+ Diaries Of The Diabolical

Penn State's next EarthTalk webinar on October 17 will discuss Utility Scale Solar And PA - Trends, Impacts And Implications starting at 4:00 p.m. Pennsylvania continues to be on the leading edge of large-scale solar projects planned for development in the PJM multistate region.  Current projects in the queue point to more than 80,000 acres of land surface being transitioned for solar development in the Commonwealth in the next several years.  With this amount of new solar projects planned, what are the top issues at the community level? What economic value is being added? Why is there growing public pushback, and how are land-use issues, like preserving prime agricultural soils, being addressed?   The presenter will be Tom Murphy, director of the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research at Penn State. Click Here to join online . Murphy’s talk is part of the fall 2022 EESI EarthTalks series, “Exploring the Multiple Dimensions of Solar Energy.”  Using both a local and global scop

On October 12, the  Environmental Quality Board vot ed 15 to 3 to approve Part II of the regulation limiting volatile organic compounds and methane from oil and gas facilities, this one from conventional oil and gas facilities.  The Board also voted 15 to 3 to approve a final regulation adopting a PFOS/PFOA ‘forever chemical’ Maximum Contaminant Limit in drinking water, the first state-developed MCL ever adopted in Pennsylvania. Conventional Oil & Gas Methane Emission Controls Part I of the regulation covering unconventional shale gas facilities was already approved by the EQB and by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, but is opposed by Republicans in the General Assembly.  Read more here . Conventional oil and gas facilities account for 80 percent of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania because they have done little or nothing to control them.   The unconventional shale gas industry accounts for 20 percent because they have implemented s

There is still time to register for the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful 2022 Litter Summit on November 1 and 2 at the Holiday Inn in Lancaster.  The Summit is hosted by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful in coordination with the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Transportation.   The two-day event begins on November 1 with a walking tour of Lancaster’s sustainable community, including the Tiny Cans initiative, The Compost Bin, Stormwater Rain Garden and Art Mural at Musser Park, the Urban Forestry project and the new Bike It Lancaster Bike Share, followed by an evening reception.  The Litter Summit on November 2, features the state’s new anti-littering campaign, PA Fights Dirty: Every Litter Bit Matters , which was developed as part of Gov. Wolf’s Litter Action Plan that outlines strategies for all Pennsylvanians to help in the fight against litter.   Keynote Speaker, Danene Sorace, Mayor of Lancaster, will highlight how clean and beautiful communities support Strategic

On October 12, the Department of Transportation announced resources are now available to help businesses and organizations to prepare in advance of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement , which is anticipated for late December/early January. As part of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), PennDOT will receive and distribute $171.5 million in formula funds for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure over the next five years.  The NEVI funding available for the first federal fiscal year is $25.4 million. NEVI grants will require the grantee to provide a minimum 20% match. "The NEVI program will help Pennsylvania build out its EV charging infrastructure," said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. "As this is a new program for Pennsylvania and the nation at large, we want to give our partners and businesses as much opportunity as possible to prepare for application submission to support our efforts of

The Department of Environmental Protection will begin accepting applications for abandoned mine reclamation and mine drainage treatment project grants on October 24.  The deadline for applications is January 13. DEP's Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation has a total of $103.4 million in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding available in this first grant round in four categories-- -- $30 million in Abandoned Mine Land reclamation projects; -- $20 million in Acid Mine Drainage operation and maintenance or replacement of existing AMD facilities; -- $20 million in new Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Facility Projects; and -- $33.4 million in Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization Program Projects Eligible applicants include county or municipal governments; county conservation districts; councils of government; municipal authorities; and nonprofit organizations. Projects eligible for a grant through the AML/AMD Grant Program must reclaim or enhance AML sites posing a threat t