"Meanwhile, communities are finding that their state governments are legally authorizing corporations to conduct these activities [hydraulic fracturing]. Thus instead of helping communities to stop the drilling and its potentially toxic impacts, state governments—including environmental regulatory agencies—are actually issuing permits to corporations to drill."
"State agencies are following regulations established under state laws which legally authorize such activities. Communities are thus coming up against their own state governments when they’re trying to protect the local environment and public health. Natural gas drilling is proving no different."
Mari Margil
March 17th 2011
As more information about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," (a technique used during natural gas drilling) emerges, more and more cities and municipalities are organizing to keep drilling and fracking out of their own communities, but are surprised to find that they do not have the legal authority to say “no” to these corporate activities.
Last week, Mountain Lake Park, Maryland, with fewer than 2,500 residents, became the latest community to do something about this, adopting the state’s first ordinance banning corporations from natural gas drilling.
Drafted with the help of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, the ordinance comes on the heels of the City of Pittsburgh’s ordinance banning drilling by corporations, adopted in November. Both ordinances also eliminate the authority of corporations to wield their constitutional rights to override the municipality's wishes. Such constitutional rights and powers are often used by corporations to overturn local and state laws adopted to protect the environment and public health.
More and more communities are organizing to fight drilling and fracking, but are surprised to find that they do not have the legal authority to say “no” to these corporate activities.
A similar ordinance was recently introduced in Wales, New York; it comes up for a vote in April. If adopted, it would make Wales the first community in New York to restrict corporate rights and ban corporations from drilling.
Natural gas drilling and fracking—a technique now used in over ninety percent of gas wells—is spreading across the massive Marcellus Shale natural gas deposit, which stretches from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and into Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia.
Fracking involves injecting fresh water with sand and chemicals into the ground to fracture rock and release the gas. The result of fracking is millions of gallons of toxic wastewater, which finds its way into rivers and streams. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is asking the industry to voluntarily release the list of chemicals used; meanwhile use of the practice is increasing.
Meanwhile, communities are finding that their state governments are legally authorizing corporations to conduct these activities. Thus instead of helping communities to stop the drilling and its potentially toxic impacts, state governments—including environmental regulatory agencies—are actually issuing permits to corporations to drill.
Can local laws really have an effect on big corporations?....continued....
