Archive: Environmental Justice
As of July 1, 2022, Pennsylvania became the 12th state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade program that requires coal-fired power plants to buy an allowance for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. The allowances are sold at quarterly auctions, and the revenue generated is distributed to the states in […]
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On July 27, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee approved H.R.2021, the Environmental Justice (EJ) for All Act. The bill is currently sitting before the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote. This landmark piece of legislation would enshrine important protections for minority and low-income communities disproportionately affected by pollution and environmental degradation. It has […]
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The last few years have seen an exciting influx of federal investments in important community infrastructure projects. Water, broadband, energy efficiency, and transportation are all priorities in recent federal funding packages. The question for rural communities like ours, which have lost out on government funding in the past, is this: How do we make sure […]
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On February 11, 2022, PA State Representative Timothy Bonner introduced House Bills (“HBs”) 2338 and 2339 to protect communities from the dangers of landfills. However, the bills’ language will make it so that rural communities bear the brunt of urban and suburban waste. The bills are straightforward. HB 2338 prohibits the new construction of a […]
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This blog is an update to one posted June 13: Local Elected Officials Object to Hearing Your Voice. Recently the PA Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) held a public comment period on their new draft Environmental Justice Policy (“Policy”). This Policy was created to provide those who reside in an environmental justice community the opportunity […]
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In our first few weeks with the Center for Coalfield Justice, the other three fellows and I had the opportunity to take some tours of Greene and Washington Counties to learn about coal and fracking in our communities, both historically and today. On our visits to Ryerson Station State Park, the coal patch town of […]
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