The Senate Wednesday overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 658 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) 47 to 2 to designate the Eastern hellbender as Pennsylvania’s official state amphibian as a symbol of the importance of clean water in the Commonwealth.

DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell told the Citizens Advisory Council Tuesday grants to fund local recycling programs can now move forward thanks to reauthorization of the $2/ton Recycling Fee by the General Assembly in October.

It turns out it may have been a bit premature to think the revenue and borrowing package signed into law on October 30 would carry the state through 2018-- an election year-- without further revenue “enhancements.”

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

Here are the Senate and House Calendars for the next voting session day and Committees scheduling action on bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced--

The House Transportation Committee Monday held a hearing on House Bill 1446 (M.Quinn-R- Montgomery) related to establishing a clean transportation infrastructure (sponsor summary).  The bill would:

The House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee Wednesday held a hearing on legislation-- House Bill 1412 (Barrar-R-Delaware)-- that proposes a regulatory framework to encourage energy storage and microgrids to improve electric grid resiliency during disaster emergencies and other circumstances.

The Senate Tuesday voted to approve Norman Kennard from Dauphin County as a member of the Public Utility Commission.

The House Consumer Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing November 20 on House Bill 1782 (Delozier-R-Cumberland) providing for alternative ratemaking for natural gas and electric distribution companies (sponsor summary).

The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee is scheduled to meet on November 21 to consider Senate Bill 497 (Vogel-R-Beaver) exempting steel slag from the definition of waste if it was not produced prior to January 1, 2007 or mixed with other waste (sponsor summary).

The Commonwealth Financing Authority Tuesday approved $15.7 million in environmental projects funded by the Act 13 drilling impact fee.  The approved funding included--

The Chesapeake Conservancy recently joined partners to install vegetation and structures to reduce nutrient and sediment runoff and improve water quality on a property on Elk Creek, a tributary of Penns Creek, in Centre County.

Teams from Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center and its Chiques Creek partners help horse owners meet their conservation goals in Lancaster County.

Over 70 attended a Chesapeake Stormwater Summit on October 27 which highlighted Penn State research exploring the barriers to greater adoption of green infrastructure approaches to stormwater management, and discussed recommendations for overcoming them.

By Bill Ryan, Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center Intern

Penn State Extension’s Berks County Master Watershed Stewards have received the “Conservation Service Organization of the Year” award from the Berks County Conservation District.

From Lititz to Hershey, Greening the Lower Susquehanna volunteers planted hundreds of trees this fall to help improve water quality in priority watersheds in the Lower Susquehanna region.

DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell and Northcentral Regional Director Marcus Kohl Friday visited the Tom Ridge and Julian Wetlands in Centre County to tour the site and discuss planned environmental recreation improvements with representatives from the Wildlife for Everyone Foundation.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is still accepting applications for $1 million in PennVEST-funded grants to assist landowners with planting trees along streams in Pennsylvania to improve water quality.  Grants are also available for snowmobile/ATV trails.

Penn State Extension’s Master Well Owner Network (MWON) now has 241 active volunteers in 55 counties across the state who spent 1,960 hours educating 4,309 private water supply owners in Pennsylvania.

The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed will be accepting entries starting November 20 in the latest Delaware River Means Campaign-- this one Beauty.  The deadline for entries is January 20.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the November 18 PA Bulletin inviting individuals and groups to send in relevant water quality information to help evaluate the classification of streams in Chester and Delaware counties.

For the second year in a row, Susan Boser, an educator with Penn State Extension’s Water Team is working with the 5th grade science class at Winchester Thurston School in Allegheny County to teach them about local watersheds and ways to improve a pond habitat on the school campus.

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

The November edition of the UpStream newsletter is now available from the Stroud Water Research Center in Chester County featuring articles on--

The latest quarterly newsletter from the Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center is now available featuring articles on--

Organic farmers from throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast will have the opportunity to learn from internationally renowned organic and sustainable agriculture experts next month when the fourth annual Growing Pennsylvania’s Organic Farms Conference is held at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey December 12 - 13.

The PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture will hold its 27th Annual Farming for the Future Conference February 7 to 10 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, Centre County.

Department of Environmental Protection and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority Friday entered into a Consent Order and Agreement including a $2.4 million civil penalty assessment for violations related to lead level exceedances, partial lead service line replacements, and unauthorized changes to its water treatment.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is scheduled to meet on December 8 on water withdrawal projects and to consider the Commission’s access to records [Right-To-Know] policy. (formal notice & agenda)

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful hosted a regional Waste and Recycling Roundtable in Meadville, Crawford County for recycling coordinators, Keep America Beautiful Affiliates and other professionals on November 15-- America Recycles Day.

Small Business Saturday is November 25th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. On that day and throughout this holiday season, Sustainable Pittsburgh invites you to Shop Small, AND Sustainable at your local sustainable small businesses!

Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell and DEP Northcentral Regional Director Marcus Kohl Wednesday visited the construction site of the 1,124 MW Panda Hummel Station Power Project in Shamokin Dam, Snyder County to discuss the project with facility representatives and the media.

Gov. Tom Wolf Tuesday announced the Commonwealth Financing Authority approved a new Pipeline Investment Program project in Wyoming County that will create up to 200 jobs and bring natural gas energy to more than 115 households, businesses, and other properties in Wyoming County.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the November 18 PA Bulletin it has issued the final Section 401 Water Quality certification for the Equitrans, LP H-156 Pipeline Project in Allegheny and Beaver counties (PA Bulletin, page 7124).

Gov. Tom Wolf Monday joined state and local officials, and environmental advocates at Elizabethtown College to announce the expansion of the use of solar energy across the Commonwealth, while ensuring that the environmental and health benefits of solar energy are experienced in Pennsylvania.

The Commonwealth Financing Authority Tuesday approved a $1.1 million loan for the installation of a 2.0-megawatt ground-mounted solar array at Mountain View Elementary School in the Tuscarora School District located in Mercersburg, Franklin County.

DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell recounts his decision to invest in solar energy for his own family’s home in this DEP Blog post--

The Philadelphia Office of Sustainability Tuesday released a draft Powering Our Future: A Clean Energy Vision for Philadelphia outlining strategies for reducing the city’s carbon footprint.

During the summer of 2017, 29 students representing six universities from across the country spent 13 weeks at Penn State at The Navy Yard in Philadelphia working to advance technologies in sustainable energy.

The Department of Labor and Industry’s Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory Council published notice in the November 18 PA Bulletin of its remaining meetings in 2017 and its 2018 meeting schedule.

The PJM Interconnection Wednesday released a proposal to ensure that its wholesale electricity market prices do the best possible job of reflecting the resources required to serve customers and of maintaining an optimal mix of resources in the long term.

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn Thursday joined officials of the Northumberland County Conservation District and Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area in a dedication of American chestnut tree plantings in the AOAA’s conservation area.

Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia is one of just 25 organizations nationally that has been recognized by the Aetna Foundation’s Cultivating Healthy Communities program.

State agency officials Friday joined local and Lancaster County officials on a one-mile walk in Elizabethtown to tour the borough’s efforts to improve community health by becoming more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

The PA Horticultural Society and Penn State Extension will host 14 webinar training sessions for tree tenders in January, February and March.  The webinars will be held--

The PA Environmental Council and its partners will hold a public meeting November 29 on the draft Bensalem Greenway Ecological Assessment and Prioritization Study at the Glen Foerd On The Delaware, Grant Avenue and Milnor Street in Philadelphia starting at 6:30 p.m.

The November 15 edition of the Resource newsletter is now available from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources featuring stories on--

The Fish and Boat Commission published notices in the November 18 PA Bulletin on proposed additions and revisions to the Classification of Wild Trout Streams and proposed changes to the list of Class A Wild Trout Waters.

Grey Towers National Historic Site, Milford, Pike County, will offer guided holiday tours of all three floors of the decorated mansion from December 4 through 20 at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

The Western PA Conservancy, in conjunction with the DCNR Bureau of Forestry, is seeking an experienced and outgoing individual to assist with the advancement of riparian forest buffer implementation, restoration and maintenance in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Office of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Harrisburg is seeking qualified individuals for a Senior Scientist position.  Applications are due November 30.  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 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 final regulations making changes to a whole series of stream water quality standards and classifications in each of the river basins across the state.  Click Here for additional details under the June 2017 meeting of the EQB.

CLICK HERE to Print The Entire PA Environment Digest.  This Digest is 70 pages long.

Send your stories, photos and links to videos about your project, environmental issues or programs for publication in the PA Environment Digest to:  PaEnviroDigest@gmail.com.

2018 Keystone Coldwater Conference February 23-24 in State College.  Join PA Environment Digest in sponsoring this worthwhile Conference.

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