Monday, September 13, 2010

A Bill of Rights Banning Corporations from Drilling For Gas

HUMAN RIGHTS AND ECOSYSTEMS RIGHTS

CONTACT: Ben Price, (717) 254-3233
benprice@celdf.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Tuesday, August 17, 2010- Pittsburgh, PA) At a City Hall press conference today, Councilman Doug Shields announced he will introduce a bill that would ban corporations from drilling for gas in the city of Pittsburgh. He said he will introduce the ordinance following Council’s current recess.

At the heart of “Pittsburgh’s Community Protection from Natural Gas Extraction Ordinance” is this statement of law: It shall be unlawful for any corporation to engage in the extraction of natural gas within the City of Pittsburgh.

Also included in the ordinance is a local “bill of rights” that 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.

The bill was drafted by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund at the invitation of Council members....continued...