PEC Examines Pennsylvania’s Priorities on “Environmental Focus”

Contact: Alex Oltmanns
Date: August 18, 2016
Phone: (412) 481-9400
Email: [email protected]

Pittsburgh – The environmental priorities facing Pennsylvania and state regulators are the subject of discussion in August’s edition of “Environmental Focus,” the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s (PEC) monthly environmental affairs television program.

The program will air on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 4 p.m.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Acting Secretary Patrick McDonnell, in one of his first interviews since assuming office, discusses some of the Department’s most pressing initiatives, from new regulations for natural gas drilling to implementation of the Clean Power Plan and improving the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.

“I’ve told my staff, ‘I’m not interested in models and plans, I’m interested in nitrogen, phosphorous, sediment, and how do we get it out of the Bay and what are the effective strategies to do that, wherever that takes us’” McDonnell said of DEP’s work in the Chesapeake Bay.

 

Following Acting Secretary McDonnell’s interview, a roundtable broadens the discussion to include a number of other environmental issues. The conversation is led by President of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation Marci Mowery, former DEP Secretary David Hess, now a director of policy and communications at Crisci Associates in Harrisburg, and PEC President Davitt Woodwell.

Previous editions of “Environmental Focus” have featured topics such as methane emissions from natural gas development, gas pipelines, diseased fish in the Susquehanna River, conservation of the Delaware River watershed, the Pennsylvania capital budget, and other topics.

Click here to view past episodes of “Environmental Focus.”

About the Pennsylvania Environmental Council

Founded in 1970, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council is the leading environmental organization in the state, and was instrumental in the passage of nearly every major piece of legislation and regulatory initiative affecting clean air, clean water, land use and conservation, hazardous materials, and other major public policy actions since that time. Today, the organization is heavily engaged in a number of critical initiatives surrounding the development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, trail and green space development, green energy and climate change programs, water quality, and watershed protection projects.

PEC serves the entire state with programs and staff spanning the Commonwealth.

About Pennsylvania Cable Network

PCN (the Pennsylvania Cable Network) is a Government-access television cable television network dedicated to 24-hour coverage of government and public affairs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It features live coverage of both Houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as well as other forms of informational and educational programming.

The bulk of PCN’s operations are located in Harrisburg, the Commonwealth capital, but it also has bureaus in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

For more information, visit www.pcntv.com.

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