Archive: legislation/policy
Pennsylvania has at least 200,000 orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells, which each leak up to 419 pounds of methane annually. Their operators left these wells unplugged after extraction, and, usually, it becomes up to the State to plug them using taxpayer money. To help cover the enormous cost, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs […]
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In July, Pennsylvania House Bill 2644 (“HB 2644”) passed in the legislature. The bill allocates the money Pennsylvania is set to receive from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) to plug abandoned and orphaned gas wells in the state. To learn more about HB 2644, check out this blog. Last month, a few weeks […]
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For the past month, the Center for Coalfield Justice (“CCJ”) and other environmental justice organizations have been fighting against a deal made between Senator Joe Manchin and the Democratic Leadership. The deal was made to sway Manchin’s deciding vote in passing the Inflation Reduction Act and required his bill, The Energy Independence and Security Act, […]
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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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Pennsylvania’s Constitution requires that every bill be considered three different times in the House of Representatives and the Senate. PA. CONST. art. III, § 4. Every time that a bill is considered, it is given a different status. When introduced, the bill is under “first consideration,” next it is under “second consideration,” and finally it […]
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To get Senator Manchin’s vote on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Democratic leadership had to make a deal. There is an alleged agreement that for Manchin’s vote on the IRA, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer would attach a bill that would amend the current laws and regulations on environmental permitting requirements by the end of […]
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