Late Friday afternoon, the Department of Environmental Protection canceled the October 7 meeting of the Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee “due to the budget impasse.”

Late Thursday, in response to the continued budget impasse, Gov. Wolf imposed a hiring freeze on state agencies, with the only exceptions being those positions providing direct care to patients, residents and clients; those directly engaged in law enforcement, public safety and corrections; or revenue-generating and revenue-collecting positions.

Weather forecasts are calling for rain and strong winds this weekend, and state officials are urging citizens to watch for possible flooding over the next several days, although the full impact of Hurricane Joaquin is now not likely to hit Pennsylvania.

PA Environment Digest now has a Google+ Circle called Green Works In PA.  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 were given final approval by the Senate and House and are now on the Governor's desk for action--

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

Senate Bill 875 (Bartolotta-R-Fayette) encouraging the reusing of abandoned mine water for drilling operations was given final approval by the Senate Tuesday and now goes to Gov. Wolf for his action.

The Public Utility Commission Wednesday welcomed Andrew Place, of Greene County, to the Commission and thanked the Pennsylvania Senate for its support of his nomination.

On September 17 the Schuylkill River Restoration Fund awarded $275,000 for 9 projects designed to help control stormwater runoff, abandoned mine drainage, agricultural pollution and land preservation.  The grants include:

At its tenth annual Chesapeake Watershed Forum, the organization, with support from the U.S. Forest Service, recognized four Chesapeake Forest Champions: a non-profit protecting urban trees, a partnership promoting Pennsylvania forest buffers, a landowner duo managing a stewardship-certified forest and a leader in sustainable forest management.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of State Parks has opened a new Watershed Education (WE) Program website to give educators and students in grades 6 through 12 new tools to investigation their local watersheds.

The Westmoreland County Conservation District and 3 Rivers Wet Weather are hosting a Selling Stormwater Management Webcast and Panel Discussion on October 28 from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

The 2016 Keystone Coldwater Conference organizers are now accepting presentation and student proposals for this special event.  It will be held February 26-27 at the Ramada Inn Conference Center in State College.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the October 3 PA Bulletin of the opportunity to comment on the draft 2015 Water Quality Assessment and Listing Methodology used to meet Sections 303(d) and 305(b) federal Clean Water Act requirements. 

American Water Company, Inc., including PA American Water, announced Monday it has issued its third biennial corporate responsibility report, covering performance in 2013 and 2014.

The September 28 edition of the Watershed Winds newsletter is now available from Penn State Extension featuring stories on--

The October 2 Riverwatch Report from the Delaware Riverkeeper Network is now available featuring stories on--

Richard Beam of the Department of Environmental Protection was recently honored by the federal Office of Surface Mining with the 2015 Dave Bucknam Outstanding Instructor Award.

The October 1 edition of DEP News is now available from the Department of Environmental Protection featuring articles on--

The Department of Environmental Protection will begin accepting applications for Environmental Education Grants on October 5.   The deadline for applications is December 18.  (formal notice)

Join the Department of Education’s Science Advisor Dave Bauman as he presents a webinar on the U.S. Green Ribbon School Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Learn about this year’s application, important due dates and how your school can be involved.

The Department of Environmental Protection is now accepting applications for Section 902 Recycling Implementation Grants.  The deadline for applications is November 20.  (formal notice)

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful invites local residents, organizations, civic groups, and businesses to commit to keep communities litter free by joining adoption programs.

Two dozen volunteers collected 400 tires and bags of other metal debris during the Kiski River cleanup event on September 26-27 at the Avonmore Bridge in Westmoreland County organized by the Roaring Run and Kiski Watershed associations.

The PA Resources Council will hold its Annual Awards Dinner on November 12 from 6-9:00 p.m. at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia.

Covanta, a world leader in sustainable waste and energy solutions, Wednesday announced its subsidiary, Covanta Environmental Solutions, has acquired Waste Recovery Solutions, Inc. and Chesapeake Waste Solutions, two privately-held environmental services companies located in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 3 Brownfields team invites representatives of local governments and nonprofit organizations to participate in the Brownfields Proposal Guidelines Workshop on October 26 starting at 1:00 p.m.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the October 3 PA Bulletin of the availability of the new, final technical guidance on Underground Storage Tank Cathodic Protection Systems.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Wednesday the federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the air pollution control plan Pennsylvania submitted in 2010 to meet U.S. Environmental Protection haze pollution control requirements was insufficient.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday announced it is proposing to reduce the national ambient air quality standard for ozone pollution from 75 parts per million (ppm) to 70 ppm.  Click Here for the formal announcement.

The Department of Environmental Protection is issuing a Notice of Violation to JKLM Energy after the chemical release from JKLM’s Reese Hollow 118 well pad on September 18, 2015. The wellpad is located in Sweden Township.

Scientists, public health officials, and environmentalists as well as representatives of faith, parent and student groups from Pennsylvania and Ohio Tuesday applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed rule to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas industry at an EPA hearing on the rule in Pittsburgh.

FirstEnergy electric utilities-- Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power and West Penn Power-- are hosting four LED Street Light Workshops from October 20 to November 9 for municipal officials interested in learning more about how LED lighting can reduce their costs.

The Department of Environmental Protection invites middle school teachers, administrators, and building managers to an October 20 training workshop in Philadelphia on the Keystone Energy Education Program (KEEP) to teach and track energy efficiency in school buildings and homes.

PennFuture is marking October as National Solar Tour Month by announcing its fifth annual Pittsburgh Solar Tour to take place from noon to 4 p.m. on October 17.

The American Wind Energy Association will host a State Wind Energy Forum for Pennsylvania on October 14 at Penn State University campus in Harrisburg.

The Department of Environmental Protection has completed 7 of the 14 listening sessions on the federal Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. DEP Secretary John Quigley has chaired each session.

Listening sessions held by the Department of Environmental Protection around the state are gathering comments on EPA’s Clean Power Climate Plan requirements to help Pennsylvania develop a plan for meeting those requirements.   The Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance presented these comments by Art Olson from SmartWatt Energy, Inc. at the September 28 session--

Listening sessions held by the Department of Environmental Protection around the state are gathering comments on EPA’s Clean Power Climate Plan requirements to help Pennsylvania develop a plan for meeting those requirements.   The Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association presented these comments at the September 15 session--

The Public Utility Commission Thursday approved PECO’s Smart Natural Gas Conversion Plan to expand natural gas service to meet growing customer demand.

UGI Utilities, Inc. was among 36 utility companies nationwide that were named “Environmental Champions” in a recent study by Cogent Reports, a division of Market Strategies International.

The Public Utility Commission Thursday united state and federal government agencies, utility companies and law enforcement to highlight National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the collaborative work being done to protect Pennsylvania’s critical infrastructure.

The Governor’s Center for Local Government Services is now accepting nominations for the annual Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence.  Nominations due December 1.

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn Tuesday announced the department, in partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection, is increasing earthquake monitoring in the Commonwealth.

As summer comes to a close, the next lecture in the 2015 South Mountain Speakers Series will focus on the Craighead family, whose children were inspired by their summers spent along the Yellow Breeches and went on to become famous naturalists and authors.

The Brodhead Watershed Association in Monroe County is hosting two Get Outdoors Poconos hikes: October 17 on Spruce Mountain and October 24 in Pinebrook Park.

Trout anglers who want an experience targeting bigger fish will have the opportunity to catch 14”-20” trout in eight Keystone Select Stocked Trout Waters, unveiled Tuesday at the quarterly meeting of the Fish and Boat Commission.

Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday announced hunters heading into Pennsylvania’s state-owned woodlands this season will find additional roads opened by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in 18 of the 20 state forest districts.

The Nature Conservancy-PA celebrates the purchase of 116 acres of critical habitat at the Tannersville Cranberry Bog – marking the culmination of a decades-long protection effort of this National Natural Landmark.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the October 3 PA Bulletin of the opportunity to bid on a mine reclamation project in Blair County.

The PA Environmental Council has hired Marla Meyer Papernick as its Communities and Landscapes Program Manager.

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, a regional environmental nonprofit organization based in Wilmington, Delaware, seeks a full-time Deputy Executive Director to join its senior management team and a Coordinator of Grants.

The Berks County Conservation District is seeking qualified candidates to fill the position of Agricultural Resource Conservation Supervisory.  Applications are due October 16.

PennFuture is looking for qualified candidates to fill a staff attorney position in its Philadelphia office.  The application deadline is November 15.

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 are NewsClips from around the state on all environmental topics, including General Environment, Budget, Marcellus Shale, Watershed Protection and much more--

The Environmental Quality Board published notice in the October 3 PA Bulletin (page 5920) of proposed changes to remining regulations.  The deadline for comments is November 2.   A copy of the proposed regulation is posted and comments can be submitted to DEP via its eComment webpage.

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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.  Sponsor: 2016 Keystone Coldwater Conference, State College, Feb. 26-27.