The Allegheny Front

We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: Some of our favorite stories from 2025 from across Pennsylvania: A nonprofit hopes to help landowners reclaim mineland in Appalachia by planting trees and selling carbon credits. The site of a recently retired coal plant in Indiana County is getting a new life – as a data center. What impact will this have on the electric grid, and the local community? River otters have made a comeback in Pennsylvania. Trout in the Classroom participants said goodbye to their aquatic classmates. Students learn the power of farm to table. Proponents of sustainable clothing hope U.S. tariffs will persuade people to buy second hand. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: A former dairy farmer turned musician uses his story to get others in agriculture to talk about their feelings and find healing. And how a man has kept his appointment with the sunrise every morning, for years. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: How nature-based learning inspires human creativity. Pennsylvania is among the states suing the Trump administration over funding for electric vehicle chargers. We head out into the wilds of Pennsylvania with the people who keep an eye on the state's bears. We speak with the author of a collection of stories where bears are recurring characters. The US Environmental Protection Agency heard testimony in Pittsburgh about proposed changes to the Clean Water Act. A controversial data center has the green light to move forward with construction at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Allegheny County. Three Mile Island is at the center of the Trump administration's push for new nuclear energy projects to power the ongoing race to advance artificial intelligence. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: A new nature preserve is dedicated to saving an ancient creature that lives in our region, the eastern hellbender salamander. The Trump administration is looking to scale back federal protections for endangered species and wetlands. It also announced plans to roll back fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, citing affordability. Penn State students made a documentary about plans to build a new roadway that will impact agricultural land, and students presented projects at an annual environmental symposium at Westminster College. Chesapeake Bay officials elected Gov. Josh Shapiro to lead a regional agreement to help clean and restore the waterway. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: Drilling for oil and gas creates waste that can contain heavy metals and radioactivity, and much of it is sent to the same landfills as our household trash. An investigation into how contamination from shale drilling waste can move from landfills into waterways without much oversight. Treating drinking water to prevent lead contamination might have the unintended consequence of higher phosphorus levels in urban waterways. Researchers are working to figure out the balance between how much carbon forests emit and how much they absorb. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has reached a $3.3 million agreement over decades-old contamination at a petroleum storage facility in Pittsburgh. U.S. Steel has agreed to pay a fine in a settlement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for pollution in the Monongahela River. The Trump administration has reversed course again on a new air pollution rule for coke oven plants. Older adults who live in southcentral Pennsylvania have higher rates of melanoma skin cancer, according to a study by Penn State researchers. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: An Allegheny County borough plans to vote next month on a plan to build a massive data center on the site of a former power plant. The U.S. has the largest collection of apples in the world – about 5,000 varieties. How cuttings from old apple tree varieties could have rare genes that fight off new threats to our food supply. A festival in central Pennsylvania celebrates the American chestnut while educating about its conservation struggles. Considering the sticker price of eggs, some in Pennsylvania are substituting other foods for eggs at breakfast. We head to a cabin in the woods to unplug. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: The Ohio River Basin is poised for a multi-year ecological restoration after decades of industrial pollution, but only if Congress decides to fund it. Constellation Energy's project to restart a nuclear reactor at the former Three Mile Island plant in Dauphin County is getting a one billion dollar loan from the federal government. Allegheny County Council voted unanimously to approve a series of fee increases for facilities that produce air pollution. Ohio's Great Black Swamp might hold the key to reducing pollution in the Great Lakes. The first leg of a new trail system in Centre County, Pennsylvania, is ready for visitors. A percussionist from Brazil turns discarded objects into musical instruments. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: The Trump administration is looking to boost coal production, and one company is planning to expand its coal mine in Western Pennsylvania. But some neighbors aren't on board. Energy efficiency tax credits that help the climate and people's budgets are expiring. But there's still a little time for consumers to act. The Pennsylvania budget deal meant getting rid of a major climate initiative. Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to stop the expansion of a major natural gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Fifty years ago, the pride of the Great Lakes, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, sank with its crew. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! The Pennsylvania natural gas company CNX is suing a California-based news outlet for defamation in federal court over an article the news site published about the company's voluntary air monitoring initiative. A fungal disease has been killing hibernating bats in Pennsylvania. We'll hear from some of the people trying to save bats in the state. A group of seniors is using their retirement to track microplastics in streams and in the lab. A writer contemplates the legacy of the trash she finds on her Westmoreland County farm. A natural gas driller, Senceca Resources, is facing criminal charges over its fracking operations in North Central Pennsylvania. A new, animated map shows how pollution spreads from more than 9,500 industrial sources worldwide. A new study shows America's "founding fish," the migratory American shad, is declining in the Delaware River. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: The round goby is a little fish causing big problems in Lake Erie. Pennsylvania is looking to anglers to help stop the invasive fish from spreading to inland waterways. In 1960, a diplomatic gift of 18 bluegill fish from the U.S. would change the underwater world of Japan forever. East Palestine, Ohio, residents got some results recently from research on the ongoing impact of the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment. The DEP has issued a draft Clean Air Act permit to a natural gas-fired power plant in Westmoreland County, but the state has so far declined to host a public hearing. A zero-waste saw mill has opened in Allegheny County for fallen urban trees that would otherwise go to a landfill. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

We’re asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: Conservationists used fire to manage habitat in an Allegheny County meadow. The practice goes back centuries to Indigenous peoples. High-pressure water used in a maintenance procedure on a valve led to a fatal explosion in August at U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works. A Pittsburgh-area manufacturer of next-generation batteries will expand operations next year. State lawmakers are considering how to prepare for an increase in data centers, looking to build in Pennsylvania. And potato chips are getting pricey. Is growing potatoes amid a climate crisis part of the reason? A native growing group trying to convince the neighbors to tackle yard work more naturally. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

We’re asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: Our series about the Monongahela River continues with a look at pollution from a chemical plant along its banks. There is reporting that the hydrogen hubs planned for Pennsylvania might be scrapped under the Trump administration. We talk with the editor of a new magazine about recreation and the outdoors in our region. Three Pennsylvania cities were named among the worst places in the country for people living with asthma. Pennsylvania is rolling out the opportunity to glamp in eight state parks. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

We’re asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: The Monongahela River is still an industrial river. That doesn’t stop people from using it for recreation, like open swimming. A new study looks at how climate change has impacted streams that native trout rely on. Water quality in Pennsylvania streams is being hindered by aging dams, many of which are dangerous and obsolete. The Trump administration has reversed course and decided not to delay Biden-era rules limiting air pollution from the steel industry. Train derailments in the Pittsburgh region are more likely to happen in disadvantaged communities and near waterways. Pennsylvania lawmakers have passed a flood disclosure bill to help prospective home buyers recognize the risks of property located in flood-prone areas. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

We’re asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: Drilling for shale gas creates tons of potentially toxic solid waste. Much of it now goes to landfills, making it harder to keep fracking waste out of Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams. As our series about the Mon continues, a project mapping the river hopes it will bring more people into advocacy for its health and future. As the Trump administration dismantles environmental justice initiatives, we hear from a leader in the movement. And, the board investigating the August explosion at the Clairton Coke Works says the incident happened when a crew performed maintenance on a cracked gas valve. Pennsylvania's state House voted to create a state-backed insurance program to cover andslides and sinkholes. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

We’re in the midst of our Fall Member Drive. We’re asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: This week on The Allegheny Front, our series about the Monongahela River continues, as we look back at its industrial heyday from a pair of blast furnaces still standing along its banks. All of that heavy industry along the Mon has taken a toll. What's happening in the Mon's waters today? We take a tour of an unlikely attraction: a wastewater treatment plant. Plans for a new data center in Springdale in Allegheny County, were delayed by the borough’s planning commission. Governor Josh Shapiro weighs pulling Pennsylvania from the regional grid. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

We’re in the midst of our Fall Member Drive. We’re asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: We're launching a new series about the Monongahela River. From the mountains of West Virginia, through valleys, into downtown Pittsburgh, the Mon has seen industrial growth and decline, and weathered the pollution that came with it. The Mon and its tributaries are also home to wildlife facing new challenges, like the mussels of Dunkard Creek. Plus, we'll get a lesson on how to pronounce the river's name. Some electricity customers learned they've been paying hidden costs for power from two coal-fired power plants. Companies looking to build new power plants or factories may be able to start construction before getting required air pollution permits. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story. Food waste is a big climate problem. In Pittsburgh, you can drop off your food waste for composting at city-run farmers’ markets. A startup is helping restaurants, schools and hospitals manage their food waste with a digester that fits into a shipping container. The easiest way to compost your food scraps might just be in your own backyard. Dozens of schools in Pennsylvania are planning to build solar panels on their roofs despite federal tax credits ending early. A new report casts doubt on the economic impact of natural gas production in Appalachia. Some Pa. residents in counties impacted by last year's Tropical Storm Debby say they’re worried how the state will respond to future weather emergencies. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks!

Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story. This week on The Allegheny Front, we talk to a researcher who found that health improved for residents after the closure of a coke plant that processed coal for the steel industry. He said, "There was like a healing going on in the community as the cumulative impacts of the pollution were reduced." We visit a glass recycling plant in Western Pennsylvania. Even though "glass is infinitely recyclable, which other systems can't necessarily tout," Pennsylvania is behind other states when it comes to glass recycling. We also go underground for a tour of a cool tourist attraction in Potter County — the Coudersport Ice Mine, whose owners say this summer has been their best yet. Plus, we have environmental news about a settlement to clean up plastic pollution in a tributary of the Ohio River, the restoration of funding for the federal electric vehicle charging station program and a study that says fracking hasn't been all that good for the regional economy. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks!

Sign up for our newsletter! Farmers at an agricultural summit voiced concerns over how new tariffs might affect their customers who buy locally. With air monitors, an environmental group is publishing real-time pollution data for people who live near the ethane cracker and other industries in Beaver County. A Pittsburgh-based environmental group has issued a formal notice of intent to sue companies for polluting the Allegheny River with oil. Several dozen steelworkers and supporters marched in Downtown Pittsburgh to call for safer workplaces. Pennsylvania's elk cam has started up again for the rutting season. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks!

Sign up for our newsletter! A computer scientist wanted to build a watch using a living organism. What ended up working was slime mold. An environmental history book about Pennsylvania aims to include multiple perspectives. A new study says schools across Pennsylvania aren't addressing environmental hazards in their buildings. The campgrounds at Raystown Lake closed because of a freeze on hiring workers are reopening on a phased schedule. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks!