NEWS

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) today adopted an emergency rule limiting volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and, as a co-benefit, methane emissions from existing conventional oil and gas sources, which will lower air pollution from conventional oil and gas sources in the commonwealth. 

The regulation mirrors a final-omitted regulation that the EQB adopted on October 12, and that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approved on November 17. 

Under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), Pennsylvania has until December 16, to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a State Implementation Plan, including regulations covering VOC emissions for all required oil and gas sources. 

Governor Tom Wolf determined that this emergency certified final-omitted rulemaking is necessary to ensure the commonwealth complies with the CAA and with Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Control Act. The emergency rulemaking was undertaken after the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted to review the final-omitted version of the regulation, causing a delay in the regulatory process that would extend beyond the December 16 deadline. 

If the commonwealth does not submit this rulemaking to the EPA as a State Implementation Plan revision by December 16, federal highway funding will be withheld until the submission is made. For the upcoming fiscal year, federal highway funds subject to these sanctions are estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars in “nonattainment areas” – regions that have not met air quality standards for ozone – in the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and the EPA have identified several hundred projects in nonattainment areas that would not receive funding and would therefore not be completed or would be subject to delay. 

The Regulatory Review Act (RRA) allows an agency to immediately implement a final-omitted regulation when the Governor certifies that promulgation is necessary to respond to an emergency circumstance specified in the RRA. Today, November 30, Governor Tom Wolf issued a Certification of Need for Emergency Regulation finding that this rulemaking is required to prevent “the need for supplemental or deficiency appropriations of greater than $1,000,000.” (71 P.S. § 745.6(d)). 

The emergency rulemaking establishes the VOC emission limitations for existing conventional oil and gas sources based on Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) requirements consistent with the EPA’s recommendations. The EPA defines RACT as “the lowest emission limitation that a particular source is capable of meeting by the application of control technology that is reasonably available considering technological and economic feasibility.” 

These sources include natural gas-driven continuous bleed pneumatic controllers, natural gas-driven diaphragm pumps, reciprocating compressors, centrifugal compressors, fugitive emissions components and storage vessels installed at conventional well sites, gathering and boosting stations and natural gas processing plants, as well as storage vessels in the natural gas transmission and storage segment. 

This rulemaking will be effective upon notice or publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.   

View the regulatory package and other material from the November 30 Environmental Quality Board meeting.  

At 3:10 PM on Tuesday, Wellsboro Fire Dept. was dispatched to 32 Central Avenue for a natural gas leak.

At 3:02 PM on Tuesday, Port Allegany ambulance has been dispatched to North Main Street for a medical alarm activation.

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that a new Pennsylvania law has changed the grading of certain offenses for driving under the influence (DUI), adding more stringent penalties for these violations.

“This law makes significant changes to existing law that will ultimately increase the protection of all drivers by keeping repeat offenders from continuing to operate a vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol after being charged with a DUI,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “Repeating these offenses puts others at risk and these law changes reflect the severity of these acts to make our roads safer.”

The legislation created Act 59 of 2022 – referred to as “Deana’s Law” – which amends the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code by increasing the grading for certain DUI offenses, requiring consecutive sentencing for certain repeat DUI offenders, and imposing an 18-month driving privilege suspension for a DUI conviction graded as a felony of the second degree.

Under the new law, an individual charged with DUI (general impairment) who refuses a breath or chemical test or who is charged with DUI with a BAC of .16 or higher or a DUI involving controlled substances, and already has the following number of prior offenses, commits:

• A felony of the third-degree for two prior offenses (previously two or more prior offenses); and
• A felony of the second-degree for three or more prior offenses (previously a third-degree felony).

The felonies mentioned above are classified as follows:

• A felony of the third degree is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than seven years; and
• A felony of the second degree is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years.    

Another change under this law is that a sentence imposed on an individual for a DUI offense who has two or more prior offenses shall be served consecutively to any other sentence the individual is serving or any other sentence imposed by the court, except for violations that are required to be merged. In addition, the law provides for a sentencing enhancement in cases where an individual has four or more prior DUI offenses. 

“Driving impaired puts everyone at risk, and repeat offenders disregard the risk they pose every time they get behind the wheel impaired,” said Major Robert Krol, director of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Patrol. “This law enhances penalties for those individuals, and hopefully they will think twice before reoffending.”

For more information on this law change, please visit the Driver and Vehicle Services website. Driver and vehicle online services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and include driver’s license, photo ID and vehicle registration renewals; driver-history services; changes of address; driver license and vehicle registration restoration letters; ability to pay driver license or vehicle insurance restoration fee; driver license and photo ID duplicates; and driver exam scheduling. There are no additional fees for using online services.

COMING SOON– SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2022 AT 12 PM – 3 PM. Santa will be in the cab of the museum’s Shay locomotive to listen to your holiday requests. Take an instant pic with St. Nick and make a special ornament for your tree. Cookies and hot coco will be served in the museum program room. Shop a holiday bazaar of local artisans. Admission: $5 Adult/$3 Youth, Free for Museum Members

Photo by John Eaton

Cheryl Hein Walters who plays the harp and is the director of Hamilton-Gibson’s Choir, Too is pictured with members of her choir during a rehearsal for the upcoming Dickens of a Concert. 

The Hamilton-Gibson Children and Youth Choirs, composed of students in the second through the twelfth grades, will help kick off Wellsboro’s Dickens of a Christmas weekend with their annual Dickens of a Concert on Friday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Central Avenue in Wellsboro. 

The concert will open with Choir, Too, the Children’s Concert Choir and the Youth Ensemble singing the “Antiphonal Deck the Hall” and “Amen, Go Tell It!”, a traditional spiritual.

The audience will then join the choirs in singing “Joy to the World.”

Choir, Too, accompanied on harp by Cheryl Hein Walters, their director, will perform “What Child is This” and, accompanied by Gary Citro on drum, will sing “African Noel.” Citro is the piano accompanist for all three Hamilton-Gibson choirs.

The Children’s Concert Choir and Choir, Too will then sing “Winter Fantasy, which includes “Jingle Bells.”

The Children’s Concert Choir will perform “One December, Bright and Clear” and “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and join the Youth Ensemble in singing “Cold Snap.” Thomas Putnam directs both of these choirs.

The audience and choirs will sing “O Come, All Ye Faithful” followed by guest soloist Laureen Wolgemuth, soprano, performing “O Holy Night.”

The Youth Ensemble will sing “Some Children See Him” with Wolgemuth as soloist and then “Past Three O’Clock (Carol of the “London Waits”) and “January Hymn.”

After the audience and choirs sing Hark! The Herald Angel”, the concert will end with the three choirs accompanied by hand bells and drums performing “Sing for Peace” by Jim Papoulis and Francisco Nunez of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. The word “peace” will be sung in eight different languages. 

Tickets can be purchased online at hgp.booktix.com or at the door. Admission is $10 for adults; and $5 for students and children,18 and under.

For more information about the concert, call 570-724-2079 or email hamgib@gmail.com.

Hunters Sharing the Harvest is Pennsylvania’s venison donation program. Hunters can share their extra venison through a statewide network of participating butchers to food pantries and community assistance centers across the state.

Hunters can drop off a whole field-dressed deer at one of the participating processors.

There is no fee to donate a deer thanks to sponsorship support from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Game Commission, business partners, sportsmen’s clubs, and thousands of individuals who provide much needed financial contributions each year.

All Pennsylvanians, whether they hunt or not, are urged to donate tax-deductible financial contributions to the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program to help meet the cost of processing deer for the program. For every $25 donated, 100 meals can be served.

Outdoor recreation contributed $13.64 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy, accounting for 152,000 jobs, and 1.6 percent of the commonwealth’s Gross Domestic Product, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis statistics.

“This latest round of economic data proves again that the excellence of Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation is the product of our remarkable landscapes and strong partnerships,” Pennsylvania Director of Outdoor Recreation Nathan Reigner said.

“Outdoor recreation continues to be a thriving and significant industry within the commonwealth; and this data helps us better understand what we are doing well, while also providing guidance on where we can grow this industry.”

The $13.6 billion that outdoor recreation added to the commonwealth’s Gross Domestic Product is up 22 percent from 2020; and the increase of 2,000 full-time equivalent jobs is up 4 percent from 2020. Read more…

By: Rutul Dalal, M.D.
Infectious Disease, UPMC

‘Tis the season for holiday gatherings where we share food, time together, and germs. No matter where you are, keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself from germs that can make you sick. Regularly washing your hands or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water aren’t readily available helps keep you and those around you healthy.

The CDC recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. That’s about as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice. It’s important to use soap and water and consider your technique. Turn one palm upward under the nozzle of the soap bottle and pump out some soap with the other hand. Rub your palms all over, including the fingernails, and then rinse it under running water to wash off. When you’re done, dry your hands using a paper or cloth towel and you the towel to turn off the spigot. If you are using a paper towel, dispose of it.

Water and soap may not always be immediately accessible, and in these cases using an alcohol-band hand sanitizer is adequate. Ensure the sanitizer contains at least 60% alcohol. Squirt a dime to quarter-size amount in the palm of your hand and then rub all surfaces of your hands and fingers until dry.

When to Wash

You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy by washing your hands often, especially during these key times when you are likely to get and spread germs:

• Before, during, and after preparing food
• Before and after eating food
• Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick
• Before and after treating a cut or wound
• Before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the restroom
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
• After handling pet food or pet treats
• After touching garbage
• After touching objects or surfaces that may be frequently touched by other people, such as door handles, tables, gas pumps, shopping carts, or electronic cashier registers/screens

Explaining Germs to Kids

While you want your kids to be aware of hygiene and what causes illness in them, you should not instill fear in them about germs. The concept of germs is abstract for children, but important as teaching them about germs and explaining hygiene make it easy for you to keep them healthy. Kids often think that germs are bugs, insects, or something gross. Explain to them what they are and start with the basics and expand as they grow.

Start teaching proper hand hygiene at a young age when we’re teaching other hygiene behaviors (bathroom, kitchen/food preparation) to help connect the dots to the children that germs are everywhere, and we always need to be practicing proper hygiene. Young children learn by imitating the behaviors of adults in their lives. When you make handwashing part of your routine, you’re setting an example for your children to follow.

An important step of teaching about germs for kids that many parents miss: Having your child repeat back to you what you said, so that you know that they understand it. This step can help you clear up any misunderstandings before they take root. This will help you cater the discussion to what your child is not only retaining but also understanding.

Watch out for overkill. While it’s important to teach our kids about basic hygiene, some kids are prone to going overboard. In general, parents should have a relaxed, matter-of-fact attitude towards germs and cleanliness – while washing your hands after using the bathroom should be sacrosanct, keeping your hands completely clean at all times is not only unreasonable, it also may be unhealthy.

Rutul Dalal, M.D., is the medical director of UPMC Infectious Disease in North Central Pa. and sees patients at UPMC Williamsport, 700 High St., Williamsport.