pa-pollution

Report faults EPA for not enforcing limits on toxic benzene emissions at oil refineries

BY: - September 11, 2023

The federal Environmental Protection Agency must do a better job ensuring that oil refineries that exceed emissions limits for benzene, a toxic, carcinogenic pollutant, cut those concentrations, the agency’s inspector general found. “Thirteen of the 118 refineries we reviewed had benzene concentrations above the action level in 20 or more weeks after the initial exceedance,” […]

Reducing nutrient pollution from the Susquehanna River, viewed here from the Pinnacle Overlook in Pennsylvania, is critical for restoring water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. (Bay Journal photo by Karl Blankenship)

Pa. House panel talks challenges of cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, local waterways

BY: - June 26, 2023

With more than 27,000 miles of impaired waterways in the commonwealth, and a looming 2025 Chesapeake Bay pollution-reduction deadline, a proposed bill to eliminate a state prohibition on stream-side fencing was discussed as one possible solution to furthering Pennsylvania’s waterway clean up efforts. 

Is Pittsburgh’s weird terrain making the already-dodgy air quality even dodgier?

BY: - April 25, 2023

Outside the Mon Valley, Southwestern Pennsylvanians are still subject to the whims of earth and wind, although experts say it’s hard to generalize about the ways air pollution is dispersed and concentrated.

DEP outlines a path for Pa. to hit ‘100 percent’ of Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction goal

BY: - January 6, 2022

The announcement by the state Department of Environmental Protection comes after a litany of criticism and legal challenges from neighboring states Virginia and Maryland, the District of Columbia, and environmental advocacy groups that the Keystone State wasn’t meeting its fair share of the cleanup burden. 

Bay states file suit against EPA for failing to hold Pa., N.Y. accountable for Chesapeake Bay restoration targets

BY: and - September 10, 2020

The lawsuit has been in the works since May, when the three-jurisdiction coalition notified the EPA it intended to sue the agency. Federal law requires any party attempting to take legal action against a federal agency to first notify the government and then wait at least 60 days before filing a suit to provide an opportunity to resolve the dispute outside of court. 

Md., other states push EPA to force stricter pollution standards for Pa. power plants

BY: - June 17, 2020

The regional Ozone Transport Commission voted 9-2 on June 3 to send Maryland’s petition to the EPA. Pennsylvania and Virginia voted no, while New York and Maine abstained.