Pittsburgh City Council is one step closer to approving the acceptance of two separate grant awards from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to add electric cars to the city’s car fleet and build electric car infrastructure.

Under the legislation, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jennifer Presutti will have the authority to accept the money awarded from the DEP grants and carry out the programs. The bills passed out of the Finance and Law Committee unanimously Wednesday, and will see a final vote by Council on Tuesday.

The House State Government committee and other legislators who are involved with related issues held a hearing at Susquehanna University to investigate the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) and its fees and regulations in Pennsylvania.

All but one testifier identified problems with the fees and regulations that the SRBC creates on public and private large water sources in the commonwealth.

The SRBC was created in January 1970 through the legislatures of New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Federal Government to maintain and conserve the Susquehanna River basin through a compact. 

Pittsburgh City Council passed a resolution supporting proposed measures by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to curb methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations across the state.

Councilman Dan Gilman (District 8) introduced the resolution at Wednesday morning’s city council meeting and it was passed by a 7-0 vote. Council President Bruce Kraus (District 3) and Councilman Corey O’Connor (District 5) were not present at Wednesday’s meeting.

“We know we have a major air quality issue in Western Pennsylvania, and I think basic protections to make sure that we’re controlling ethane leaks and more regularly monitoring for such leaks is in everyone’s best interest,” Gilman said.

The Senate Majority Policy Committee and Senate Environmental Resource and Energy Committee held a joint hearing Wednesday morning on Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry, where they heard from industry insiders on the difficulties they face in dealing with Pennsylvania’s regulatory environment.

Pennsylvania has grown to be the second in natural gas production behind Texas, according Policy Committee Chairman Sen. David Argall (R-Berks). 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced Tuesday that its rulemaking arm—the Environmental Quality Board—will be examining a proposal at its Wednesday meeting to increase fees for new and amended water permits and implement annual fees for community water systems, non-community water systems, and bottled, vended, retail and bulk water suppliers in order to hire more water quality inspectors.