The Allegheny Front

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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!