AP
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania environmental regulators are pursuing a record $8.9 million fine against a Texas-based energy company they say repeatedly failed to repair a natural-gas well that contaminated groundwater and a stream in the north-central part of the state. The Department of Environmental Protection announced the fine Tuesday against Range Resources, whose 5,000-plus wells make it the most active drilling company in Pennsylvania.
Range last year paid $4.2 million for violations at a western Pennsylvania well, the largest fine for a company operating in the state. The department says the odorless gas methane was detected in private water supplies and a stream following drilling and hydraulic fracturing in Lycoming County in 2011. It cited Range in 2013 and again in May for failing to repair the well and devise a remediation plan. The company says any methane contamination is not its fault.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says it won’t start running the insurance marketplace created by the 2010 health care law if the Supreme Court allows federal health insurance subsidies to keep flowing to hundreds of thousands in Pennsylvania. Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan said Tuesday that the administration’s application to the federal government is strictly a contingency plan.
Sheridan’s comments come a day after the Obama administration gave conditional approval to Pennsylvania to expand its role in running the marketplace. Plaintiffs in a lawsuit before the Supreme Court say the Obama administration is unlawfully providing subsidies to millions who buy insurance through federally run marketplaces, like the one in Pennsylvania. If the court agrees, federal subsidies could continue to flow to states that run their own marketplaces, keeping insurance premiums lower.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania state lawmakers are considering which changes to make to a law that requires background checks for people who work with children. The House began debate Tuesday on amendments to the Child Protective Services Law. Criminal background checks and child abuse clearances are required under a law enacted late last year for volunteers and people who work with children professionally.
The cost and effort required for the checks have raised complaints. The Wolf administration announced earlier this month it was waiving fees for volunteers and lowering them for others. The free or reduced-price policy doesn’t apply to the FBI checks required for people who work with children if they haven’t lived in the state continuously for 10 years.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A measure to impose another 65 cents per phone line and $52 per household has the approval of Pennsylvania state senators to help counties pay for the growing cost of their 911 emergency communications centers. The Senate passed the bill unanimously Tuesday. It goes to the House, where an earlier version passed last month, but without the $52 fee.
Under the Senate bill, the monthly fee phone line fee would rise from $1 a month to $1.65 on July 1. If a new law isn’t in place by the end of June, the $1-a-month fee will expire. Philadelphia or counties could also impose an additional fee of up to $52 per residential address per year. Estimates by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency say the $1.65 fee would generate $314 million a year.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Joe Paterno is finally a hall of famer in the state where his status as a coaching legend was hurt by Penn State’s child sex abuse scandal. The late football coach was elected Tuesday to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame along with former players Chuck Fusina and Matt Bahr. Organizers say Paterno was approached about two decades ago but shied from the attention and wasn’t sure he could make the ceremony, which usually falls on a football Saturday.
Paterno was fired in November 2011 amid fallout from the Jerry Sandusky child-sex abuse scandal. He died months later. Organizers approached Paterno’s family this year and they agreed to let him on the ballot. His son, Jay, is expected to accept on his behalf. Paterno is already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, a two-time national champion and five-time coach of the year.
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