Pennsylvania's Top Ten for 2011
It’s been a busy year for rights-based organizing throughout what some are calling the Marcellus Shale Region and movie director Josh Fox has dubbed “Gasland.”
Pittsburgh made headlines in November of 2010 by adopting a Community Bill of Rights that bans corporate extraction of natural gas. While that may seem hard to top, wait until you hear what came next.
There isn’t space here to list all the municipalities and individuals who contacted our office and began to explore a Community Bill of Rights Ordinance, but let’s consider the top ten communities that moved out ahead of the crowd to lay the foundation for a full-fledged Community Rights Movement.
1) Fresh into the new year I was contacted by Eric and Caroline Robison in Garret County, Maryland to visit their community because of growing concern about natural gas extraction using the hydraulic fraction, or “fracking” technique. Also in attendance was Mayor Leo Martin of the town of Mountain Lake Park. He introduced the ordinance to the Town Council on January 6th. A public hearing was held on February 5th, and on March 2nd the ordinance was adopted unanimously. The Community Bill of Rights asserts legal protections for the right to water; the rights of natural communities; the right to local self-government, and the right of the people to enforce and protect these rights through their municipal government. It subordinates the legal privileges of corporations in violation of the ordinance to Community Rights. Asked why the town was adopting such an ordinance, Mayor Martin replied “Our main duty is to protect the health and welfare of the town, and especially to protect our water.”
2) On May 10, 2011, West Homestead Borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania adopted a Community Bill of Rights Ordinance, with a prohibition on natural gas extraction to protect those rights. It establishes the same rights adopted by Mountain Lake Park, along with the Right to a Sustainable Energy Future. Council President Dave Weir commented “Our council feels that we are protecting our community's right to clean air and water as guaranteed by the Pennsylvania Constitution. We are protecting the health, safety and welfare of our citizens and our right to self govern. We are very comfortable with our decision."
3) The Town of Wales, New York adopted a Community Bill of Rights Ordinance on June 14th that bans fracking, bans horizontal drilling for gas, and bans the depositing of frack wastewater in the town. Councilmember Mike Simon, who introduced the bill on March 9th, had this to say: “This local law embodies the will of our residents to protect our natural resources from destruction, so our children and grandchildren can have the quality of life we enjoy.” The ordinance was advocated for by the community group Protecting Our Water Rights (POWR).
4) Next came Baldwin Borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. At their April 19th Council meeting the question of zoning or banning the gas extraction was discussed. The Borough Solicitor noted that any action taken by Council would probably be challenged in the courts and suggested a ban would be more protective of the community. At the urging of community members, the Council adopted a Community Bill of Rights Ordinance banning fracking on June 21st. Resident Aaron Booz commented “We are proud that another community in Allegheny County has taken a stand for Constitutional Rights, and we think this can only help in getting other communities on board.”
5) July 20th, 2011 Wilkinsburg Borough, Pennsylvania adopted its Community Bill of Rights banning fracking. Jason Cohn, Vice President of Council, commented "I think it’s great that we're passing this tonight…. I don’t know there is a lot we can do but I think we need to continue on after we pass this to look for additional ways to protect our residents."
6) In Newton Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, the Board of Supervisors refused to entertain adoption of a Community Bill of Rights that would ban fracking. That left few options for residents who were weary of being told they could have no local representation because the state preempts municipalities from governing corporate behavior and licenses them to act against the consent of the governed. Rather than wait for a series of election cycles to replace the three members of the Board, residents petitioned for a ballot measure that will elect a seven-member Government Study Commission empowered to draft a home rule charter to guarantee local self-governing rights and include residents in community governing decisions. Election Day is November 8th.
7) The drama will reach its crescendo in Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania on Election Day, but the play of events has already been filled with suspense and adventure. There, Peters Township Marcellus Shale Awareness, a citizens group, petitioned to place a Home Rule Charter Amendment before the voters on November 8th, gathering almost 2,500 signatures and having them certified by the County Board of Elections. The amendment proposes an addition to the Home Rule Charter to establish a local Bill of Rights which asserts the right of residents of the Township to local self-government, to water, and their right to establish energy policies for future sustainability. It would establish rights for natural communities and ecosystems, and empower community members with legal standing to enforce those rights. To secure the local Bill of Rights, corporations would be prohibited from extracting natural gas within the Township. In addition, corporations engaged in the extraction of natural gas, or intending to do so in the township, would no longer be legally viewed as “persons” and could not avail themselves of protection of the state or federal constitutions in a way that would nullify the rights of human and natural communities. The journey to the ballot box has been anything but uneventful. On September 13th, the Township Council voted unanimously to file a complaint with the Court of Common Pleas to bar the County Board of Elections from placing the proposed amendment on the ballot. CELDF filed a petition for Intervenor status on behalf of the citizens group, and the court agreed. Judge Paul Pozonsky also agreed, on October 3rd, to deny the Township Council’s request for an injunction to block the ballot measure. Now it’s up to the voters.
8) No less dramatic has been the Community Rights action in Warren City, Warren County, Pennsylvnia. On August 9th, the West Side Alliance submitted petitions to place a home rule charter amendment similar to Peters Township’s before the voters, but the County Board voted unanimously to block the measure. On September 8th CELDF filed a lawsuit against the Warren County Board of Elections to the amendment appear on the ballot. With the filing of CELDF’s complaint and a review of the decision by the County Solicitor, the Board of Elections voted on September 12th to reverse its decision and allow the measure to go forward. But that’s not the end of the story. On September 28th the Warren City Council filed a twenty page lawsuit against the County Board of Elections to block it from placing the charter amendment question on the ballot. Using logic similar to that which prevailed in Peters Township, CELDF filed on behalf of the West Side Alliance, asking the Court for Intervenor status to argue for the right of the community to vote on the measure. As in Washington County, Warren County’s court found for the people. The question will appear on the ballot.
9) In State College Borough, Pennsylvania, the grassroots organization, Groundswell PA, took up the same cause as Peters Township and Warren City: a Home Rule Charter Amendment to add a Community Bill of Rights and a ban of fracking to the local constitution. Unlike those sister campaigns, there have been no legal challenges to this effort and the Mayor and some Borough Council members have indicated their support for the initiative.
10) Pittsburgh City Council Member Doug Shields, who spear-headed the successful campaign to adopt a Local Bill of Rights Ordinance in November 2010, decided to offer it as an amendment to the City Charter to the voters of the city. He succeeded in having an ordinance adopted by City Council to do just that, but Mayor Luke Ravenstahl advised Council that he would “withhold my signature from Council Bill No 2011-1939, an ordinance directing that an amendment to the City of Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter be placed on the ballot. By withholding my signature I have effectively eliminated the possibility that this item appear on the ballot during this election cycle.” With the mayor’s conscious complicity, the people of Pittsburgh were denied their right to amend their local constitution. The mayor cited corporate interests as a motivation. He wrote “I have several reasons for this action. Chief among them is the message that we are sending when we are essentially blocking an industry from investing in our City and region.” The proposed charter amendment would have sent an unequivocal message to dirty energy industries: It would have locally constitutionalized a reversal of the Supreme Court’s elevation of criminally engaged private business corporations over the rights of human and natural communities. Although the people of Pittsburgh were deprived of the right to vote to incorporate this language into their city charter, it is already law in the City and is part of the Community Bill of Rights ordinance banning gas extraction that was adopted unanimously on November 16, 2010 by the City Council.
