Since June of 2004, the PA Environment Digest has printed over 1,297 stories about thousands of businesses, farmers, schools, local governments, students of all ages, nonprofit groups, organizations and individuals just like you recognized for doing great things to protect and restore Pennsylvania’s environment in every corner of the Commonwealth.

The first half of the 2017-18 legislative session saw several critical environmental bills signed into law, including permanently reauthorizing the $2/ton Recycling Program fee, an update of the PA One Call Program to include natural gas gathering lines, requiring solar credits to come from only inside Pennsylvania, reauthorization of storage tank cleanup programs, a resolution creating a Senate lead exposure task force and making permanent the Wild Resource Conservation Tax Checkoff.

The PA Resources Council offers 5 easy ways to reduce your environmental impact throughout the coming year:

Register now for the 2018 Keystone Coldwater Conference to be held in State College at the Ramada Inn Conference Center on February 23-24.

The following bills were given final approval by the Senate and House and are now on the Governor's desk for action--

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 Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee will hold an Environmental Issues Forum January 22 on the issue of pumped storage hydroelectric facilities in Pennsylvania.

The December Environmental Synopsis newsletter is now available from the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee featuring articles on--

Those interested in home gardening, preserving their own food and protecting water quality in their region will have an opportunity to learn more about these topics by visiting the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences exhibit at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, January 6-13 in Harrisburg.

By Madeline Urbish, Coalition For The Delaware River Watershed

The Philadelphia Green City, Clean Waters Program is hosting 4 workshops in January to help residents learn how they can join more than 5,000 Philadelphia residents who have installed stormwater management tools on their properties to stop pollution from entering local waterways.

Bethesda Presbyterian Church sits on a large plot of land in Northeast Philadelphia’s Bustleton neighborhood.

The Schuylkill Action Network is now accepting entries for the 2018 Schuylkill Street Art Contest.  The deadline for entries is February 28.

The Delaware River Basin Commission Tuesday announced it is now accepting entries for its  Winter Photo Contest.  The deadline for entries is February 1.

The City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania has agreed to comprehensive measures to end discharges of untreated sewage and other pollutants to local waterways from the City’s combined storm and sewage system, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Environmental Protection announced Wednesday.

The Choose Clean Water Coalition is now accepting presentations proposals for its May 22-23, 2018 Conference to be held at the Lancaster Marriott.  The deadline for proposals is January 12.

The Winter issue of Conserve magazine from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is all about the Conservancy’s activities in the Pennsylvania-portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, featuring articles on--

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

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service is now accepting applications for $10 million nationwide in the Conservation Innovation Grants Program to fund conservation projects in three focus areas: grazing lands, organic systems and soil health. The deadline for applications is February 26.

The Department of Environmental Protection Wednesday sent out an eNotice extending the comment period for changes to the Water Quality Toxics Management Strategy and the Triennial Water Quality Standard regulations to February 16.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Thursday reported nearly 14,000 volunteers from 35 counties removed 861,655 pounds of trash and tires from waterways and coastal regions during the 2017 International Coastal Cleanup of PA preventing litter and debris from making its way downstream.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the December 23 PA Bulletin it is now accepting applications for reimbursements under the municipal and hazardous waste Host Municipality Inspector Program. Applications are due by March 31.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the December 23 PA Bulletin opening the next round of Section 902 Local Recycling Program Implementation Grants.  Applications are due April 7.

The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania are now accepting early bird registration for the 28th Annual Recycling & Organics Conference to be held on July 25-27 at the Best Western Premier in Harrisburg.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Protection Wednesday announced they have settled a federal court case against ArcelorMittal Monessen LLC, involving alleged Clean Air Act violations at AMM’s coke (purified coal) plant in Monessen, Westmoreland County.

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the December 23 PA Bulletin it will hold a public hearing on January 31 (snow date February 1) on the proposed issuance of an air quality permit for the Sunoco Partners facility in Marcus Hook, Delaware County.  (PA Bulletin page 7702)

The Department of Environmental Protection published notice in the December 23 PA Bulletin it will hold a hearing  February 8, if requested, on a proposed RACT II Air Quality Plan for the Jeraco Enterprises, Inc. Milton Plant in Northumberland County.  (PA Bulletin page 7765)

The Department of Environmental Protection Monday announced it is on track to compete an estimated 2,000 more Oil and Gas Program inspections in 2017 compared to 2016,  as a result of a GO-TIME project that replaced years of paper forms with a mobile app.

In a face-to-face meeting with Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday, residents from across Chester and Delaware Counties urged the governor to use his executive authority under Title 35 [Health and Safety] to immediately halt construction and operation on Sunoco’s troubled Mariner East 2 Pipelines, and to assess the risk the project poses to the safety of communities along the route.

The Public Utility Commission Wednesday announced it is seeking nominations for individuals to serve on the PUC’s PA One Call utility and pipeline Damage Prevention Committee, which is a key element of new PUC efforts to safeguard underground utilities across the state.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro Wednesday announced a significant step towards economic justice for Pennsylvania landowners in his lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy, Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Company.

The Public Utility Commission Thursday approved the second Long-Term Infrastructure Improvement Plans for PPL Electric Utilities Corp. and Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater, Inc. (Aqua PA), and the first LTIIP for UGI Utilities, Inc. – Electric Division, further accelerating the replacement of aging utility infrastructure across the state.

The Public Utility Commission Thursday approved a Tentative Implementation Order for Act 40 of 2017, which establishes geographical limits for solar photovoltaic (solar PV) systems that can qualify for the solar PV requirements under the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS).

By Lindsay Baxter, PEC Program Manager For Energy & Climate

PPL Currents recently published this interview with PPL Public Affairs and Sustainability Vice President Christine Martin on how natural curiosity and abandoning a traditional career plan can help build a successful career.

By John C. Dernbach, Widener University-Commonwealth Law School

Recognizing the increasing threat invasive species pose to Pennsylvania’s economy and its people, Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday announced an additional step to complement recent bipartisan legislation to help battle against bad bugs and out-of-control plants that threaten Pennsylvania’s ecosystems, as well as its agriculture and other natural resource industries.

Tree and shrub seedlings from the Game Commission’s Howard Nursery in Centre County will not be offered for sale to the public in 2018 due to drastically low inventories.  The seedling shortage is due to germination failure in a couple of conifer species.

The Department of Agriculture Tuesday announced the PA Agricultural Land Preservation Board approved conservation easement purchases to protect another 29 farms totaling 2,093 acres in the Commonwealth.

More than 105 acres of land have been added to Laurel Ridge State Park in Westmoreland County, thanks to a purchase made by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Thursday.

The Wildlands Conservancy Tuesday announced it has permanently protected 72 acres of woodlands and wetlands situated in Tobyhanna Township, Monroe County.

An additional fifty acres in Pike County  is now permanently conserved and is protecting clean water and wildlife habitat the Delaware Highlands Conservancy announced Wednesday.

The PA Parks and Forests Foundation Monday announced it has met its initial fundraising goal for the restoration of the chimneys and fireboxes in the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail’s eight shelter areas.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County Thursday reported the autumn Hawk Watch tallied 17,012 raptors in over 1,000 hours of effort. The overall total was 6 percent below the 10-year average.

The Wildlife for Everyone Foundation will hold the first ever Pennsylvania Wildlife Gala on April 6 at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College starting at 5:30.

The Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell Friday announced Ronald Schwartz, P.E., BCEE will become the Southwest Regional Office Director effective December 23, 2017.

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.

No new regulations published this week.  Pennsylvania Bulletin - December 23, 2017

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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:  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.