The Allegheny Front

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.      

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. We visit a glass recycling plant in Western Pennsylvania. We also go underground for a tour of a cool tourist attraction in Potter County, the Coudersport Ice Mine, whose owners say they've had their best summer this year.