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State College

A Community-Rights  Campaign Overwhelmingly Succeeds!

In March 2011, a group of State College residents, led by Braden Crooks, was looking ahead over the next 5 years.  They realized within that time frame, the dangers of shale-gas drilling—the poisoned water supplies, the pollution, the destruction of the natural landscapes, the ruination of whole communities—would be at their doorstep. Rather than wait, rather than ignore the headlines from other parts of the region, rather than listen to party lines about how cleaner technologies are right around the corner, they met it head on, taking steps to ensure that the future of State College stays in the hands of its citizens.

They contacted CELDF and determined to write a Community Bill of Rights amendment to their municipal home rule charter, to guarantee the right to clean water, to clean air and a healthy, sustainable way of life, and to prohibit shale gas drilling and fracking.  With a Community Bill of Rights in place, they knew that they—the citizens of State College—would be taking charge of what happens within their community.

State College residents have the good fortune to live in a Home Rule Chartered community, meaning they have the power to amend their charter by popular vote.  And amend it they did—overwhelmingly.  After collecting the 1,000 signatures necessary to place the proposal to amend their charter on the ballot, they campaigned thoroughly and passionately, insisting the residents of State College have a right to a healthy environment, to sustainable energy systems and local policy to make them real, as well as a right to the peaceful enjoyment of the community. They insisted on their inalienable right to local self-government so that the people living in State College can determine the future they believe will sustain the aspirations they have for their their community.

On November 8, 2011, the residents of State College voted overwhelmingly—72%—to amend their Home Rule Charter to include a Community Bill of Rights.  Their message to their local officials and across the state of Pennsylvania was clear:  The residents of State College have  a right to clean water, clean air, a healthy environment, a sustainable future, and the right to decide what happens, where they live—including banning the commercial extraction of shell gas within the borough.  And State College goes down in history as the first community in the United States to enact a Community Bill of Rights by popular vote.

The Daily Collegian: Amendment banning natural gas extraction passes
by Kristin Stoller, The Daily Collegian
November 9th, 2011
The amendment that would add an environmental bill of rights to the Home Rule Charter to ban commercial natural gas extraction ... passed in Tuesday’s election. “It is a tremendous victory,” said Braden Crooks, who started the drive to get the amendment on the ballot. “It is an incredible statement by the people of State College.”
CELDF Press Release: State College Voters Adopt Community Rights Charter Amendment That Bans Gas Drilling
by CELDF
November 8th, 2011
By a vote of 72% in favor, the people of the Borough of State College, home of Penn State University, adopted an amendment to their home rule charter that constitutionalizes a Local Bill of Rights, and protects those rights by prohibiting natural gas extraction and associated activities.
Centre Daily Times: Making history
by Gary Thornbloom, Centre Daily Times
November 3rd, 2011
State College voters have an exciting opportunity on Tuesday. Together with two other communities, State College will have the first popular vote on a community bill of rights and natural gas drilling ban in the country.
StateCollege.com: State College Council Members Fight Environmental Proposal, Cite Procedural Concerns
by Adam Smeltz, StateCollege.com
November 1st, 2011
With a week left before Election Day, a State College Borough Council majority has begun lobbying against a proposed borough-charter amendment. The amendment would add an environmental bill of rights and a ban on commercial natural-gas drilling to the borough charter, the municipality's governing document. Groundswell PA, a local environmental-advocacy group, has led the charge for the amendment.
Centre Daily Times: A yes vote for Home Rule
by Elizabeth Goreham, Centre Daily Times
October 31st, 2011
I encourage all State College residents to vote yes Nov. 8 for the two-part Home Rule Charter amendments that would establish a Community Bill of Rights.... The first part reflects the deep connection all Pennsylvanians have with the commonwealth’s natural resources. The second part underscores another core value: the right of each municipality to decide local issues for itself.
Voices of Central Pennsylvania: Drilling ban to appear on Borough ballot
by By Lucy Bryan Green, Voices of Central Pennsylvania
October 31st, 2011
When residents of the State College Borough take to the polls on Nov. 8, they will join several other Pennsylvania communities, including Warren and Peters Township, in casting ballots that have the potential to make history and spark controversy. The citizens of these towns will, for the first time ever, issue popular votes on amendments to their town charters that include environmental bills of rights and bans on natural gas drilling. These referendums are the fruit of a growing grassroots movement in which communities are asserting their right to self-government, in particular, the right to protect their natural resources.
Centre Daily Times: Opinion - Leave regulations up to the council
by Ronald Filippelli, Thomas Daubert, Theresa Lafer, Silvi Lawrence and James Rosenberger, Centre Daily Times
October 29th, 2011
On Election Day, the voters of State College Borough will be asked to consider a charter amendment to add a community bill of rights that, in part, would ban commercial natural gas extraction.
Times-Observer: Letter to the Editor - Do the math
by James A. Zavinski, Sr.,, Times-Observer
October 28th, 2011
As a Warren city councilman, maintaining the financial health of our city is one of my highest priorities. Council works hard to get the most out of our tax dollars and provide the most efficient services to our community.
Centre Daily Times: We can be changemakers
by Braden Crooks, Centre Daily Times
October 27th, 2011
Change seems to be in the air across America. Change for the better is certainly coming to Centre County, where community rights legislation to ban fracking is taking hold. On Oct. 13, Rush Township voted to advertise its ordinance, an important step toward making it law. In State College, a community bill of rights and natural gas drilling ban will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.... The people are saying yes to the idea that we should have the right to make decisions about what happens in the places we live.
Marcellus Protest 2011: November 18th - Power to the People, Not the Corporations
Marcellus Shale Protest
October 19th, 2011
Be part of something big. Something really big! Plan to join us on November 18th in State College, PA at the Penn State University campus for Marcellus Protest 2011: “Power To The People, Not The Corporations” rally.
Centre Daily Times: Students "plank" to support environmental bill of rights
by Jessica Vanderkolk, Centre Daily Times
September 28th, 2011
By lying down on the brick walkway in front of the HUB-Robeson Center Wednesday, a group of students hoped to encourage others to "stand up and vote" on an environmental bill of rights that will be on the ballot in State College for the Nov. 8 election.... "You shouldn't lie down and just let things happen," was the message, said Eco-Action president Stefan Nagy, a Penn State senior. "I think everyone supports a stronger, local, self-government."
StateCollege.com: Proposed Gas-Drilling Ban, Environmental-Rights Question Set for State College Ballot
by Adam Smeltz, statecollege.com
August 31st, 2011
State College voters will decide Nov. 8 on a proposed borough-charter amendment -- an amendment that would ban commercial gas drilling and establish environmental rights within borough limits. Elections-board members voted 3-0 Friday to include the referendum item as part of the borough's general-election ballot. Earlier this summer, just more than 1,000 borough residents signed a petition to qualify the proposal for placement as a referendum item.
State College: As Anti-Drilling Push Unfolds, Penn State Campus Could Land in No-Drill Zone
by Adam Smeltz, State College
July 25th, 2011
For generations, Braden Crooks' family has maintained a farm in Clarion County, in western Pennsylvania. Its lifeblood, as with so many other homesteads in that rural expanse of Pennsylvania, is its well water. "If we don't have the well water, we can't live there," Crooks explained to me last week. "That's very direct -- very personal." That direct, personal connection is helping to drive his leadership of Groundswell PA, the new environmental-advocacy group that Crooks, a 2011 Penn State landscape-architecture graduate, founded. We've written before about Groundswell, whose most immediate goal is to place, on State College general-election ballot for November, a voter referendum on an environmental bill of rights.