DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council Tuesday approved a list of three recommended candidates to serve on DEP’s five-member Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board which will now be refocused on advising the agency on unconventional oil and gas drilling regulations and policy.  DEP is also planning to add several ad hoc members to the Board.

The PA Environmental Council has sent letters to Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) and Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne), the Majority and Minority Chairs of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, supporting the nominations of John Quigley for DEP Secretary and Cindy Dunn as DCNR Secretary.

PA Environment Digest now has a Google+ Circle called Green Works In PA.  Just go to your Google+ page and search for DHess@CrisciAssociates.com, the email for the Digest Editor David Hess,  and let us join your Circle.

Here are the Senate and House Calendars and Committee meetings showing bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced-- 

The following bills of interest saw action this week in the House and Senate--

The Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday approved legislation introduced by Sen. Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) to encourage private development at mass transit hubs.

The Senate Wednesday approved legislation 48 to 0 introduced by Sen. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) that will protect and promote conventional oil and natural gas production in Pennsylvania.

Sen. Thomas McGarrigle (R-Delaware) Thursday introduced a natural gas severance tax proposal-- Senate Bill 519-- which would impose a 4 percent tax on the value of natural gas at the wellhead.  All the revenue from the tax would be devoted to fund basic education and nothing for any environmental restoration program.

Rep. Karen Boback (R-Luzerne) recently introduced House Bill 252 to create a Marcellus Shale Health Registry.

Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), Minority Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, Thursday unveiled legislation designed to encourage Pennsylvania to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee is scheduled to meet on February 24 to consider legislation to extend natural gas service into unserved or underserved areas, on sewer lateral funding and an independent counsel for the Environmental Quality Board.  The bills include--

The Senate Local Government and  Environmental Resources and Energy Committees are scheduled to hold a joint hearing March 3 on the opportunities created by the Act 13 drilling impact fee for counties, municipalities, conservation districts and local economic development agencies.

On Monday, February 23 Republicans from the Senate and House are scheduled to hold a news conference to announce the introduction of legislation to limit the growth of state spending.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful received top honors at Keep America Beautiful’s National Awards Dinner at the 2015 KAB National Conference in Washington, D.C. for its outstanding promotion of KAB’s mission statewide and for its program support for local affiliates in Pennsylvania.

The Department of Environmental Protection has hired a contractor to clean up six piles of illegally dumped waste scattered throughout Carbon and Schuylkill counties after the responsible party has failed to complete the work.

The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are once again joining forces to clean the Wissahickon Creek on April 25 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

With a theme of "Reclaiming Our Communities," the 2015 Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference is currently accepting proposals for presentations at the Conference.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA submitted comments this week to DEP saying Act 162 passed by the General Assembly last year requires stream buffers along all waterways when developers are applying for an NPDES permit, not just in Special Protection Watersheds.

The Penn State Center for Nutrient Solutions will hold an in person and online seminar entitled, “What Is A Healthy Stream Or Wetland Worth?” on February 27 starting at 12:15.

The Penn State Water Resources Team is offering Home Water and Septic Workshops across the state during 2015. The two hour class covers private water supplies and how they should be maintained, tested, and treated. Best management practices for homeowners to use to protect and maintain on-lot septic systems are also discussed.

The February 16 edition of the Watershed Winds newsletter is now available from Penn State Extension featuring articles on--

The Keystone Clean Water Team, formerly the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians, a northeastern Pennsylvania non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health, safety, and welfare of our community and the environment, has launched a new website through which it will extend its services to the community.

The Delaware River Basin Commission has scheduled a hearing and business meeting on March 10 and 11 at Washington Crossing Historic Park Visitor Center, 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA.  The hearing will begin at 1:30 on March 10 and the meeting at 1:00 on March 11.

The Lebanon County Grazing Network is hosting a Grazing Conference on March 3, 2015 at the Lebanon County Extension Office, 2120 Cornwall Road, Lebanon, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday reported Pennsylvania had 500 fewer farms in 2014 than 2013, but 20,000 more acres of farmland.  The total land in farms was reported as 7.7 million acres.  Click Here for USDA’s 2014 Farms and Land In Farms Report.

The PA Environmental Council Wednesday released the Hydroelectric Permitting Manual for Pennsylvania. This manual was created with the following goals in mind:

The Department of Environmental Protection announced on its website late Thursday it has rescheduled the next Oil and Gas Technical Advisory Board meeting to March 20 in Room 105 Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg starting at 10:00.  A meeting was planned for March 5.

The Department of Environmental Protection Tuesday announced a newly formed Conventional Oil and Gas Advisory Committee to increase transparency and communication about regulating the conventional oil and gas drilling industry.

By: Emily Krafjack, President

Act 13 of 2012 set an impact fee on drillers for each unconventional well started (spud) into the Marcellus Shale formation within the Commonwealth’s borders. Act 13 sets the parameters and ranges for the fee which is determined by a formula using the average selling price of natural gas on the market and the age of the well itself.

Nearly 300 residents attended a DEP public hearing on February 11 about a proposal by Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners to build a natural gas-fired power plant in South Huntington Twp., Westmoreland County.

Panda Power Funds has entered into a joint venture with Sunbury Generation LP to develop, finance, construct and operate a 1,000 megawatt natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle power project near Shamokin Dam in Snyder County.

Due to predicted extreme cold temperatures, UGI Utilities, Inc. has asked natural gas customers in specific communities to consider voluntary conservation through Saturday.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Clean Water Action, Clean Air Council and Protecting Our Waters released this statement Tuesday about the West Virginia crude oil train derailment Monday.

The February 19 edition of DEP News is now available from the Department of Environmental Protection featuring articles on--

The PA Chamber of Business and Industry 2015 Environmental Conference and Trade Show will be held April 8 at the Best Western Premier Eden Resort in Lancaster.

Potassium Iodide (KI) tablets distributed in recent years by the Department of Health with either February or June 2015 expiration dates have been given a two-year shelf life extension using guidelines issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The electric industry can achieve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s goal to reduce carbon emissions from existing power plants on schedule and at a minimal cost to consumers without harming grid reliability or compromising the efficiency of existing energy markets, Exelon said Thursday.

The "Hockey Stick" graph, a simple plot representing temperature over time, led to the center of the larger debate on climate change, and skewed the trajectory of at least one researcher, according to Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology, Penn State.

The Department of Environmental Problem published notice of a March 18 Climate Change Advisory Committee meeting in the February 21 PA Bulletin.  No agenda was published with the notice or on the Committee’s webpage.  The meeting will be held in Room 105 Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg starting at 10:00.

By Ed Perry

The PA Council of Trout along with PA Sea Grant, Fish and Boat Commission and the local Trout Unlimited chapters will be conducting three Aquatic Invasive Species and Conservation Workshops across the state.

The 68th Annual PA Parks and Recreation Society Conference will be held March 22-25 at the Lancaster Marriott & Convention Center, 25 South Queen St., Lancaster.

The 2015 Greenways and Trails Summit will be held September 20-22 at the Holiday Inn and Allegheny Community Center in Warren, Pa.

The annual Fort Washington State Park Volunteer Day will be held on April 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Montgomery County.

Chatham University’s Eddy Theater will host a new documentary, “The Power Of One Voice - A 50 Year Perspective on the Life of Rachel Carson” on February 21 at 6:30 in Pittsburgh.  Click Here to watch a trailer.

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association WVIA in Wilkes-Barre recently completed season three of their Greenlife Pennsylvania series. 

The PA Parks and Forests Foundation recently posted a series of fact sheets about how to become more active in the outdoors called Recreation Basics-How-To And Where-To covering 7 different topics including auto tours, cross country skiing and primitive camping.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Berks County, encourages local residents to get outside and enjoy the winter season with two self-guided activities, a Winter Scavenger Hunt and Geocaching Challenge on February 21 starting at 10 a.m. at the Sanctuary Visitor Center.

A Long Eared Owl was discovered roosting in a grove of young trees at a Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association preserve in Montgomery County on February 6. 

Denise Brinley is expected to be named Executive Deputy for Programs at the Department of Environmental Protection in the near future.  She will start her new position on February 23.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA is seeking candidates to fill two positions in the Harrisburg office— a Senior Agriculture Program Manager and a Watershed Restoration Program Manager.

The Chester County Conservation District is seeking candidates for an Agricultural Resource Conservationist to provide technical and financial assistance to local landowners in order to conserve soil, and to protect and enhance Chester County's natural resources.  Click Here for all the details.

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

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

Here's a selection of NewsClips on environmental topics from around the state--

Here are NewsClips on topics related to Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling---

Here are NewsClips on watershed topics from around the state--

No new regulations were published this week.  Pennsylvania Bulletin - February 21, 2015

CLICK HERE to Print The Entire PA Environment Digest.

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.

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