Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF)

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF)  writes:

Attorneys for a West Virginia Corporation threaten to sue the City of Morgantown West Virginia for violating the Civil Rights of the corporation if the City's ordinance banning natural gas drilling is upheld as legal by the Monogalia County Circuit Court.

So, even if the ban is legal, the corporation attorneys say the corporation has rights that the City has no authority to violate.

Too bad Morgantown didn't adopt a Community Rights Ordinance to ban the drilling. Then the attorneys for the City could readily make the case that the City adopted the ordinance precisely to protect rights: the legitimate rights of the residents of the City, which are under threat of violation by the North East Energy Corporation.

The Community Rights ordinances adopted by Pittsburgh, West Homestead, Balwin PA, as well as Mountain Lake Park WV and Wales NY recognize the rights of the people as superior to privileges granted to corporations in the name of the people, and those ordinance revoke such privileges from corporations that would attempt to violate the prohibition against drilling and thereby violate the rights of community residents.

So which is it? Corporations have Civil Rights, or People have Civil Rights?

Isn't it time we took a stand to clear the air? Isn't it time for your community to adopt a Community Rights Ordinance and stop letting corporate claims to superior rights for corporations over people go unchallenged?

Contact info@CELDF.org