Latest Stories
Advocates call new law allowing more lead in school drinking water a ‘backslide’
A Pennsylvania state budget provision loosens schools' reporting requirements for lead in water, from zero to 5 parts per billion.
Data center growth could mean blackouts in coming years, Pa. utility regulators say
New data centers added across the PJM region in one year alone could use more electricity than the entire state of Pennsylvania uses today.
Film fest in Pittsburgh puts spotlight on train crash, pipeline fight
The Allegheny Front is a sponsor of the Backyard Docs Film Festival that opens Thursday, September 24.
Author writes a love letter to her western Pennsylvania farm
Daryln Brewer Hoffstot's Westmoreland County farm is the inspiration for her latest book, "This Patch of Earth: Observations on a Rural Life."
Federal energy officials praise Duquesne Light efforts to make electric grid more resilient
Duquesne Light Company is preparing to install tens of thousands of smart meters to help identify problems that can lead to outages.
Shapiro calls on Trump to regulate artificial intelligence development
At a conference in Pittsburgh, Gov. Shapiro called for the federal government to rein in the development of AI.
Chimney Swifts Put on a Show Before Fall Migration
“It’s like watching smoke go back down a chimney. It’s amazing.”
Inadequate safety and training led to 2025 blast at Shell’s ethane cracker, federal safety board finds
The agency found one of the engineers who initiated the procedure that precipitated the explosion “had never previously performed the task.”
EPA announces rollback of climate pollution rules for power plants
The announcement is the latest in a back-and-forth between Democratic and Republican administrations over whether or not to limit power plants’ greenhouse gas pollution.
Latest Allegheny Front Episodes
Episode for September 25, 2026
At a conference promoting AI in Pittsburgh, Governor Shapiro said that while he still sees promise in AI technology we cannot ignore the warning signs nor downplay the risks of the industry. Meanwhile, there is a movement in communities across Pennsylvania to slow down the data center development that powers AI, including a town in Westmoreland County where the community os already dealing with fracking. Pennsylvania utility regulators say unchecked data center growth could threaten the reliability of the regional grid within the next five years. The threshold has been raised for the amount of lead in a school ’s water that Pennsylvania districts have to report.
Episode for September 18, 2026
Documentaries that are part of a film festival about Appalachia and the Rust Belt look at East Palestine after the derailment and the fight against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. In her new book, an author writes a love letter to her western Pennsylvania farm. Spetember is when birders flock to see chimney swifts roost. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board found inadequate safety and training protocols led to a 2025 explosion and fire at Shell’s Beaver County plastics plant. The Environmental Protection Agency has eliminated rules to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that burn fossil fuels. Governor Shapiro says President Donald Trump must act to more closely regulate artificial intelligence.
Episode for September 11, 2026
The U.S. Forest Service wants to repeal a rule that prohibits new roads and logging in some sections of National Forest land. A grove of trees at the Flight 93 National Memorial serves as a living monument to the passengers and crew who died there on 9-11. A group of friends hiked and looked for reassurance in nature and one another on September 12th, 2001. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has fined Shell $15 million for air quality violations at its Beaver County plastics plant. Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal now has an official designation as a green building. Our Environmental Travel Guide through Pennsylvania continues with one of western Pennsylvania's most scenic forests.
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