Natural gas drilling (or fracking) in Pennsylvania continues to be a contentious topic – and with good reason. Governor Corbett has made it one of his key missions in office to increase drilling throughout the state despite the very real environmental and health threats it produces.
It was a boost to anti-fracking advocates when, in late 2013, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down provisions of the state’s Oil and Gas Act that stripped municipalities of the power to determine where natural gas drilling activity could occur within their boundaries. But the story doesn’t end there as the state continues to find ways to appeal.
The Delaware Riverkeeper Network will be hosting the forum “Our Water, Our Air, Our Communities – And Forced Gas Drilling?” on Thurs., March 13, at the WHYY studio in Philadelphia (150 N. Sixth Street). This forum will bring together the lead litigators and litigants of the landmark Act 13 case – the case in which a majority of the conservative Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared that the rights of pure water, clean air, and a healthy environment, across the generations, must be protected by state and local legislators.
Viewers will learn about the inside story on the landmark court case that overturned the pro-drilling Act 13 and recognized our constitutional right to a healthy environment. The forum will include a discussion of how Act 13 came to be passed, efforts to defeat it prior to its passage, and how and why the legal challenge was formulated, including the interesting alliance between the 7 municipalities and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.
The forum will also talk about next steps:
• For the case as there are critical parts yet to be litigated, including the medical gag rule and the eminent domain taking of private lands for gas storage;
• For legislative decision making at the local and state level; and
• For the people who have an opportunity to build upon this success in their local and statewide battles throughout Pennsylvania and beyond.
This is the only forum where the audience can hear from the actual participants who made the case happen and secured the legal success it represents for environmental protection across the Commonwealth.
In order to accommodate as broad an audience as possible this event can be attended in person or viewed online as a webcast, including the opportunity for both onsite and offsite questions to be submitted. RSVP online.