Emerald Ash Borer Leads To Cornell Plan To Cut Some Ash Trees, Save Others
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“As the ash borer population increases and the tree health declines, they become a safety hazard.”
WSKG (https://wskg.org/category/news/environment/)
“As the ash borer population increases and the tree health declines, they become a safety hazard.”
“For the taxpayers, this is going to help fund a lot of their municipalities’ costs in recovering this material.”
Plans include new solar farms and off shore wind turbines, and more transmission lines across the state.
Of the 149 projects granted money from the Growing Greener program, 43 in south central Pennsylvania will get $12 million.
Eco-advocates say there are a lot of opportunities for lawmakers to act on the environment and climate change in the 2021-22 session. The question is whether they have the will to do it.
“You can recycle your Christmas tree in January and then pick it back up as compost in April.”
Possessing a voracious appetite, the biggest concerns with the spotted lanternfly are their impacts on fruit trees, maples, and especially on vineyards.
“This is an important step in the worldwide campaign to stop investments in fossil fuels in order to prevent the worst of global warming.”
State announced $3.9 M studies after pressure from families of rare cancer patients in SW PA
Plans are in early stages, but people weary of water contamination are on edge
President-elect Biden says he will rejoin the Paris Agreement on day one.
“We also need to do a whole lot of work in the coming years to make sure we are building a truly equitable and just democracy,” said one of the rally organizers, Joanna Green.
Energy, pollution policies are felt deeply in Pennsylvania.
Democratic incumbent Anthony Brindisi, former Republican representative Claudia Tenney and Libertarian candidate Keith Price covered an array of issues, including policing and climate change.
“It could not come a day too soon. New Yorkers use a staggering 23 billion plastic bags every year.”
The vote was 7-1.
According to the resolution, residents have expressed concerns about potential negative impacts of pollution and truck traffic from the facility on tourism, agriculture, and human health.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and an unsuccessful lawsuit brought by the plastics industry delayed its implementation.
“After doing months of homework, and consulting with industry experts, I am convinced that a more detailed environmental review is needed by the DEC, especially now that the project permit is on hold,” Lupardo said.
New York state will begin enforcing its ban on single-use carry-out plastic bags next month after a brief hiatus of the law due to a legal challenge brought earlier this year.
Critics of the facility have called it an incinerator. Under regulatory definitions set by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), it’s not.
“We want the village trustees of Endicott to respect their residents, to listen to their concerns and to represent their best interest.”
“We really are asking our farmers to be patient as we try to work this out with the federal government.”
In 2017, the Trump administration scaled back protections of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A federal judge has now struck down the rule change — and cited To Kill a Mockingbird in so doing.
“And the really cool thing is when you fill out a survey on your smartphone, it geolocates you. We’re able to go back to that exact same spot and we’ll do the water quality testing.”
“I think these are still historic and appropriate and protective drinking water standards that will protect New Yorkers for decades to come.”
New York, fearing the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, has decided to pull an item from this year’s ballot to decide if the state should borrow $3 billion to fund a series of environmental projects related to climate change.
Protest organizers NoBurnBroome said they will continue to build support and fight the opening of the lithium-ion battery recycling facility.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted it is “the largest ever combined solicitations for renewable energy ever issued in the U.S.”
This will be the 25th time Hawkins has run for office, but his first national campaign. He’s run for Congress, U.S. Senate, governor and several other state and local offices.
“They’re tipping the balance towards a more diverse ecosystem. The result will be beauty and color in the landscape, new homes for butterflies improved water quality and a stronger web of life.”
Secretary of Environmental Resources and Energy panel said he was offended by AG’s characterization of natural gas industry
Grand jury makes proposals on regulation, oversight of fracking industry
“When a crime is committed because of how a company does business, rather than an individual’s actions, we charge the company.”
By lowering the outflows from Lake Ontario, the Board hopes to make navigation in the St. Lawrence River safer and raise the water levels in Lake St. Louis.
In recent years, climate activists and states have used the Clean Water Act to block pipelines and other fossil fuel projects. A new EPA rule makes that harder,
“It’s a beautiful day, we’re not stuck in the house, you know, driving each other bonkers.”
Estimates don’t capture leaks from ‘abnormal’ conditions, Environmental Defense Fund says
“The whole spring season is basically lost.”
Regulator, company at odds over erosion, hillside slips
“The science just does not back up shifting to plastic bags. But everyone is trying to make the best of a really difficult situation.”
‘Everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong’
“Politicians took notice. Nothing like this had ever happened. It was obvious that people really cared more than anyone had known about clean air and clean water.”
“I think it is a good time to reflect on the power of nature, and where we were as a planet 50 years ago, and where we want to get.”
“I think that we would have a less severe outbreak if we had lower levels of air pollution.”
“We were able to contribute to lake levels being fairly stable through the month of March compared with historic records.”
Federal agency said new policy doesn’t mean facilities can exceed allowed pollution limits
“Trees, as a group, are more responsive to these temperature shifts than wildflowers,”
Wolf administration grants all of Energy Transfer’s waiver requests
Construction on the Mariner East pipeline appears to be halted by Gov. Wolf’s new order that shuts down all “non-life-sustaining” operations and businesses.
It is a set of guidelines for how high and low water levels in Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence are allowed to get.
Emotions quickly spilled over when Lifton opened the floor to discussion.
“We’re lucky that over half of our shoppers are already using reusable bags. We sell dozens of different kinds. It’s kind of a normal thing here.”
The group said it occupied the bank to protest its investment in the fossil fuel industry.
The Department of Environmental Conservation has stepped up its efforts in recent days to help New Yorkers understand the new rules.
“They’re going to have a mess on their hands when this really goes into effect. There’s going to be some clean up on aisle three.”
The Count lasts four days from Friday through Monday, February 14-17, 2020. You don’t even have to have a backyard to participate.
DEP acting on governor’s executive order — which Republicans are challenging
Some Democratic presidential candidates want to ban fracking to help address climate change. That attracts young people, but may alienate swing voters in key oil and gas states like Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is getting less money from the federal government this year to clean up its old abandoned mines.
In annual budget address, Wolf talked about need for pipeline reform
Support for a ban strong in cities and suburbs; weak in rural SW Pennsylvania
Plastics build-out could conflict with governor’s climate goals
“We’re going to probably get some negative feedback those first few weeks as we try to transition.”
New York and Pennsylvania joined 12 other states and the District of Columbia in a federal lawsuit that says the new rules violate the Clean Air Act.
His latest ask is more than a billion dollars to clean up lead and asbestos in Pennsylvania’s schools, houses and water systems.
The grocery chain is getting an early start on the state-wide ban, which begins in March.
“If we want to lower our transportation emissions, we have to address getting people out of their personal vehicles or ensuring that the personal vehicles that are left become electrified more rapidly.”
In Philadelphia, the survey found two of the most commonly researched PFAS chemicals at levels far below the EPA’s recommended limit.
DEP quietly withdrew the fine for faulty drilling after the company promised to fix the problems.
Republicans are pushing for looser regulations on conventional oil and gas drillers, who generally run small operations and work with relatively shallow wells.
“We want to get the job done to make the roads safe, but I don’t want salt laying all over the roads and having piles of it. It’s not good for the environment.”
“What will change is the unchecked power of just a handful of opponents to delay or block development of critical infrastructure projects that benefit the greater good.”
Alderperson Seph Murtagh said the e-bikes fit in a gray area of the law.
Critics of his proposed changes say they would favor corporate interests over public health, allowing the potential for air and water quality to be compromised.
Goodwill of the Finger Lakes will remove the single-use bags from all of its Rochester and Syracuse area stores on Saturday, February 1. That’s a month ahead of the state-imposed ban which takes effect March 1.
Fracking pollution not included in study; could lessen health benefits, author says
Wegmans debuted the no-plastic policy at its Corning and Ithaca stores and called the pilot program successful.
The Christmas fern gets that name because the leaflets’ shape is similar to a Christmas stocking hung over the fireplace.
Lake Ontario is still high – about 246 feet high. The Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board says they’re working to reduce levels as much as possible by spring.
The goal is to keep the lights out of a landfill, but the school also plans to reclaim the copper wiring to raise a little money for a local charity.
The measure would make illegal the use of the plastic foam for single-use food containers by restaurants, caterers, food trucks, retail food stores, delis and grocery stores.
State regulators have released new rules to enforce the changes, but groups on both sides of the issue say those rules are flawed.
“I’ve been on the road pretty much constantly for six months.”
Taxes and bans on single use plastics try to combat plastics in the oceans
They’re delivering petitions to Albany this week, signed by more than 7,000 residents across the state who say they want New York to reduce vehicle emissions by 55 percent by 2035.
The state’s attorney general argued that the oil giant misled shareholders about the financial risks from climate change.
“Common sources of contamination include plastic bags, Styrofoam, padded envelopes, coffee cups, and cigarette butts.”
Amid federal inaction, there’s no consensus on how much of the PFAS class of chemicals is too much.
Area utilities including RG&E, NYSEG and National Grid say they are getting crews in place to deal potential damage caused by downed trees and power lines.
“What would I say now? I would say because of the regional and local health concerns and concerns about climate change, we should stop fracking–everywhere.”
The fee will not apply to people using SNAP or WIC
Proposed bill would require Legislature to OK Pennsylvania becoming part of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Without the fee, Dawson said there is a risk Tompkins County will just swap one trash problem for another.
Natural gas is mostly used for heating homes or fueling power plants. But when it comes out of the ground, it contains another key ingredient — ethane, a building block of plastics.
PFAS chemicals are synthetic compounds used in many household products, including food packaging, household cleaners and nonstick cookware.
The Capital Plan is part of the county’s long term effort to bring down it’s carbon emissions to almost zero by 2035.
To turn ethane into the building block of plastic, petrochemical companies are investing in ethane cracker plants, raising concerns about what these facilities could mean for air pollution and climate change.
Pennsylvania’s Republican US Senator introduced a resolution he hopes will enable Congress to defeat future presidents’ fracking bans in court.
The compromise comes after cries for more of an investment to fight climate change.
Rules on coal ash ponds, wastewater from coal-fired power plants are targeted
Plastic doesn’t go away, but it breaks down in the environment. One bottle can degrade into hundreds, even thousands, of tiny pieces of plastic the size of a grain of sand, which can be eaten by birds or fish.
Two Democratic state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would give customers in cafes, fast food shops and even in some restaurants, the option to use their own container for coffee, water, or to bring home left overs.
Cheryl LaFleur fears regulator’s credibility is hurt by more party-line voting
They want two more full-time staff members, more money and a longer commitment to funding.
Almost a year after lines opened, residents will say the project remains a risk to public safety
Stan Whittingham is regarded as the man who laid the groundwork for the science.
Resolves 2018 order involving more than 1,000 wells.
Tompkins is one of five counties in the state that do not allow rifle hunting for deer and bears.
Reed said Cuomo opted for a virtual pipeline with roughly the same route but less efficient, less safe and more expensive.
Reed said that nuclear energy has to be part of the transition away from fossil fuels even with its risks.
“This is not 1970, where we can have the concept that because of economic reasons, we can have acceptable levels of materials like this in our drinking water.”
There was another climate strike led by young people Friday at the Peacemaker’s Stage in Downtown Binghamton. Students from Binghamton University and Binghamton High School skipped school to attend the strike.
Congressman Antonio Delgado (NY-19) sponsored the bill, which requires some companies to report their usage of PFAS to the EPA.
An accident involving a tractor trailer carrying natural has prompted mandatory evacuation Town of Fenton in Broome County
Rafe Pomerance has been a climate activist for 40 years. As an environmental lobbyist for Friends of the Earth, he was one of the first people to agitate for bi-partisan action after reading a 1978 EPA report on coal.
Last Friday around noon, Three Mile Island nuclear power plant stopped producing electricity, part of Exelon Corp.’s plan to close and decommission the plant over the next 60 years.
Those people who support nuclear worry that without tax breaks, the plants will be shut out of a competitive energy market
Owners of existing clean energy power plants in New York say they’d like the same support from the state for their businesses that new ones get.
The company and DEC disagree with Hang’s claims
Strikes are happening all over the world including in Delhi, Ithaca, Hamilton, Scranton, and Binghamton.
Strike organizers are calling on their fellow young people to skip school Friday and rally to demand greater action against climate change.
“When you’re looking down on something rather than at ground level, you certainly get to see more of what’s going on.”
The identity of the firm recommended to manage the Binghamton-Johnson City Joint Sewage Treatment Plant should be known by month’s end.
The Commonwealth Court said last week that the Democratic senator, an outspoken critic of Sunoco, did not have personal or legislative standing to bring a complaint
Their call for action comes as the Trump administration works to loosen federal regulations on the powerful greenhouse gas.
Rates will differ across Broome County and still could go after 2020.
The massive refinery and petrochemical complex in Grangemouth, Scotland, run by INEOS, was one of the first overseas plants to receive Pennsylvania ethane.
“During the course of the bloom you’ll get different odors. It doesn’t always smell the same way. But it will go through different phases where it smells like different chemicals.”
Meanwhile, environmental groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation say the move is an “assault” on clean water.
“Councilman Livingston seems to continue his tirade on this. In fact, he has personally accused me of forcing people to go into an unsafe environment. I take great exceptions, exceptions to that”
Army Corps of Engineers surveys the lake, looking for noxious weed.
There are eight Superfund clean-up sites in Broome County.
State says Trump Administration is overstepping.
Abundant Solar said the chances are high that they will develop on the other sites.
Most at the hearing oppose a proposed mixed income housing development.
The most recent HABs were in the northern part of Cayuga Lake.
The county wants anyone who might drink untreated water or who swims in the lake to be aware of the discharge.
The town has to wait for the completion of state environmental review before it can move forward.
Activists plan to take to Cayuga Lake early this morning to protest seismic tests by Cargill. The company has salt mines below the lake.
A new report titled “Great Lakes Revival” tells the story of how Buffalo and other rust-belt cities reclaimed their waters.
Cayuga County Health Department officials went door-to-door in part of Genoa on Thursday to warn people to not swim in Cayuga Lake near their property until Friday.
Clean-up requirements were met for the New York Superfund Site at the former Hidden Valley Electronics facility in Vestal.
City sanitation crews will not pick up residents’ recycling if the bin contains a plastic bag.
“Maybe if they have the right conditions, they can do a nature-based shoreline approach, where they work in shoreline plants and rock rubble.”
The Environmental Working Group wants a standardized monitoring system across the U.S. to better inform the public about harmful algal blooms.
“At this time, when our bees are dying off, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has done a very quiet but very dumb thing. They’ve stopped collecting critical scientific data on honeybees.”
Whey Street Dairy received the 2019 State Agricultural Environmental Management Award.
Artists and architects from across can create a proposal for a memorial honoring the victims of Hurricane Maria.
The company did not explain what caused the backfire but apologized for the noise, which alarmed neighbors and fueled longstanding concerns about the safety of the new pipelines, which carry highly volatile natural gas liquids.
A New York metastudy details the adverse effects fracking has on Pennsylvania’s environment, its climate and human health.
An opponent of the Mariner East project says he will ask an appeals court to order the Public Utility Commission to disclose documents containing its calculations on the effects of an accidental release of natural gas liquids from the pipelines.
Starting today, plastic bags aren’t an option when you check out at Wegman’s stores in Ithaca and Corning
A Salt Lake City-based company is in talks to purchase and dismantle Three Mile Island’s long-mothballed Unit 2 reactor — the site of the nation’s worst nuclear accident in 1979.
The power grid operator has received appeals from around the country to ensure its next leader prioritizes clean energy.
Quagga mussels have few natural predators, and have been successful in the Great Lakes and other lakes across North America since being carried here by ships from Europe in the 1980s.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Thursday mandating 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040, and an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That’s below levels from 1990.
In Tompkins County, educational activities and games were organized by FORCES, Friends of Recreation, Conservation and Environmental Stewardship.
SYRACUSE (WRVO) – The lake once called the most polluted in the country, could be getting closer to becoming a beach destination for central New Yorkers. But not everyone is on board with the idea of swimming in a former Superfund site. At a recent public meeting, Onondaga County announced results of a survey that showed almost 32,000 people would be willing to go swimming in a potential beach at the Willow Bay area of Onondaga Lake. “To us it’s a very good sign that people who come to get close to the lake, and experience the lake with their own personal senses, are more comfortable swimming in Onondaga Lake,” Travis Glazier, head of the county’s Department of the Environment, said. But on the other side, only 22% of respondents felt the lake was safe to swim in.
ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – The 2019 New York legislative session saw the passage of a raft of legislation that has been blocked in previous years. Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton spoke with WSKG’s Celia Clarke in the Ithaca studio. She represents Tompkins County and part of Cortland County in the state Assembly. Lifton spoke about the new farm labor rights, legalization of electrically-assisted bicycles and scooters, and why she thinks marijuana legalization is inevitable. The conversation begins with Lifton talking what she considers the most important accomplishment of the session.
“…we’ve had catastrophic flooding on the shore of Lake Ontario two out of three years,” said Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus)
HARRISBURG, PA (WITF) – The Allegheny County Health Department and U.S. Steel have a draft agreement to resolve multiple air pollution violations from the company’s Clairton Plant over the past two years. The agreement calls on the company to pay $2.7 million in fines and put in place a suite of pollution upgrades at the plant. The company said the price of those upgrades is $200 million. The agreement does not resolve legal issues between the county and the company over air pollution problems that resulted from a Dec. 24 fire.
Pennsylvania’s impact fee on natural gas producers raised more money in 2018 to offset the effects of shale development than at any time in the fee’s seven-year history
If approved, the amendment would block any government entity from imposing new taxes, rules, or regulations on single-use plastics
“I’m concerned about the coal ash landfill, I do think that that needs further remediation. It’s definitely old technology that was used.”
It’s absolutely the wrong direction to be decreasing, rather than increasing, our contributions to environmental programs through the state budget.”
Bids from private firms for the right to take control of the publicly-owned plant are set to be opened Wednesday.
Pennsylvania is the third-largest coal producing state in the country. But coal generated electricity plants have struggled to compete with cheaper natural gas and renewable energy.
“It’s going to create a road map to 2050, and it’s going to recommend regulations, incentives and a plan to really change the whole economy.”
PJM is now trying to walk a fine line between respecting states’ rights and figuring out how to incorporate their climate polices into its wholesale electricity market.
“Our improvements in management which includes feeding and housing and veterinary care, disease control…we’ve been able to control infectious diseases to a greater extent than ever before.”
The court document was issued under seal, but was discovered last week in a public database by a public radio reporter. After issuing an injunction, Judge Katherine B. Emery on Tuesday ruled it could be published.
Solar energy is plentiful in the summer, but when cold winter mornings return, a Cornell researcher has found the Northeast will still rely on fossil fuels for heat.
After months of Democratic Governor Tom Wolf promoting a sweeping infrastructure plan funded by a tax on natural gas drillers, some Senate Republicans have come up with an alternative.
There’s a new solar project in Tompkins County that has farmers and solar companies helping each other.
A bill that would ban trash incinerators in the Finger Lakes is now law.
Assemblyman Phil Palmesano is pushing back against a bill that would give farm workers the same rights as all workers in the state.
“They’re saying ‘it’s a bad idea to put pipelines in areas where damage to the pipeline could be caused by earth movement. If you know there’s potential damage, don’t put them there.”
Environmental group asks appeals court to order Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection to set health standard
The owners want to convert it into a 100 megawatt data center. Their proposal includes a seventy-five acre solar farm, and they will apply to the state for a 125 megawatt renewable energy allocation.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is also represented on the Delaware River Basin Commission, was invited to the event but was unable to attend
Nudges can change behavior, but for many societal problems like climate change, they are not sufficient.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal says the eight companies knew for decades that PFOA and PFOS used as a main component of firefighting foam would contaminate the environment.
The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, site of the nation’s worst nuclear accident, will shut down by the end of September. Backers failed to secure subsidies to keep the plant operating.
Their main objection is the addition of a customs building and one customs inspector. Customs is part of the federal Customs and Border Protection, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
“When a water system is contaminated with PFAS, treatment will lower the concentration but not completely remove it. So the contamination is still there.”
Every day about 15,000 people travel into Tompkins County, mainly into Ithaca from neighboring counties. Most of them commute for work and most are alone in their cars.
“It seems natural for us to do that, with the hydroelectric power generation that goes on here.”
The spotted lanternfly eats away at the bark of trees. It’s a threat to some commercial crops that are big in New York like grapes and apples.
“All they’ve ever gotten is a slap on the wrist. It’s time for that to change. I’ll hold the oil and gas companies criminally liable for poisoning our air and our drinking water.”
The ordinance would only allow for hens. No roosters! Only six per household will be allowed, a property must be at least 2,000 square feet and there are other requirements for the chickens shelter and regular inspections.
“It’s a poor choice of words. It’s not a fair comparison. I mean these are working folk, these are salt-of-the-earth people.”
Nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania and around the country are running out of room to store spent fuel. Private companies are pitching their own solutions.
“Why did they (state inspectors) grant these water permits the way they did? What was the rush in February, 2017? Did anyone put pressure on them to encourage that?”
BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) – Some Binghamton University students are pushing Congressman Anthony Brindisi to do more to address climate change.
Liat David is 19, a sophomore at the University. At a recent forum she helped organize, she said climate change has made her re-think having children. “Do I have that right as a woman that I can have a child and be proud of the earth that I live in and say that this child is going to be living in a regenerative and sustainable future?” she said. “I can’t necessarily say that right now, which is very sad to say because that is my right as a woman to say that I can have a child if I want to, but I really feel like that was taken away from me this past generation.”
“Farm workers are excluded from labor laws that protect all other workers. So, do we want to level the playing field and ensure that those protections are in place?”
It may not be pretty, but supporters of the Eastern hellbender say it’s a vital reminder to keep streams and waterways healthy.
Several members of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee met in Pittsburgh for a hearing on methane, the main component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
The supermarket chain wants to get ahead of the curve because of the transition that will be needed to get customers accustomed to using the reusable shopping bags.
A renewed legislative effort to curb the use of disposable plastic shopping bags in Pennsylvania is milder than measures enacted in some other states.
Jair Bolsonaro is outspoken about his desire to roll back environmental protections. Mayor Bill de Blasio applauded the American Museum of Natural History’s move “on behalf of our city.”
The ramifications of the petition could be politically significant– allowing major climate policy to be implemented without new legislation.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it will sample more than 300 water systems starting in May in a program that is due to last a year.
A new bill in the state Capitol would require every school district in Pennsylvania to test for radon and inform parents of the results.
It takes aim at states like New York that have blocked pipeline projects that would carry Marcellus Shale gas to markets in the Northeast.
“No real reason has been given to pass this legislation, other than we need the money to enhance our profit margin and to charge more for nuclear power.”
Demand for natural gas is growing across the Northeast. Meanwhile, natural gas production is booming in Pennsylvania. Connecting the two requires building pipelines across New York State.
New York is only the latest state to ban plastic bags, but such restrictions may actually hurt the environment more than help it. Human nature, hard truths, and what kind of bag to use anyway?
The bills recognize nuclear plants as sources of carbon-free electricity and create new requirements about how electric utilities are to purchase power.
If approved, company will pay $200,000 fine and step up safety inspections of aging pipeline
By this time next year, single use plastic bags will be officially banned in New York State. But this new rule has some wondering, will we just end up with a paper bag problem?
The suit accused Sunoco of negligence and several other counts in its construction practices.
“The real challenge with the Green Amendment is that it may not even mean anything, but even if it does it could take decades for it to become meaningful.”
“You can practice it in the best-case scenario, but what we know is people will be scared,”
The GOP-controlled Senate will vote on a Democratic resolution led by New York freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that calls for the U.S. to reach zero net carbon emissions within 10 years.
“People think this is environmentally responsible. It’s terrible for the environment,”
Pipeline opponents are raising new concerns about the safety of Energy Transfer/Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East 2x natural gas liquids line.
One person described walking across the wide boulevard in front of Elmira’s Clemens Center as a ‘near-death experience.’
The line transports petroleum products from Sunoco’s Montello terminal near Reading to north-central Pennsylvania and New York state.
“We are really, really thrilled,” said Mary Anne Kowalski, Seneca Lake resident. “I think the fact that is impressing me most is that we’ve got bipartisan support on this bill.”
The country has ambitious goals to become the “hydrogen society,” and right now, the focus is on its automakers.
Small farmers and rural homeowners argue they set aside too much land for preservation.
The nuclear watchdog group is asking federal regulators to analyze what the group calls a “potentially dangerous and risky condition”
A group of landowners and farmers are trying to stop some zoning changes designed to preserve open space in the Town of Ulysses. Some say agricultural needs haven’t been considered. The town disagrees.
Opponents criticized the measure as too expensive and said it squanders an opportunity to fully address climate change.
Alabama company has until 2033 to plug wells or put them back into production
How a young team at CMU helped expand the fledgling field of robotics.
Energy Transfer, parent company of Sunoco Logistics and builder of the Mariner East natural gas liquids pipelines, is the target of a Chester County grand jury investigation.
A new report finds coal ash pollution is leaking into groundwater at nine power plants around Pennsylvania and over 200 nationwide. West Pa. site has arsenic 372 times the ‘safe’ level
Nearly 130,000 homes in the U.S. still burn coal for heat. Despite decades of decline and concerns about climate change, companies in the coal home-heating business are optimistic about the future.
The state Department of Health wants to hire 10 scientists to learn more about the health risks of the PFAS group of chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other illnesses.
Cornell University has received over $68 million from the United States Department of Agriculture to build a new federal research facility for grape genetics. The site will be in Geneva, New York, home to ongoing collaborations between Cornell and the USDA.
Sunoco’s parent company admitted it made mistakes in building the Mariner East pipelines through Pennsylvania, and told investors that it will do better in future, but its assurances failed to persuade critics that the project will become any safer for the public or more protective of the environment.
Pittsburgh researchers are working on potentially cheaper ways to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants. So-called “clean coal” technology is expensive, but some experts say it’s crucial to address climate change.
Students and teachers have been drinking bottled water since 2015 when tests showed elevated lead levels. Today, the water is scheduled to be turned back on in some elementary schools.
Last summer, heavy rains caused flooding across New York and Pennsylvania.Some farmers saw extensive damage to their crops. Federal help is available for some of those folks.
Europe’s investments in offshore wind have fueled better technology, more competition and cheaper capital for new projects. That’s driven down the cost of offshore power and now the US is capitalizing on the savings.
Theresa Alt was one of two people who stopped by for a visit. Alt met Tuesday with staff at Congressman Tom Reed’s Ithaca office. That office last opened its doors two weeks ago, but there were no visitors. This time, people showed up.
Of the eight million vehicles registered in Pennsylvania, just 15,000 of them are electric. The state Department of Environmental Protection has released a plan several years in the making that outlines how the state can boost that number. Education is a key component.
Pennsylvania will begin the process of setting its own health limits for two toxic PFAS chemicals because it’s unclear when the federal government will set national standards, the Department of Environmental Protection said late Thursday.
The U.S. EPA said Thursday it will this year begin the process of setting maximum contaminant limits for PFOA and PFOS, two toxic chemicals that are linked to cancer and other illnesses and are widespread in drinking water and soil.
A raft of bills on pipeline safety may have a better chance of becoming law in Pennsylvania after Gov. Tom Wolf formally backed some of them in a statement that strongly criticized Sunoco’s construction of the Mariner East pipelines.
Jobs in Pennsylvania’s solar industry grew 10 percent last year, while declining three percent nationally, according to a new analysis.
It’s been over three years since water fountains in some Ithaca area schools could offer students a drink. In 2015, water systems in all 12 Ithaca City Schools were shut off after tests showed elevated lead levels. However, within two weeks, the water will be turned on again at some elementary schools.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says Energy Transfer hasn’t complied with an order related to the recent explosion of the Revolution pipeline outside Pittsburgh, so it has halted reviews of new water crossing permits the company wants for its natural gas liquids lines Mariner East 2 and 2x.
The plan is massively ambitious and faces political blockades. Proponents believe it’s what’s necessary to start saving the world from the threat of climate change and to reshape the U.S. economy.
Chester County community meeting airs continuing public concerns on safety of Mariner East pipelines
Onondaga County continues taking the steps it needs to build a swimmable beach along the northern shore of Onondaga Lake. That includes a series of public meetings showcasing what it would take to create a beach along what was once called the most polluted lake in the country.
Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday slammed the reported decision of the federal government not to regulate two chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other illnesses when present in drinking water.
Gov. Tom Wolf kicked off the new year with an ambitious climate change goal: reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent by 2025, and 80 percent by 2050.
About a dozen children dressed in Lorax costumes went to Gov. Tom Wolf’s office Monday. They wanted to give him petitions urging action on climate change and Pennsylvania’s environmental rights amendment.
Joanne Stanton is watching Pennsylvania’s fledgling efforts to curb toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water, and wondering why PFAS-contaminated water is still being found below several communities in Bucks and Montgomery counties, several miles from the water’s origin on a nearby military base.
A worker on Sunoco’s Mariner East project has threatened a Chester County opponent of the pipeline on social media in two posts that included an obscenity.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said his upcoming executive budget would include a proposal to ban single-use plastic bags in New York state.
A Pennsylvania court said the Department of Environmental Protection unlawfully issued air-quality permits to Sunoco for its natural gas liquids plant at Marcus Hook in Delaware County, and it ordered the department to re-do its analysis over whether the plant should be subject to two sets of emissions rules.
Gov. Tom Wolf has set a new goal for the state to combat climate change: reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent by 2025.
Long-term, the governor wants to see an 80-percent reduction by 2050.
Peoples Gas in western Pennsylvania has outfitted a vehicle that will drive over 950 miles of the utility’s pipelines in Pittsburgh this year using a high-tech system to find places where methane leaks into the air.
The New York legislature returns to work this morning and Finger Lakes Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R-C-I) sees it as another chance to kill a proposed trash incinerator in the town of Romulus.
New Jersey’s attorney general says PennEast Pipeline Co. can’t legally sue the state for access to more than 40 parcels of protected land, and argues that a federal judge was wrong to rule that the company could do so.
Natural gas companies must pay millions of dollars in outstanding impact fees to the state, following a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling.
A health network in Pennsylvania’s Tioga County hopes to reduce the abuse of unused medications by making them harder to find. Nationally, young people who abuse prescription opioids usually get them from friends and relatives.
More than half of the country’s species predicted to be gone by 2035
New leadership positions in the state assembly were announced late last year and a pair of Southern Tier legislators will take charge of important committees.
Homeowners focus on integrity of repurposed 12-inch pipeline first built in 1930s
Scientists from Cornell have a few tips for those of you who cut down Christmas trees, now that the holiday is behind us. Brian Eshenaur is the lead arborist for Cornell Botanic Gardens and says there are plenty of ways to recycle those trees.
Sunoco said in November that it would start operations of the frequently delayed Mariner East 2 pipeline by the end of 2018.
While the bulk of solar energy in Pennsylvania exists in the eastern half of the state, co-ops are popping up across western part of the commonwealth to help people go solar.
The Chester County District Attorney said Wednesday he is opening a criminal investigation into Sunoco’s Mariner East pipeline project because it has caused sinkholes, contaminated water and has resulted in “not so subtle bullying” of residents.
Pennsylvania, along with eight states and Washington, D.C., announced plans Tuesday to create a new regional cap for carbon emissions from vehicles to combat climate change.
If power plants that burn fossil fuels could capture their carbon emissions and store them somewhere, it would go a long way toward preventing greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.
Investigators at the Public Utility Commission blamed corrosion for a leak of natural gas liquids from Sunoco’s Mariner East 1 pipeline in April 2017, and said they are concerned about the company’s corrosion-control program throughout the ageing statewide line.
The PennEast Pipeline Co. can take private land through eminent domain to build a natural gas pipeline, a New Jersey federal judge ruled on Friday.
Pennsylvania environmental officials have come out with a plan to reduce leaks from thousands of the state’s oil and gas wells.
Significantly more harmful algal blooms were reported on Cayuga Lake this year than in 2017. A local non-profit reports the 2018 blooms were more likely to contain toxins harmful humans and small mammals, like cats and dogs.
Suit brought by seven residents fails on all four requirements
“We’re not dead yet, we’ve still got a pulse in Mahanoy City. Thank God Trump lifted all the regulations on coal…coal is gonna be king.”
A federal judge granted PennEast Pipeline Co. the right of eminent domain to build its pipeline on a property in Carbon County, in the first ruling of its kind over the controversial project in a Pennsylvania court.
Frank Femia runs Klubfunstore Guns and Ammo in Henrietta, where the popular ammunition this season is copper bullets. “It’s been hard finding them because everyone’s been sold out of them and it’s been hard to keep in stock,” Femia said.
A worst-case explosion of the Mariner East 2 pipeline in PA’s Delaware County would kill anyone within about a mile of the rupture, a new report says, but it concludes the chances of someone dying from a pipeline incident are less than that of dying in a car crash or from falling down stairs.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is calling for the implementation of a law that would allow airports to stop using toxic chemicals that are said to poison local waterways.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – An administrative law judge for the state Public Utility Commission heard testimony this week on whether Sunoco can operate its controversial Mariner East pipelines — a set of export lines moving natural gas liquids across Pennsylvania — while the judge reviews a request to permanently shut down the lines.
If New York state hopes to reach a goal of getting half of its electricity from renewable resources by the year 2030, wind energy will have to be part of the formula. That was the focus of a wind summit held in Syracuse this week, and boosters of wind power are optimistic it will happen.
Permit will cover 16 newly discovered seeps coming out of Little Blue
(Harrisburg) — Pennsylvania environmental regulators have the legal authority and constitutional duty to place limits on greenhouse gas emissions, according to a petition filed Tuesday by dozens of groups including environmental organizations, legal scholars, religious groups, local governments, and citizens.
The state Department of Environmental Protection is hosting a public meeting to address concerns over a group of chemicals, known as PFOA and PFOS that have been contaminating drinking water.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – A 12-inch pipeline that Sunoco plans to use as a temporary part of the Mariner East project has passed state and federal safety inspections, according to a letter from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s head of pipeline safety.
Pennsylvania could lower its greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and improve public health if it got more power from the sun. That’s according to a new report from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA — State environmental officials have fined natural gas operator EQT for drilling into an old mine in 2017 and releasing 4 million gallons of abandoned mine drainage into the Monongahela River and surrounding wetlands in Allegheny County.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Sunoco’s Mariner East 2 pipeline across Pennsylvania will begin operating in the current quarter, the company’s parent, Energy Transfer, said on Thursday.
STATE IMPACT PENNSYLVANIA – Pennsylvania utility regulators approved a new policy aimed at clarifying rules about how power is resold, in an effort to promote investment in public electric vehicle charging stations.
HARRISBURG, PA (WSKG) — A state audit of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission has uncovered more than $20,000 in food expenses and employee perks it labeled “extravagant,” and “questionable” from summer 2016 to this year.