Yesterday the judge ruled that the industry and lawmakers that wrote ACT 13, on the backs of Pa citizens, cannot participate in the lawsuit to defend what their intentions were when writing the law.
I have followed this law very closely, even how it was put together in Harrisburg and by whom (industry not lawmakers) and I can tell you that their intention was to make the people think that getting a measly impact fee was good enough to offset giving the industry free reign to do with our state as they please. They will drill everywhere before any other commonsense regulations are in place to protect our health and environment. This law allows the industry to just take the money and run, leaving a toxic wasteland behind that the taxpayers will be responsible to pay for. By then, Corbett, Scarnati and their cronies will no longer care about the fallout from this because they will be working for the industry that paid them to betray their own constituents. That is how this goes.
I dare say, it seems as though we have a judge that is using law and precedent to rule and has not been bought by industry or bullied by our state that obviously is. Now we need citizens across the state to ask their local politicians and councils to support this lawsuit! Tell them that we should have the right to put our health and safety and that of our children first, after all, that is what zoning is all about. The state does not have the right to say one size fits all when it will affect your community’s health and property values and allow industrial activity like this in what was once residential areas.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER? WE ARE FIGHTING TO KEEP TOXIC WASTE PONDS, DRILLING RIGS, COMPRESSOR STATIONS, AND ACCIDENTS LIKE THIS AWAY FROM YOUR HOMES, YOUR SCHOOLS AND OUT OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS..
(I apologize for the music in that video, but just look at the scale of this rig fire and then decide if 500 ft from your home is sufficient.)
I will have a sample letter posted above in the ACT 13 page in the next few days that you can use to encourage your reps to take a stand for your rights. The Allegheny County Council and the Pittsburgh City Council have both issued statements of support. This kind of support can really bolster this case. They do not need anyone else to sign on the suit, just statements of support for the plaintiffs’ stance and the community’s right to determine what is best within its borders. This is the most important case facing our state (according to the Judge) and our future as Pennsylvanians.
Please urge your local grassroots organizations to educate the public about this and keep it going in the papers by writing letters to your editors and commenting on pieces like the one below.
THE LEAGUE OF ACTIVISTS 