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It’s election day… bill to increase well plugging signed into law…Both drivers hurt in Elk County collision….Truck driver cited for  hit and run in Elk County….

Statewide

Unless you are living in a cave without electricity or the internet, you know it’s election day. Voters across the country will be selecting US senators, members of congress, governors, and a host of state officials. There is a lot of interest in Pennsylvania’s US Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz. With the US senate currently  tied, a victory by OZ could tip the tables in favor of Republicans. Fetterman’s early lead

has diminished and some polls are favoring Oz in what is now a neck and neck contest.  Early voting has been going on for a couple of weeks here in Pennsylania and the supreme court has ruled that mail in ballots with no date or the wrong date on the envelope shall not be counted. However, the ruling is likely to be tested in court. Polls open at 7:00 am and close at 8:00 pm. All registered voters can vote.

Working to increase the number of orphan wells being plugged in the Commonwealth, the General Assembly has passed and the governor signed into law new measures to help achieve that goal, according to Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter), a leading advocate of the measure.Act 136 of 2022 builds on a law Causer authored earlier this year creating a grant program for entities that plug abandoned wells. Under the new law, grants of $40,000 will be awarded for plugging wells with a depth of less than 3,000 feet, or the actual cost to the well plugger, whichever is less. Grants of $70,000, or the actual cost, whichever is less, will be provided for plugging wells deeper than 3,000 feet.

“We haven’t been making much of a dent in plugging the more than 200,000 orphan wells estimated to exist in the Commonwealth,” Causer said. “Some years, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is plugging as few as five. Increasing grant funds available for well plugging using federal infrastructure money should accelerate our well-plugging efforts, benefitting both the environment and our communities.”

In addition, Act 136 requires DEP to allow any Pennsylvania company to bid for a contract it will award for well plugging, regardless of the size of the company. A Pennsylvania company would be defined as a business that has its main offices or headquarters in the Commonwealth and conducts at least 50% of its business activities here, or one that will bid for contracts for plugging oil or gas wells and subcontract the work through a competitive bidding process.

The law takes effect in 60 days.

Elk County

Minor injuries were reported for both drivers involved in a minor collision Saturday afternoon in Fox Township. State police say a 2018 Lexus driven by  Dequana Waddell of Portsmouth Virginia  brushed up  against a 2008 Jeep driven by Joseph Cenni of Ridgway on the Pennfield Road while going south. Both drivers were taken to Penn Highlands Dubois by ambulance.

An East Liverpool, OH truck driver has been cited for hit and run Monday morning in Fox Township. Troopers say Scott Davis was trying to turn around on Limestone Run Road at the Brandy Camp Treatment Plant towing a dual axel trailer and hit a wooden fence disabling two of the four tires on the trailer. Police said Davis continued south on Coal Hollow Road until he reached his destination at the Greentree Landfill Road and failed to stop and provide information.