Monday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips 10.10.22

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 

 

-- October 10 PA Environment Digest Now Available  [PaEN]

 

-- Clearfield Progress: Clearfield Conservation District Awarded DEP Grant For Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Project

 

-- The Sentinel: Snyder Conservation District Helps Farmers Find Funding To Install Conservation Practices

 

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: Water Customers Would Pay A Price If Public Water Authority Sold In Chester, Delaware Counties

 

-- NextPittsburgh: Fracking Decision Proves Constituent Turnout Matters To Allegheny County Council

 

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: The Problem With Creating Renewable Energy - We Can’t Get Enough Of It To Users - Citizens Climate Lobby - Pittsburgh

 

-- Post-Gazette Letter:  Yes, Butt Out, Mr. Bloomberg - Marcellus Shale Coalition, Pittsburgh Works

 

-- Centre Daily Times: Climate Watch - The Way We Categorize Hurricanes Is Obsolete

 

-- WHYY: PA Horticultural Society Celebrates First Season Growing, Distributing Produce To Food Insecure Neighbors

 

-- Citizens Voice: Special Needs Playground Opens In Wilkes-Barre

 

-- Warren Times: Allegheny National Forest Sees Success With Interpretive Programs

 

-- Courier Times: Future Of Fonthill Castle: How A Grant Could Transform Doylestown Landmark, Woodlands

 

-- PennLive - Marcus Schneck: PA Tourism Publishes Its Top 10 List Of Fall Foliage Spots

 

-- WHYY: More Bike Lanes Open In Philly As Part Of Vision Zero Initiative

 

-- PennLive: Appalachian Trail Conservancy Relocates To historic Craighead House In Carlisle

 

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

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

 

-- Reading Eagle: It’s Going To Cost More To Stay Warm This Winter- Natural Gas, Heating Oil, Electric Will Be Higher 

 

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: In Response To Rising Natural Gas Costs Luzerne County Taking Steps To Reduce Usage Levels  

 

-- CNN: Biden Is Blamed For Downturn In New Oil Drilling, But Fossil Fuel Companies Are The Ones Hitting Pause  

 

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Fluctuate With LNG Shipments, Weather, Russia’s War In Ukraine 

 

-- Reuters: Oil Price Falls As China Demand Concerns Fuel Recession Fears

 

American Rescue Plan Funding

 

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

 

Other States/National/International

-- Financial Times: Republican State Treasurers Punish Asset Manager BlackRock For Pursuing Policies Allegedly Hostile To Fossil Fuel Industry 

-- The Guardian: ‘I Feel Used’: How Fossil Fuel Firms Court Black Leaders To Support Pipelines

PA Politics - Everything Is Connected

-- AP: Federal Prosecutors Seek Prison For Berks County Man For Attack On AP Journalist During Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- York Daily Record: Instead Of Klan Robes, New Extremist Groups In PA Wear Button-Down Shirts, Hold Fundraisers For Local Charities

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Another High-Profile PA Candidate Is From New Jersey, And It’s Not Dr. Oz [Spoiler - Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano]

-- Scranton Times: Shapiro Says It’s Time For PA Voters To Send A ‘Wake-Up Call’ To Harrisburg

-- WHYY: PA’s Roads And Bridges Are Aging Poorly, Here’s How Shapiro And Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Plan To Fix Them

-- LancasterOnline - Brad Bumsted: PA Ticket-Splitting Voters May Go For Shapiro, Dr. Oz

-- PennLive Guest Essay: I Taught At The U.S. Army War College: 2 Students I would Not Vote For [Spoiler - Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano, Republican PA Cong. Scott Perry]

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: What Shapiro And Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Share In Common - Commonwealth Foundation

-- Erie Times: Poll Shows Female PA Voters Are Torn Between Abortion, Economy As Top Election Issues

-- Erie Times: ‘A Heartbeat Away’: 3 Reasons The PA Lt. Governor Race Matters

-- Scranton Times: PA Members Of Congress Seek Answers About Postal Service Issues

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Marijuana Pardons Sensible; State Should Extend Deadline

-- TribLive Editorial: Allegheny County School District ‘Compromise’ On ‘Indian’ Mascot Unsatisfying 

-- Spotlight PA: Why Doesn’t Penn State’s Football Coach Show Up On List Of Highest-Paid Employees?

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: College [Drinking] Hazing Death Prompts New Solution To ‘Shameful Problem

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Pennsylvania Must Start To Get Younger

-- PennLive: Over 500 PA National Guard Troops Set To Be Deployed To The Middle East

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[Posted: October 10, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited Hosts Military Veterans For A Rewarding Day Of Trout Fishing In Westmoreland County

By Larry D. Myers, President, Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited

Dozens of veterans spent Saturday relaxing, reminiscing and catching trout as part of the fourth annual Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited fishing event in Westmoreland County.  

This was the first time many of the veterans participated in this program.  For others, it was time for reacquaintances.  

The purpose of the program is primarily to introduce veterans to fly fishing as a means to help heal the body and soul.  But if using a fly rod is not comfortable, mentors assist the veterans using whatever fishing tackle they prefer.  

Some veterans have actually built their own fly rods and tied their own flies.    

Navy veteran Ed Niehenke, attending his third annual event, explained “The real joy is the camaraderie of spending the day chatting with fellow vets, more so than catching fish.”  But, that was offered as Ed was landing maybe his tenth fish of the day.    

For retired Army First Sergeant, Cynthia Butlerperry, this was her first event and would like to see more lady veterans get involved with fishing.  Cynthia enjoyed the day catching trout with her nephew, Navy veteran, Jeff Perry Jr. and friends.  

It had been many years since many of them had fished and they were savoring the experience.

Kingston Veterans Sportsmen Club, just east of Latrobe, was the event host and partner again this year.  Keith Riffle, Club VP and President of the Veterans Committee recruited many of the veterans by visiting numerous VA medical centers, VFWs and American Legions.  And he acquired food and drink donations from area merchants.  

A veteran himself, Keith explained, “We’re doing everything we can to make this a memorable day for the veterans!  We’re going to do this up right!”  

Other partners include Ken Sink Chapter Trout Unlimited, Project Healing Waters and Scout Troops 465 and 305.  

The Scouts, as in past events, prepared and served lunch for the crowd of over 100 veterans and volunteers.  They also opened the event by posting colors and later had a flag pole dedication and flag retiring ceremony which the veterans appreciated.  

The new flag pole at the lake was an Eagle Scout project by Austin Painter, a Life Scout with Troop 305, and a senior at Derry Area High School.

The partner volunteers look forward to the annual event and enjoy the opportunity to, if even for just one day a year, be able to serve those who served their country.  It was another successful and rewarding day on the water for all involved.  

Trout Unlimited salutes our veterans and thanks all of our partners and sponsors who made this all happen.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how to get involved, visit the Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited website.

(Photos: Top- Veteran Ed Niehenke lands another nice rainbow.  TU member Ron Miller gets the “assist” with the net; Veteran with beautiful 24” rainbow he caught and released;  Bottom-- Veteran Fred Exley admires one of many rainbows he caught; Veteran Cynthia Butlerperry caught her first trout with a net assist from TU member Michelle Dunlevy.) 

[Posted: October 10, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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Lancaster Farmland Trust Renews Its Focus On Farmland Preservation In Lancaster County

Lancaster Farmland Trust celebrated farmland preservation and Lancaster County agriculture at its Together for the Land event on September 27th. 

Friends, farmers, and supporters attended to honor the commitment the Lancaster County community has made to protecting the county's vital farmland. The event, held at The Farm at Eagles Ridge, raised more than $118,000 for farmland preservation.

The Trust announced that since it was established in 1988, the nonprofit has protected 557 farms covering more than 34,256 acres.

"The impact of LFT reaches beyond the 21 farms protected on 1,285 acres this year and beyond the 13 additional farms to be protected by the end of 2022. Our work provides a wonderful quality of life to our community in Lancaster, preserving this place we get to call home. Yet, we know our farmland is at risk of development,” said Jeff Swinehart, President and CEO of LFT. A recent report from American Farmland Trust names Lancaster County as one of the three hardest hit counties in Pennsylvania, with a projection of 18,000 acres of additional farmland lost by 2040 - if we continue to build at the same rate and density. 

“For context, 18,000 acres of farmland is the equivalent of 231 average-sized Lancaster County farms. I would challenge the community, the next time you drive around Lancaster, start counting farms and imagine the loss to our community if we don't change those projections," said Swinehart.

Swinehart highlighted the organization's plans for the future, unveiling components of a new strategic plan the organization has been working on throughout 2022 with Due East Partners. 

LFT is focusing its mission to vigorously accelerate the permanent protection and stewardship of farmland with the vision of our farms, soil, water, and roots protected for all.

Lancaster Clean Water Partners Director of Strategic Partnerships, Allyson Gibson, attended the event and spoke about the impact LFT has on the Chesapeake Bay through its water quality work. 

"Lancaster County's local creeks and rivers need us. Supporting our local farms, creeks, and farmers is the best opportunity to see successful water quality improvement. All of that will trickle downstream to our friends in the Bay," said Gibson.

Lancaster County Commissioners Ray D'Agostino and John Trescot attended the event and shared the importance of farmland preservation in Lancaster County. 

With the recent approval of $1.52 million in ARPA funding, LFT is grateful for the Commissioner's continued support of protecting Lancaster County agriculture and waterways.

The highlight of the evening was the annual Acres for Auction, at which attendees entered "bids" to preserve two family farms. During this year's successful "auction," LFT raised enough to protect a 103-acre farm and a 31-acre farm in Strasburg Township.

The event saw the support of the local and regional business community, as well. More than a dozen businesses supported the event. 

Sponsors of this year's event include The Wenger Group, PNC, The Steinman Foundation, Lancaster Farming, LNP, Beiler-Campbell Realtors, Horizon Farm Credit, Commonwealth Financial Associates, Conestoga Animal Hospital, Fulton Bank, Hoober Inc., Univest, LandStudies Inc., Truist, Good's Livestock, and Brown Shultz Sheridan & Fritz. 

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Lancaster Farmland Trust website.

[Posted: October 10, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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Guest Essay: Before The Federal Clean Water Act, There Was The Rivers And Harbors Act Of 1899 To Help Clean-Up Pittsburgh’s 3 Rivers

By James M. Seif, Former EPA Region III Administrator, Secretary of DEP

How many members of the EPA Alumni Association remember the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899? None of us is that old, I guess, but what about the part of it – called the “Refuse Act” -- that made a bit of history when it was dredged up (pun intended ) in 1972?

There was an unusual delivery to the loading dock at the U S Post Office and Courthouse in Pittsburgh one day in 1971. It was about 500 mason jars full of water, some almost clear, some full of muck and sediment. 

With each jar came a full chemical description of its contents, and a map showing where it had been collected along the Ohio and Monongahela Rivers. 

More precisely, the map showed from which outfalls of the US Steel Corporation, Jones and Laughlin Steel, Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel and the Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp. (PICCO, later Hercules,) it had been collected. 

All of this was addressed to US Attorney Dick Thornburgh and accompanied by a demand that the Department of Justice take action under the Rivers and Harbors act of 1899.

The samples had been gathered by two Penn State McKeesport Campus faculty members, and tested at the Allegheny County Testing Lab. Maps, chains of custody and testing methods were included. 

The collecting expeditions were risky; the canoe was small and leaky, the barge traffic was heavy and not at all used to seeing recreation boats on a polluted industrial river, and the outfalls were running at full throttle, (and some were about 160  degrees F.) 

They really did have to use the proverbial “ten-foot pole” at times.

The two professors, David Nixon and John Zavodni, were not merely interested in the bounty provision of the law (a common feature of legislation in the late 19th century,) but they wanted to make a point: the rivers were a dump. 

They were also pretty sure the Nixon Administration would not be keen to use an obscure old Corps of Engineers law to beat up American steel and chemical businesses. 

But if Justice declined to act, the two intrepid canoers were positioned to make a political statement as well.

Some history: Congress passed annual Rivers and Harbors Acts in the late 19th century, to make appropriations to the Corps of Engineers, to regulate construction in navigable waters, and to protect navigable channels. 

In 1899, for reasons not deducible from the legislative history, they added language that came to be called the “Refuse Act.” It simply prohibited ANY deposit of ANY substance (“refuse”) in the water, unless the Corps issued a permit. Navigability was irrelevant.

The intrepid pollution hunters were surprised by Thornburgh, who said publicly he would give their allegations serious consideration. 

Then he told me (the in-house tree-hugger,) to make whatever cases I could. 

We ultimately developed 94 criminal counts against the four  companies, most of them against the three large steel companies, but also four counts against (United States vs. Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp.) 

We selected the most toxic samples, or those with high concentrations of things like salt. 

On the permit element, it was easy to establish that none of the defendants had, or had ever asked for, permits to pour pollutants, (“refuse”) into the rivers. 

Nobody at the Corps of Engineers had heard of the law, let alone a permit program to enforce it. 

The law’s legislative history, of course, was about protecting navigable channels from dumpers, and probably never had anything to do with what was in those Mason jars.

But its clear language was that nothing of any sort could be deposited into navigable waters. 

The steel companies used their heavy-duty corporate lawyers, with a predictable avalanche of motions, briefs and requests for more time. 

The Pennsylvania Industrial Chemical Corp, however, retained an experienced criminal attorney, and his first move was to say, “Find me a jury, and they will laugh this out of court.”

There was in fact some laughter in court, as when the defense tried to show that some of the toxins were also found in ordinary household stuff, like Pepto Bismol, which could have come from homes above the chemical plant. 

Thornburgh asked the Judge for a recess so that those poor afflicted folks could be notified that they were overdosing. 

The Defense closed with an argument that World War II could not have been won with this law on the books, but Thornburgh (and the Judge) reminded the jury that the law was in fact on the books, and so the prosecution and jury had a duty to enforce it.

A Western Pennsylvania jury might have been sympathetic to local industries, but after an hour of deliberation, they were unanimously against pollution as well. 

Opinion on the old Pittsburgh adage, “Smoke is Progress” was turning.

The Judge pronounced the maximum fine, allocated the bounty awards to the canoeists, and we went to the Third Circuit [Federal Court]. 

The other three defendants moved successfully to delay trials until the Circuit spoke.

Was the prosecution fair? 

Defendants could not have gotten any permit from a non-existent program, and they were conducting business as they had for a century. But they were laying waste to the rivers and land. 

Key to Thornburgh was the importance of establishing the very bedrock principle of modern water law: You don’t have any RIGHT to put ANYTHING in the water. 

The rest of us, the body politic, if you will, must give permission and can impose conditions.

The Circuit Court reversed in part, but the whole issue was mooted by the passage in mid-October of 1972 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 0f 1972. 

By then the Corps of Engineers had hastily constructed a permit program but when I joined the Legal Branch of the EPA’s Region 3 office in Philadelphia in 1973, I encountered dozens of boxes of permit applications that the Corps had delivered to EPA. 

I didn’t inquire, but I expect the Corps was only too happy to say goodbye to the Permit Program the Never Was. 

Eventually these were converted into NPDES permit applications.

After that came fifty years of important legal, scientific and administrative history, and lots of hard work at EPA, in the states and by the private sector, with results unimaginable in 1899 --  or even 1972.

(Photos: Gov. Dick Thornburgh and James M. Seif.)

Resource Links:

-- Attorney General Thornburgh’s Address to the Oceans ‘88 Conference on October 31, 1988

-- Gov. Thornburgh On Leadership: People Living In The Chesapeake Bay States Should Not Have To Wait Another 30-Plus Years For Clean Water

NewsClips:

-- Oct. 15:  A Celebration Of The Life And Legacy Of Dick Thornburgh, University Of Pittsburgh

-- Post-Gazette: Thornburgh Memorial Service Set For Oct. 16

James M. Seif began his career as an Assistant US Attorney in Pittsburgh, moved to EPA Region 3 in the early Seventies; and was later Regional Administrator (1985-89.) In 1995 he became Secretary of Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania.

Dick Thornburgh was US Attorney in Pittsburgh, and later a two-term Governor of Pennsylvania and Attorney General of the United States. He died in 2020. For a further account of his Refuse Act prosecution, see his autobiography, “Where The Evidence Leads.”

[Posted: October 10, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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DCNR Accepting Nominations For 2023 Pennsylvania Trail Of The Year

On October 10, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn invited Pennsylvanians to nominate their favorite trail for the 2023 Trail of the Year.

The deadline for nominations is November 11.

“Trails are important connectors in our natural spaces, which is why we are excited to receive nominations that share the impact our wonderful trails bring to communities across the Commonwealth,” Dunn said. “Thank you to the Trails Advisory Committee for its work to uplift trails in Pennsylvania. I am eager to see which trail comes out on top.”

Each year, the Pennsylvania Trails Advisory Committee designates a Trail of the Year to help build enthusiasm and support for trails and raise public awareness about the value of Pennsylvania’s Trail network annually.

DCNR recently celebrated the Delaware Canal State Park Towpath as Pennsylvania’s 2022 Trail of the Year.  Read more here.

The Advisory Committee is tasked with implementing the development of a statewide land and water trail network to facilitate recreation, transportation, and healthy lifestyles for all.

Pennsylvania is home to more than 12,000 miles of trails and DCNR supports trail projects across the Commonwealth as a part of its goal to have a trail within 10 minutes of every resident.

The winning trail will be recognized in a news release by the advisory committee and DCNR; a commemorative poster for statewide distribution; a trailhead marker along the trail; promotion on ExplorePATrails; and a grant for educational programs to promote safety and environmental protection on the trail.

If you know of a trail that provides unique opportunities, encourages and celebrates diverse user groups or enhances your community, please nominate it for the 2023 Trail of the Year.

For consideration, a nomination form and supporting documentation must be submitted online by November 11, 2022. The Trail of the Year will be announced in early 2023.

Visit the Pennsylvania Trail of the Year webpage for more information about where to submit the form and supporting materials.

Visit Explore PA Trails and Get Outdoors PA for recreation areas near you.

  For more information on state parks and forests and recreation in Pennsylvania, visit DCNR’s website, Visit the Good Natured DCNR Blog,  Click Here for upcoming events, Click Here to hook up with DCNR on other social media-- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

Related Article:

-- DCNR Celebrates The Delaware Canal State Park Towpath As PA’s 2022 Trail Of The Year

[Posted: October 11, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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