Town of _____________
Warrant Article No. _____-2006
THE _____________ WATER RIGHTS AND LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT
ORDINANCE
Section 1. Name. The name of this Warrant Article shall be the “[Town] Water Rights Ordinance.”
Section 2. Preamble and Purpose. We the People of the Town of __________ declare that water is essential for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – both for people and for the ecological systems which give life to all species. We the People of the Town of ___________ declare that we have the duty to safeguard the water both on and beneath the Earth’s surface, and in the process, safeguard the rights of the people within the community of ___________, and the rights of the ecosystems of which __________ is a part. We the people of _____________ declare that all of our water is held in the public trust as a common resource to be used for the benefit of __________ residents and of the natural ecosystems of which _____________ residents are a part. We believe that the corporatization of water supplies in this community – placing the control of water in the hands of a corporate few, rather than the community – would usurp democratic processes and result in tyranny; and that we the people are therefore duty bound, under the _____________________ Constitution, to oppose such usurpation and tyranny. That same duty requires us to recognize that two centuries of governmental conferral of constitutional powers upon corporations has deprived people of the authority to govern their own communities, and requires us to take affirmative steps to remedy that usurpation of governing power.
Section 3. Authority. This Warrant Article is adopted and enacted pursuant to the authority granted to the people of the Town by all relevant state and federal laws including, but not limited to the following:
§ Language from State authorizing Constitutions and Statutes;
§ The Declaration of Independence, which declares that governments are instituted to secure people’s rights, and that government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed;
§ The General Comment of the United Nations Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which declares that “the human right to drinking water is fundamental to life and health. Sufficient and safe drinking water is a precondition to the realization of human rights.”
Section 4. Statement of Law. No corporation or syndicate shall engage in water withdrawals in the Town of ________________. The term “corporation” means any corporation organized under the laws of any state of the United States or any country. The term “syndicate” includes any limited partnership, limited liability partnership, business trust, or limited liability company organized under the laws of any state of the United States or any country. The term “engage” shall include, but not be limited to, the physical extraction of water, and the buying and/or selling of water extracted within the Town of _________________.
Section 5. Statement of Law. No corporation doing business within the Town of _________shall be recognized as a “person” under the United States or _________________Constitutions, or laws of the United States or __________________; and no corporation shall be afforded the protections of the Contracts Clause or Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, or similar provisions found within the ____________________Constitution, within the Town of ___________________.
Section 6. Exceptions. The people of the Town of ________________ hereby allow the following exceptions to the Statement of Law contained within §4 of this Warrant Article:
(1) Municipal authorities established under the laws of the State of _____________ engaged in water withdrawals providing water only to residential and commercial users within the Town of _____________________;
(2) Nonprofit educational and charitable corporations organized under state non-profit corporation law, and qualifying under §501(c)(3) of the federal Tax Code, which do not sell water withdrawn within the Town of ________________ outside of the Town of __________________;
(3) Utility corporations operating under valid and express contractual provisions in agreements entered into between the Town of ________________ and those utility corporations, for the provision of service within the Town of ______________________;
(4) Corporations operating under valid and express contractual provisions in agreements entered into between residents of the Town of _______________ and those corporations, when the withdrawn water is used solely for on-site residential, household, agricultural, or commercial facilities within the Town of _________________, as long as such commercial facilities do not withdraw water for sale outside of the Town of _________________, or purchase water withdrawn from the Town of ______________ for sale outside of the Town.
Section 7. Enforcement. Any corporation planning to engage in water withdrawals within the Town of _________________ must notify the Town of such activity at least sixty (60) days prior to engaging in water withdrawals. Such notification shall contain a claim to one of the exemptions listed in §6 of this Warrant Article. Any violation of this Ordinance shall be considered a criminal summary offense, and will subject the Directors of the noncompliant corporation to joint and several liability with the corporation itself. The Board of Selectmen of the Town of _____________authorizes a fine of up to $1,000.00 per violation. Each act of water withdrawal shall be considered a separate violation of this Ordinance. The Board of Selectmen of the Town of _________________ may also file an action in equity in the General Court for the Town of ________________ or any other Court of competent jurisdiction to abate any violation defined in Section 4 of this Ordinance. If the Selectmen of the Town of ____________ fail to bring an action to enforce this Ordinance, any resident of the Town has standing in front of the Court for enforcement.
Section 8 Severability. The provisions of this Warrant Article are severable, and if any section, clause, sentence, part, or provision thereof shall be held illegal, invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision of the court shall not affect, impair, or invalidate any of the remaining sections, clauses, sentences, parts or provisions of this Warrant Article. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the people of _____________ that this Warrant Article would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional section, clause, sentence, part, or provision had not been included herein.
Section 9. Effect. This Ordinance shall be effective immediately upon its enactment.