As EPA Proposes Tougher Rules on Emissions, Report Names Pennsylvania as One of America’s Top Polluters

PHILADELPHIA—Pennsylvania’s role as the birthplace of American democracy is a staple of elementary school history lessons. Fewer are aware of another distinction held by the Keystone State—that as one of the cradles of American energy production. The nation’s first oil well was drilled in 1859 in Titusville, about 100 miles north of Pittsburgh. Eight years […]

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Shell Sued Over Air Emissions at Pennsylvania’s New Petrochemical Plant

Two environmental groups sued Shell on Thursday, claiming that air emissions from its massive new petrochemical plant about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh repeatedly violated federal and state air-quality laws and far exceeded limits set in its operating permit. The plant officially opened in November 2022 after months of testing.   The Environmental Integrity Group and […]

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‘Green Steel’ Would Curb Carbon Emissions, Spur Economic Revival in Southwest Pennsylvania, Study Says

Pennsylvania’s steel industry has the potential to lead a national transition to reduce  or even eliminate carbon emissions if it switched to making so-called green steel, according to a report issued Monday by the Ohio River Valley Institute, a nonprofit research group. Southwest Pennsylvania, where the industry is concentrated, has the water and wind resources, […]

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Plastic Recycling Plant Could Send Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Into the Susquehanna River, Polluting a Vital Drinking Water Source

Warnings that a large-scale plastics recycling plant planned along a floodplain in Central Pennsylvania could flush toxic PFAS into the Susquehanna River, a major source of drinking water for millions, are stirring a budding opposition movement. The Houston-based startup company Encina, which proposes to build the $1.1 billion advanced recycling plant in Northumberland County, says […]

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