The Allegheny Front

There's a movement to slow down data center development in Pennsylvania, but state lawmakers weren't ready to repeal a key tax exemption. People who live near a gas processing facility in rural Pennsylvania are against its plans to expand. Operations have been stopped at four injection wells for fracking wastewater in southeastern Ohio, at the request of state regulators. Forests in Allegheny and Fayette Counties are also now part of the Old-Growth Forest Network. A new book explores the beauty of Pennsylvania's natural wonders.

How a Bedford County community benefitted when two dams were removed. A court rules in favor of a stricter ambient air pollution standard to protect public health. Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity was in Western Pennsylvania to discuss data centers and criticize Governor Josh Shapiro. An artist provides tips for finding colorful beach glass on your next trip to Lake Erie. Pennsylvania’s elk country is featured on the season premiere of  Discovery Channel show “RV There Yet?.” A week-long camp provides community, support and fun for young campers with brain injuries.

As our nation celebrates its founding, we're looking at where the environment and history meet. This summer 70 paddlers in kayaks and canoes took a trip down the Delaware River, including the spot where Washington crossed in 1776. A group of Pennsylvania residents is working to revive the colonial practice of growing flax one square yard at a time. We'll hear about an effort to preserve the records of a Pennsylvania coal company. An environmental history book about Pennsylvania aims to include multiple perspectives. Plus, a bill introduced in the U.S. House could help coal miners disabled by black lung disease. Cases of alpha-gal syndrome, which causes a red meat and dairy allergy from tick bites, have been showing up around Pennsylvania.

When the Army Corps of Engineers removed a dam on the Monongahela River a couple of years ago, the water level dropped more than some businesses expected. Researchers are working on buoys that combat harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie by releasing an algaecide. Council members in a Jefferson County borough are putting a nearly six-month pause on data center development, and state lawmakers have passed three measures this week to pump the brakes on data center development. Environmental groups say recent investments announced by Nippon Steel for its US Steel plants in the Pittsburgh area won’t do much to improve the region’s air quality. How restaurants are managing recycling, composting and sustainability, and training customers along the way.

Opposition to data center development has been growing in Pennsylvania. We hear from an investigative reporter on Governor Shapiro's office offer to streamline the permitting process for Amazon. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is accepting public comment on a proposed water pollution permit for a coal mine planned in western Pennsylvania. Researchers are bringing back a nearly extinct beetle that buries dead animals.

This week, we look at the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, who has been called the godfather of the environmental movement. We interview the directors of a new Ken Burns documentary about Thoreau, his evolution as a thinker, philosopher of the natural world and abolitionist. Affordable solar power could be coming to a balcony near you. That is, if Pennsylvania lawmakers legalize so-called "balcony solar." A festival celebrating frogs returns to Central Pennsylvania. Nippon Steel's new investment in U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh-area plants prompts questions.

Passenger pigeons were once the most abundant bird in North America. But in 1914, they went extinct. Most of their last nesting grounds hugged the Great Lakes. What was it like to experience these birds? And what are we left with when we lose a species? This special episode is from Points North, a podcast about the land, water, and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.

Pollution from the Pittsburgh airport has found its way into a nearby stream. Scientists are looking into how PFAS forever chemicals got there and what happens next. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would give Pennsylvania nearly $40 million to address PFAS contamination in drinking water; at the same time the agency also said it would roll back PFAS regulations. Researchers have found a link between the temperature outside and kidney disease. New railroad-safety reforms have made headway in Washington D.C., three years after the rail disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. Governor Josh Shapiro is making the rounds to talk about his policies on data centers after releasing final standards for the industry. In Pittsburgh you can drop off your food waste at city-run farmers’ markets. 

This week, a special show of award-winning and recognized stories. What advocates and residents who live near U.S. Steel plants are saying about the Trump administration's policies on the pollution drifting into their communities. A nature preserve is dedicated to saving an ancient creature that lives in our region: the hellbender salamander. The Monongahela River has been – and still is – an industrial river. That doesn’t stop people from using it for recreation, like swimming.

The U.S. Forest Service is planning a massive overhaul that includes closing research stations in Pennsylvania. What's at stake? Some residents and environmental groups oppose the Pennsylvania Turnpike's proposal to reroute the highway over wildlife habitat. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are turning food waste like egg shells and mango skins into building materials. Fruit growers across Pennsylvania have experienced partial to total losses of their 2026 crops. Pittsburgh’s 2030 District says its building owners are beating their climate goals ahead of schedule. A new report finds Pennsylvania’s use of solar energy is on the rise, but the state still falls behind the rest of the country in putting more renewable energy on the grid.