, November 15 [Adjourn for year]

     -- Committee Schedule

House returns to session October 24, 25, 26, November 14, 15, 16 [Adjourn for year]

     -- Committee Schedule

TODAY’s Calendar Of Events 

 

TODAY 9:30: Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 1331 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) would deny counties revenue from the Act 13 drilling impact fee if they ban fracking on county-owned lands.  This is in reaction to a ban Allegheny County enacted for its park land earlier this year which makes up less than 1 percent of the land area in the county.  But the big picture is this-- 99% of land remaining in the County could be leased for shale gas drilling, but that’s not enough, apparently.  Read more here.; House Bill 2458 (White-R-Philadelphia) create a taskforce to study the exportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to supply the energy needs of allies around the world and what obstacles are currently preventing Philadelphia from becoming a leader in exporting LNG.  [Forbes: LNG exports lead to record U.S. natural gas prices, higher heating bills + Facilities take years to build]; House Bill 2528 (Struzzi-R-Indiana) would mandate DEP award oil and gas well plugging contracts to Pennsylvania contractors [with no regard for cost to taxpayers]; Read more here about other agenda items.  Room 461. 9:30 a.m.  Click Here to watch live.

 

TODAY 11:30:  Senate Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee hearing to consider PUC nominees Katie Zerfuss, John F. Coleman, Jr. (Incumbent) and Stephen DeFrank.  Room 461.  Click Here to watch live.

TODAY 12:30:  Agenda Posted. DEP Citizens Advisory Council meeting.  Room 105 Rachel Carson Building. 12:30 p.m. See webpage for remote options to join the meeting.  Contact: Keith Salador, Executive Director, ksalador@pa.gov.   Read more here on the agenda.

TODAY 6:00:  PA Association of Environmental Educators Professional Development Webinar: Setback Distances For Unconventional Shale Gas Well Pads - How Close Is Too Close?  6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

-- Senate Committee Meets Oct. 18 To Consider Bill To Deny Counties Drilling Impact Fee Revenue If Only 99% Of The Land In Their County Is Available For Shale Gas Leasing; Other Bills  [PaEN]

-- Senate Committee To Hold Oct. 27 Hearing On The Role Of LNG In U.S. Energy Security On World Stage  [PaEN]

-- StateImpactPA - Reid Frazier: Sen. Bartolotta (R) Urged State Dept. Of Health To Drop Out Of Public Forum On Shale Gas Health Studies 

-- Post-Gazette: Rice-Backed Landfill Gas Firm Archaea Energy To Become Part Of BP In $4.1 Billion Deal

-- Net-Zero Manufacturing Initiative, Venango County Trails Project Among Appalachian Regional Commission Grants To Support Coal-Impacted Communities In PA  [PaEN]

-- Inquirer: Students Pressure University Of Pennsylvania To Cut Ties With Fossil Fuel Companies

-- TribLive Editorial: Electric Vehicle Highway Tax Decisions Should Come Before Charging Stations

-- CFA Accepting ARPA-Funded H2O Applications For Water Supply, Wastewater, Stormwater Projects  [PaEN]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Sen. Baker Announces State Grants Available For Water, Sewer, Stormwater Projects

-- DEP: Drought Watch Remains In Effect For 20 Counties, Lifted For 16 Counties  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Protect PT Westmoreland Will Host Radon Information Workshop Oct. 20 Via Zoom, Offer Sensor Rentals

-- LancasterOnline: Earth Day In October Event At Lancaster’s Musser Park This Weekend

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: New NE Philly K&T Connector Trail Being Built At Base Of Tacony-Palmyra Bridge

-- Nearly 70 Runners Compete In Cameron County Sinnemahone Trail Run, Final Competition In Triple Crown  [PaEN]

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bower: Reflections In Nature - Jewelweed Is A Very Interesting Plant

-- Help Wanted: PA Federation Of Sportsmen & Conservationists Fundraising/Outreach Coordinator  [PaEN]

 

6th Oil/Natural Gas Spike: True Energy Independence Means Renewables

[There Is No Limit To What Oil/Natural Gas Industry Can Make You Pay]

 

-- TribLive: Gasoline Prices Turn Lower As Diesel, Heating Oil Rise On Low Inventories

 

-- Reuters: Dozens Of LNG-Laden Ships Queue Off Europe’s Coasts Unable To Unload

 

-- Bloomberg: White House Planning Oil Reserve Release Announcement This Week

 

-- AP: EU Faces Battle To Keep Energy Prices From Tanking Economy

 

-- Bloomberg: Clean Energy Has A Tipping Point, And 87 Countries Have Reached It

 

American Rescue Plan Funding

 

-- CFA Accepting ARPA-Funded H2O Applications For Water Supply, Wastewater, Stormwater Projects  [PaEN]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Sen. Baker Announces State Grants Available For Water, Sewer, Stormwater Projects

 

-- $11 Billion In Federal American Rescue Plan Funding To PA State Government, Local Governments Has Yet To Be Invested.  What’s Your Community Doing?

 

Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

 

-- U.S. Dept. Of Energy Invites Comments On $1 Billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Program To Enhance Energy Systems In Rural, Remote Communities

 

-- AP: Climate Questions: What’s Going On With Climate Change?

 

-- AP: Climate Questions: How Much Has The Climate Changed Already?

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- Reading Eagle: Berks County Man Who Pleaded Guilty To Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol Wants Less Than Minimum Jail Time

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: We’re PA Clergy, Christian Nationalism Isn’t Christian, This Is Why

-- AP:  PA Republicans Go To Court Again To Block Count Of Undated Mail-In Ballots 

-- PA Capital-Star: Republicans Asks PA Supreme Court To Take Immediate Action To Enforce Ballot Dating Requirement

-- Spotlight PA: Where Gubernatorial Candidates Stand On Rural Health Care, Broadband, Agriculture

-- Inquirer: How Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Deployed Facebook Live To Build His Far-Right Base

-- WPost: Disaffected Republican Politicians, Donors Endorse Democratic Candidate [Includes Shapiro In PA]

-- Erie Times: Fetterman Enjoys $1.6 Million Cash Advantage Over Dr. Oz Heading Into Campaign’s Final Weeks

-- Inquirer: National Groups Pouring Millions Into PA To Try To Sway State Legislative Races In Home Stretch

-- WESA: Pittsburgh State Senate Race Reflects Stakes In Effort To Change Checks And Balances In Harrisburg

-- PennLive: PA Latino Voters Still Lean Democratic As Republicans Work To Woo Them

-- WHYY: Faith-Based Groups Hitting The Road To Encourage Pennsylvanians To Vote

-- AP: Police: Campaign Signs Found Booby-Trapped With Razor Blades In Bucks County

-- Inquirer: Gov. Wolf Exonerated 16-Year-Old Delaware County Teen Executed In 1931 For A Murder He Didn’t Commit

-- TribLive: 2 Women Killed In Pittsburgh Shooting Were Innocent Bystanders, Police Say

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Keep Ammo Away From Known Felons

-- City & State PA: Can PA Erase Property Taxes Without Wiping Out Education?

-- TribLive: Application Site Launches For Biden Student Debt Cancellation

-- Erie Times: See Erie County’s Varied COVID Vaccination Rates By ZIP Code

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[Posted: October 18, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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Republican Herald Editorial: Dangerous Course For Oil & Gas Well Emissions, Obstructionists Should Get Out Of The Way

This editorial first appeared in the Republican Herald October 17, 2022--

Cleaner air, progress against dangerous climate-warming and well-maintained highways all are in the public interest, which means that there is no guarantee that any of them will materialize in Pennsylvania — where polarization and parochial politics are more important.

The state government faces a Dec. 16 federal deadline to adopt regulations controlling emissions from gas wells. 

Although the rules apply primarily to a class of smog-forming gases known as volatile organic compounds, the regulation also would result in reducing emissions of methane — one of the most potent gases responsible for trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Methane is what drilling companies sell as natural gas. Any captured methane would be sold, generating revenue for the companies.

Gas escapes from two types of wells in Pennsylvania — “conventional” vertical wells characteristic of the state’s older drilling industry, and new “unconventional” deep, horizontally drilled wells that mark drilling across the Marcellus Shale fields.

Regulations to better reduce those emissions are required by federal law. Likewise, the federal sanction for not doing so is mandatory rather than discretionary. 

If the state misses the deadline, the federal government will withhold from Pennsylvania about $450 million in highway funds for this fiscal year. If the delay carries into the next fiscal year, that year’s federal highway funding will be at risk.

This should be an easy one, but this is Pennsylvania. 

The Department of Environmental Protection broke the regulation into two parts — one covering conventional wells and the other applying to modern wells — after majority Republicans on a House environmental committee objected to the combined rule.

In June, the Environmental Quality Board approved the rule applying to modern wells. And Wednesday, by a 15-3 vote, it approved the regulation for unconventional wells.

But two of the “no” votes came from chairmen of House and Senate committees. They don’t have the power to void the regulation, but they can order a six-month review. 

That would cause the state to miss the Dec. 16 deadline, putting $450 million in highway funds at risk.

Operators of older wells don’t want to assume the cost of long-overdue environmental regulations. 

But that narrow interest should not exceed that of Pennsylvanians in healthy air and roads. 

The obstructionists should get out of the way.

(Photo: Diversified Production conventional natural gas well leaking methane in Allegheny County by EarthWorks..)

Related Articles:

-- Republican Herald Editorial: State Lawmakers Should Adopt Rules That Preclude State Taxpayers From Subsidizing Pollution From Oil & Gas Industry  [PaEN]

-- TribLive Editorial: State Fines Should Be Higher Than Tax Cuts To Penalize Environmental Leaks [PaEN]

-- EQB Adopts Final-Omitted Reg. Limiting Methane Emissions From Conventional Oil & Gas Facilities; And A First-Ever State MCL For PFOS/PFOA

[Posted: October 18, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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Minnich Family Partners With Lebanon Valley Conservancy To Preserve 16-Acre Farm

On September 28, the Lebanon Valley Conservancy preserved a 16-acre farm in Union Township, Lebanon County, owned by Albert Minnich. The farm, located next to Swatara State Park and a large campground, has been in Albert's family for 100 years. 

The property has a mature wooded area that provides a home for wildlife like deer and owls. Conserving this property allows for a continuation of lands for recreation, open space, wildlife, and scenic views. 

Albert's farm is important for conservation as it falls within the Kittatinny Ridge. According to Pennsylvania Audubon, the Kittatinny Ridge-- also known as the Blue Mountain-- winds 185 miles through eastern and central Pennsylvania, to the Maryland line. 

The Kittatinny Ridge is a Globally Important Bird Area for many species of songbirds, raptors and migratory birds, as well as a vital part of the migratory path for ruby-throated hummingbirds and monarch butterflies. 

It also provides important forest habitat for mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Rivers and streams throughout the area supply water for people who live and work in the region. 

Albert has many fond memories of living on the farm. He recalls when the area was mostly undeveloped, and he and his friends would walk over the mountain to spend the day at Boxcar Rocks.

Over the last few years, Albert saw the continued development in Union Township and wanted to make sure his family farm would remain undeveloped into the future. 

As a land trust, TLVC was able to protect this land and provide him with peace of mind that the land would be preserved.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Lebanon Valley Conservancy website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates by email.

[Posted: October 18, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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Federal Office Of Surface Mining Recognizes DEP Anthracite Outdoor Adventure - Bear Valley Mine Reclamation Project In Northumberland County With National Award

On October 18, the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement announced the winners of its 2022 Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Awards. 

The winning projects represent the nation’s highest achievements in abandoned mine land reclamation and demonstrate outstanding results in restoring previously mined lands.

This year’s National Award, which recognizes the highest-rated reclamation project, goes to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation for the Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area – Bear Valley project. 

This 88-acre project reclaimed six abandoned mine land features and constructed 6,600 feet of extreme rock-crawling and more than 9,000 feet of all-terrain vehicle trails. 

A portion of the project was funded by the AML Economic Revitalization program, which provides grants to certain states and Tribes to promote economic and community development in conjunction with AML reclamation.  

Click Here to watch a video about the project.

“The Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards honor the best examples of AML reclamation in our nation,” said OSMRE Deputy Director Glenda Owens. “Our state and Tribal partners work diligently to address health hazards and mitigate environmental problems affecting coal communities. These awards showcase what is possible in reinvigorating those impacted coal communities.” 

This year’s awardees helped to protect the public through the elimination of public safety and environmental hazards and bolstered local economies by creating new recreation opportunities and protecting local tourist treasures. 

Visit the OSM AML Reclamation Awards webpage to learn more about the winning projects. 

NewsClips:

-- National Wildlife Federal Blog: Mine-Scarred Land And Orange Rivers - A Story Of Land Degradation And Reclamation In Pennsylvania

-- Bloomberg: The Coal Is Gone, But The Mess Remains - How Big Companies Shed Their Obligations To Clean Up Old Mines [Includes Fmr DEP Bureau Of Mining & Reclamation, OSM Director Joe Pizarchik]

Related Articles:

-- DEP Begins Accepting Applications For $103.4 Million In Abandoned Mine Reclamation Grants Starting Oct. 24

-- Pennsylvania Eligible To Apply For Its 2nd $244.9 Million Federal Grant To Clean Up Abandoned Mines Under Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 

[Posted: October 18, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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