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June 1
DEP public meeting and hearing on Pennsylvania General
Energy Company Application to Reclassify Yanity
Gas Well, 6 p.m., East Run Sportsmans
Association, 1668 Sebring Rd., Marion Center. Contact: John Poister, 412-442-4000.
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June 2
Storage Tank Advisory Committee meeting, 10 a.m., 14th
Floor Conference Room, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market
St., Harrisburg. Contact: Charles M. Swokel, 717-772-5806.
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June 3
Coastal Zone Advisory Committee meeting, 9:30 a.m., 10th
Floor Conference Room, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market
St., Harrisburg. Contact: Stacey Box, 717-772-5622.
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June 4
Radiation Protection Advisory Committee meeting, 9 a.m., 14th
Floor Conference Room, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market
St., Harrisburg. Contact: Joseph Melnic,
717-783-9730.
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June 4
Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting, 10 a.m., Room 105,
Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St., Harrisburg. Contact:
Richard Ashley, 717-787-0120.
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June 16
Environmental Quality Board (EQB) meeting, 9 a.m., Room
105, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St. Harrisburg.
Contact: Jen Swan, 717-783-8727.
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June 16
Citizens Advisory Council meeting, 10 a.m., Room 105,
Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St., Harrisburg. Contact:
Jennifer Swan, 717-783-8727.
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June 17
State Board for Certification of Water and Wastewater
Systems Operators meeting, 10 a.m., 10th Floor Conference Room, Rachel
Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St., Harrisburg. Contact: Cheri Sansoni, 717-772-5158.
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June 23
Board of Coal Mine Safety meeting, 10 a.m., DEP Cambria
Office, 286 Industrial Park Rd., Ebensburg. Contact: Allison Gaida, 724-404-3147.
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July 8
Technical Advisory Committee on Diesel-Powered Equipment
meeting, 8 a.m., Westmoreland Room, DEP New Stanton Office, 131 Broadview
Rd., New Stanton. Contact: Allison D. Gaida,
724-404-3147.
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July 21
Environmental Quality Board meeting, 9 a.m., Room 105,
Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St. Harrisburg. Contact:
Jennifer Swan, 717-783-8727.
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July 21
Citizens Advisory Council meeting, 10 a.m., Room 105, Rachel
Carson State Office Building, Harrisburg. Contact: Jennifer Swan,
717-783-8727.
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July 22
Certification Program Advisory Committee meeting, 9 a.m.,
Room 105, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market St.,
Harrisburg. Contact: Cheri Sansoni, 717-772-5158.
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July 22
Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee meeting, 10
a.m., 12th Floor Conference Room, Rachel Carson State Office Building,
400 Market St., Harrisburg. Contact: Susan Foster, 717-787-7019.
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June 10
DEP Webinar on the interim final Policy for the
Development and Publication of Technical Guidance. Register
here.
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June 30
DEP Webinar on the interim final Policy for the
Development and Publication of Technical Guidance. Register
here.
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June 15
Deadline to comment on Federal Consistency under the
Coastal Zone Management Act; Spring Garden Street Waterfront
Rehabilitation Project. Contact: Matthew Walderon,
717-772-2196.
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June 16
Deadline to comment on Pennsylvania's 2015-2016 Annual
Ambient Air Monitoring Network Plan. Contact: Nicholas Lazor, 717-783-9268.
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July 12
Deadline to comment on the Polcy
for Development and Publication of Technical Guidance. Contact
Laura Henry, 717-783-8727.
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DEP Acting
Secretary Quigley to Chair Gov. Wolf's Task Force on Pipeline
Infrastructure Development
The task force will recommend a series of best practices for
pipeline development.
HARRISBURG -- Gov. Tom Wolf has announced the
formation of a task force to help Commonwealth agencies, the natural gas
industry, and communities across the state collaborate more effectively as
thousands of miles of pipelines are being proposed to transport natural gas
and related byproducts to markets from gas wells throughout the
Commonwealth.
In Pennsylvania, natural gas drilling has outpaced
the development of the infrastructure needed to get gas to market. Governor
Wolf created the Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force (PITF) in an effort to
promote unprecedented collaboration of stakeholders to facilitate the
development of a world-class pipeline infrastructure system.
Read
more.
Training Helps Emergency Responders Prepare for Spills
Federal, state and local emergency responders practice
containing a spill in the Schuylkill River.
UPPER PROVIDENCE TWP. -- DEP emergency responders joined
their counterparts from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and Montgomery County on May 21 for oil
containment training on the Schuylkill River in Upper Providence Township.
The training involves deploying booms to direct and
contain any potential oil spills that might occur. A significant amount of Bakken Crude oil is shipped by rail through Montgomery
County. This is just one step in an ongoing process of training and
planning for a potential spill.
The training is the latest of numerous activities
conducted by local agencies in partnership with federal, state, and private
industry partners, to improve oil response capabilities.
Gov. Wolf Announces Small Business Advantage Grant
Recipients
 HARRISBURG --
Governor Tom Wolf today announced that nearly 140 businesses across
Pennsylvania will soon install energy-efficiency or pollution-prevention
projects by using Small Business Advantage Grants provided by DEP. This
year, DEP awarded more than $980,000 to 139 small businesses.
“Improving energy efficiency helps small businesses
and helps improve quality of life for all residents,” Governor Tom Wolf
said. “These grants will help small businesses, improve the environment and
grow the economy.”
Read
more.
DEP Announces Work to Reclaim Hazardous Abandoned Mine Land
in Luzerne County
WILKES-BARRE -- DEP’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine
Reclamation has announced work is set to begin next month to reclaim
abandoned mine lands in Hazle Township, Luzerne
County that are classified as a significant health and safety hazard under
the federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Program. The 65.5 acres of
abandoned strip mind land is considered hazardous due to its proximity to
homes and heavily travelled Route 309.
The work involves eliminating a 1500-foot high-wall,
with a high point of 100-feet. The wall is located approximately
350-feet from homes. It will also include removing 820,000-cubic
yards of material, mostly coal refuse, from the Penny’s Bank and Lattimer Basin Mine areas near the Hazleton Airport and
filling in an old stripping pit. The mining operations of the Pardee Brothers Company that created the dangerous
stripping pit date back to 1929.
Read
more.
DEP Listens to Concerns Raised at Jeansville
Mine Fire Public Meeting
DEP staff answer questions about a
mine fire in Carbon County.
CARBON COUNTY -- DEP mining officials recently met
with residents of Banks Township, Carbon County, to discuss a mine fire
that is burning on abandoned and active mine land in the area. DEP
Director of Abandoned Mines Eric Cavazza and
Pottsville District Mining Office Manager Mike Menghini
told approximately 45-50 people who attended how both programs intend to
fight the fire.
Most questions from the audience centered on DEP AQ
staff conducting overnight air monitoring because a sulfur smell from the
fire appears to be permeating during late night/early morning hours. Residents
also requested air monitoring on days when it is overcast and cloud cover
is low.
Other questions centered around
what is actually burning: coal/coal refuse or rock material and
questions about if gases from fire can migrate and collect in basements.
DEP Air Quality Environmental Manager Jean Grabowski explained to residents
that previous air quality tests showed now dangerous levels of gases in air
and it was highly unlikely for any gases to migrate through basements.
DEP Issues Permit to End Tullytown
Landfill Disposal Operations within Two Years
NORRISTOWN -- DEP has issued a permit to Waste
Management of Pennsylvania, Inc. (WMPA), directing that the Tullytown Landfill cease all waste disposal operations
within two years. WMPA is the owner and operator of the Tullytown
Landfill, which is located in the Borough of Tullytown
and Falls Township, Bucks County.
“After a complete review of the renewal application
and consideration of public input, we concluded that a balance had to be
reached to allow disposal operations to continue, but for a limited amount
of time so that the landfill could close in a structurally sound and
environmentally safe manner,” said DEP Southeast Regional Director Cosmo Servidio.
Read
more.
DEP Fines Washita Valley Enterprises Inc. $53,344 for
Residual Waste Violations in Bradford County
WILLIAMSPORT -- DEP has fined Washita Valley
Enterprises Inc. of Ulster $53,344 for repeated residual waste violations
at the company’s well pipe and casing reconditioning facility in Sheshequin Township, Bradford County.
“This company was operating in a manner that did not
adhere to our residual waste regulations and threatened the environment,”
said DEP North-central Regional Director Marcus Kohl. “Our staff continued
to find violations nearly four months after a notice of violation letter
was sent to the company, and this lack of effort to comply is
unacceptable.”
Read
more.
DEP Fines Maryland Demolition Company for Illegal Waste
Disposal
HARRISBURG -- DEP has ordered a Maryland business
owner to stop the unpermitted disposal of residential and commercial
construction and demolition waste at a site in Bedford County, and issued a
$13,500 civil penalty for past violations.
Stanley N. Boinovych, of
Cumberland, Maryland, is the owner and manager of Dilapidated Demolition.
On multiple occasions between February 2012 and June 2014, DEP inspectors
observed construction and demolition waste at a Boinovych-owned
85-acre commercial property in Colerain Township. DEP had not authorized or
permitted the transportation of, or disposal of solid waste at the site.
Read
more.
Report Illustrates Conservation Achievements of No-Till
Farming in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania farmers are protecting
their soils, their bottom lines, and the state’s waterways by widely
adopting conservation practices in their crop operations, according to a
study commissioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
“This report confirms the good work of Pennsylvania’s
agriculturalists as stewards of our natural resources,” said Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “It details producer
sentiments, showing that they believe in the power of no-till crop farming
for the health of their land. The results of this study are further proof
that investments are being made to meet nutrient reduction goals for the
Chesapeake Bay.”
Read
more.
27 Pa. Counties Remain in Drought Watch
HARRISBURG -- Despite the recent precipitation
events, DEP is maintaining a drought watch for 27 counties across
Pennsylvania because parts of the state have below-average groundwater and
in some areas surface water levels.
“We are still recovering from a very dry fall and
below-normal precipitation this winter,” Acting DEP Secretary John Quigley
said. “These factors have contributed to low groundwater and surface water
levels mostly in the northeast and central portions of the state.”
Read
more.
DEP Staff Help Students Learn about Water Quality at Hydromania
DEP Hydromania
participants included Dave Malloy, Ed Osterhuber,
Castor Ayala, Bridget Reinert, Ron Schock, Bharat Bham and Eric Bartoloacci.
ALLENTOWN -- Staff from DEP's Bethlehem and Pocono
district offices took part in Hydromania on May
14 at Cedar Crest College in Allentown. This is the 15th year of the
event.
Nearly 1,200 third and fourth graders participated,
visiting different educational booths where vollunteers
taught them lessons on how to conserve water and
keep rivers and streams clean for future use.
Two More Pa. Drinking Water Facilities Receive Presidents
Award
 HARRISBURG
-- Two more Pennsylvania facilities have been awarded the Partnership for
Safe Water Presidents Award for optimal water treatment. The two plants are
Capital Region Water's Dr. Robert E. Young Water Services Center in Dauphin
County and Pennsylvania American Water's Clarion Regional Water Treatment
Plant.
These water treatment plants are the seventh and
eighth in Pennsylvania to receive the prestigious award presented by the
Partnership for Safe Water, a voluntary effort to provide safe drinking
water to consumers. Only 21 water treatment plants nationwide have
received this award.
There are four phases to the program. The Presidents Award is an intermediate award between Phase
III and Phase IV and is intended to be a significant stepping stone towards
accomplishing the highest possible level of performance that can be
achieved in the program, which is Phase IV.
Three Young Female Falcons Banded, Video Available Online
Pa. Game Commission
biologists attach an alpha-numeric band on the leg of one of three female
falcons.
HARRISBURG -- State environmental officials
participated in the annual banding of the young peregrine falcons born this
season on the ledge of the Rachel Carson State Office Building in
Harrisburg on May 21. Game Commission biologists determined all three
fledglings to be females. They were then banded, weighed and
examined. They are all in good health.
Banding allows officials to track the birds'movements as they grow and leave the nest.
Representatives from Zoo America in Hershey also participated in the event
bringing a live male adult peregrine falcon, to educate area school
children and teachers about adaptation.
Click
here to view a video and photos of the banding.
  
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