Latest news with #KeepPennsylvaniaBeautiful
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Taking trash out: New litter boom to help clean water near Erie Water Works storm outfall
During Drinking Water Week from May 4-10, Erie Water Works and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful teamed up to take a cleaning initiative and install a 50-foot water litter boom at the Myrtle Street outfall. A litter boom is a large floating barrier designed to prevent litter from continuing downstream. The litter boom was installed May 8 at a storm outfall next to the Erie Water Works station. This storm outfall leads out to Lake Erie and the Presque Isle Bay area. "It's the proximity to our location," Craig Palmer, CEO of Erie Water Works said. "It's on our property and it's important to us that we're being leaders and leading by example, because if we're not doing it, who else is doing it? We need to be more intentional and more thoughtful. We can't just talk the talk, we have to walk the walk." The recently installed litter boom was just beginning to collect some refuse, mostly environmental items such as weeds and algae. Also on May 8, staff at Erie Water Works were out cleaning up the bay area around the Erie Water Works location. Staff members and volunteers dragged multiple pollutants from the bay area, including small mattresses, tires and bags of trash. More: How to take in the view from the 138-foot-high Bicentennial Tower deck in downtown Erie When participating in cleanups around Pennsylvania, Don Benczkowski, program coordinator from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, says that the most common item they clean up is cigarette butts. "They are all over the place," Benczkowski said, adding that he wished people would keep the cigarette buts in their vehicles or dispose of them properly. "One (cigarette) butt adds up to 60,000, which is what we found during an international clean up." Having a partner with Erie Water Works is something that Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful depends on for the environment. "For Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, we're dependent on volunteers and partnerships like Erie Water Works where they want to take part in making sure our local environment is clean and safe," Benczkowski said. "Erie Water Works is supplying clean drinking water to us, so it's extremely important in this area. ... They supply clean drinking water to over 200,000 people in this area, so if we can catch litter before it goes into the water here and various other locations, that's good for the environment." The litter boom installation was one event that Erie Water Works held to celebrate Drinking Water Week. Palmer said that Erie Water Works has unveiled a new water fountain in their lobby to raise awareness for drinking water and refillable water bottles. "We're going to be branding water fountains throughout the community to get the word out about drinking water," Palmer said. "Many people have doubts about tap water and some people turn to bottle water, thinking it's cleaner. I can assure you that it's not. It's not economical; tap water is less than a penny a gallon and the cheapest bottle of water is over 250 times more expensive." Palmer championed the benefits of tap water, saying it's not only economically smarter but safer for the environment. "When you consider the environmental impacts of the water bottle, 60 million are going out every day and less than 15% are being recycled," Palmer said. More: What issues can GIS mapping help solve? Creating safe walking routes in Erie is one of many Palmer also mentioned that Erie Water Works meets all federal and state drinking standards. "Every drop stands for consumption," Palmer said. Contact Nicholas Sorensen at nsorensen@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: New litter boom installation near Lake Erie to help capture pollution
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Erie Water Works, Keep Pa Beautiful unite to release litter control boom
A new litter control boom was installed Thursday morning to capture floating debris that might be entering Presque Isle Bay. That device was placed at the Myrtle Street outfall near the Erie Water Works, who partnered with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Carry the Load stops in Erie raising awareness for veterans' sacrifices The outfall deposits water from catch basins and roadways north of West 16th Street between Poplar and Sassafras Streets. Anything that enters storm drains in the 336-acre area comes out at the Myrtle Street outfall. 'Clean drinking water doesn't just happen. It starts with the source. Today, we're taking actionable items to prevent debris, trash, and other things from draining and going into our waterways,' said Craig Palmer, CEO of Erie Water Works. Saegertown residents turn trash into treasure for Make-A-Wish 'It's essentially designed to find out what we don't know because we're not sure what's coming into Presque Isle Bay from this location,' said Don Benczkowski, program coordinator for the Lake Erie Region of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. It's also Drinking Water Week, and 12 million people rely on Lake Erie for drinking water. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Centre and Elk County awarded over $5k for community projects
(WTAJ) — Two Central Pennsylvania counties are among the awardees that were granted over $30,000 to help support community projects. The projects were awarded as part of the 2025 National Pennsylvania Day Mini Grants. The winners will be using the funds, up to $4,000 for each project, to improve the community and engage with volunteers through a project. Projects could include park and cemetery improvements, revitalization efforts, plantings, painting of community assets, river sweeps, graffiti abatement, and murals. DCNR unveils new $321K park in Johnstown Here are the two local awardees: Centre County The Roland Curtin Foundation for the Preservation of Eagle Furnace was awarded $1,700 for the restoration of the Curtin Herb Garden. Elk County Benezette Township was awarded $4,000 for an improvement project at Benezette Park. The funding comes from the Pennsylvania Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial (America250PA), in partnership with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, EQT Corporation and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 'At America250PA, we believe the strongest legacy we can leave for the Semiquincentennial is a Commonwealth that shows up for one another,' Cassandra Coleman, Executive Director of America250PA said. 'Volunteerism isn't just something we do—it's who we are. For 250 years, Pennsylvanians have stepped up for each other in moments big and small. That's the legacy we're building on through our partnership with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, EQT, and PennDOT. By cleaning up our communities, we're reminding ourselves what it means to belong to one.' A full list of the 2025 awardees can be found on the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
CAPITOL ROUNDUP: Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful invites public to help 'Pick Up PA'
Mar. 29—WILKES-BARRE — As part of the Shapiro Administration's commitment to maintaining the Commonwealth's natural resources and enhancing tourism, Pennsylvanians are invited to register for the 2025 Pick Up Pennsylvania litter cleanup initiative. A collaborative effort among the Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation (PennDOT) and Environmental Protection (DEP) and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, Pick Up Pennsylvania offers civic-minded volunteers an opportunity to help keep their communities clean and free from litter. Litter can pollute streams and rivers with microplastics, degrading water quality and harming the fish, birds and wildlife that depend on healthy streams and rivers to thrive. Pick Up PA, an annual volunteer effort to clean up Pennsylvania roads, parks, streams and communities, represents Governor Shapiro's commitment to protecting Pennsylvania's cherished natural resources. Earlier this year the Shapiro Administration announced more than $15 million in funding to conserve and protect waterways and watersheds, reclaim abandoned mine sites, and plug abandoned wells. In 2024, more than 77,000 volunteers participated in Pick Up Pennsylvania. Over 3.2 million pounds of litter and trash were picked up, 4.5 million pounds of materials recycled, and more than 14,000 trees, flowers and other greens were planted. Also in 2024, PennDOT's Adopt-A-Highway program hosted nearly 23,000 volunteers belonging to 4,600 groups and supported the collection of more than 39,000 bags of trash from PA roadways. "Last fiscal year, PennDOT spent $18 million picking up litter along the 40,000 miles of state-owned roadways. The Shapiro Administration has made protecting the Commonwealth's environment a key focus, and we're proud to continue that work," said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. "The thousands of Pennsylvanians who volunteer their time to keeping litter out of our roads, parks and waterways are a key component to keeping PA beautiful, and there is always more work to be done." Shannon Reiter, president of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, said, "As we drive along the highways and back roads of Pennsylvania, it's easy to see the impact of litter. Litter affects our quality of life, the natural environment, and economic development in communities across the state." Information about the state's infrastructure and results the department is delivering for Pennsylvanians can be found at Rep. Meuser co-sponsors legislation to stop radical district court judges U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, this week co-sponsored H.R. 1526 — the No Rogue Rulings Act (NORRA) of 2025 — to prohibit district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions that he said reach far beyond their jurisdiction. The bill comes in response to U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's emergency order attempting to block the deportation of Venezuelan nationals, under the Alien Enemies Act, who are suspected members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. Rep. Meuser said this law gives the President power to detain, relocate, or deport non-citizens from countries that the U.S. is at war with. The Tren de Aragua gang is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and the Trump Administration has determined they are "conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States." Despite this, Rep. Meuser said Judge Boasberg's ruling has put such deportations of gang members on hold nationwide until April 12. There are currently 94 District Courts across the United States, each of which serves a small and specific geographic region. However, District Court judges currently have the ability to issue nationwide injunctions. Many have argued that this ability has led to what is often referred to as "judge shopping." Rep. Meuser said this is a legal strategy where plaintiffs file lawsuits in specific jurisdictions because they believe a particular judge is more likely to rule in their favor. Republicans argue this practice is being utilized to halt many aspects of President Trump's agenda as the majority of lawsuits against the administration have been filed in courts with historically liberal judges. Rep. Meuser said the No Rogue Rulings Act seeks to curb "judge shopping" by limiting a district court judge's ability to issue rulings that apply throughout the country. Higher courts in the federal system would still maintain this ability. "Since President Trump was sworn in, unelected activist judges have repeatedly attempted to block his agenda through nationwide injunctions," Rep. Meuser said. "These rulings often come from a single district judge and are the result of judge shopping — where plaintiffs seek out a favorable court to impose their will nationwide. The No Rogue Rulings Act is a straightforward legislative solution that restores proper judicial restraint and ensures that policy decisions are made by elected representatives, not individual judges. This legislation is about reinforcing the rule of law and keeping our courts focused on interpreting the law — not making it." H.R. 1526 will be considered on the House floor this upcoming week. State reminds SNAP recipients to change EBT card PINs The Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Office of State Inspector General (OSIG) today are reminding Pennsylvanians who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to change their EBT card PINs ahead of their monthly SNAP benefit distribution. "DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh said, "Do not become a victim of this crime. Make sure you change your PIN every month, and when you swipe your EBT card at a card reader, please make sure a skimming device is not attached." —By Phone: DHS' EBT Recipient Hotline is available at 1-888-EBT-PENN (1-888-328-7366) and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. —Online: Users can change their PIN online through DHS' EBT contractor, Conduent, via their Connect EBT website. Pennsylvanians are urged to take an extra look before swiping their card at a point-of-sale machine to ensure there is no skimming attachment. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Commissioners thank teacher and business for keeping county clean
POTTSVILLE — Schuylkill County Commissioners recently commended a volunteer and a business for the work they do to keep the community clean. Kaye Schwenk, a biology teacher and biology club adviser at Schuylkill Haven High School, and Hydro-Extrusions North America, a business in Cressona, were both thanked for their efforts. 'Schuylkill County is a great county,' said Commissioner Larry Padora. Schwenk, who received the Volunteer of the the Year award, is one of seven volunteers to receive the 2024 award from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Recipients get a certificate of recognition and glass tumblers made from recycled bottles. Hydro, which received the Community Partner Award, is one of seven community partners statewide to receive the honor, a certificate of recognition and a plaque from Schuylkill Keep It Pretty (SKIP), an affiliate of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Mandy Fitzpatrick, chairperson of SKIP, said Schwenk has contributed to the betterment of the county by her numerous efforts. Among her many accomplishments are participating for 24 years in highway litter cleanups in the county, leading tree plantings for 12 years with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and coordinating the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's trout classroom program and trout stocking efforts with the Schuylkill Headwaters and Schuylkill Haven Recreation Commission. Hydro, which has been participating by adopting a highway for more than 20 years, consistently sponsors events in which employees participate in litter cleanup. Employees collected 57 bags of trash in 2024 during fall cleanups along Route 61, according to a press release from SKIP. The company also has recycling initiatives and community sponsorships. Residents can join in spring cleanups April 26 through May 4 in Schuylkill County. Supplies will be provided. Email skiplitter@ for more information.
