Summary
In June 2014, the people of Grant Township, Pennsylvania requested the help of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) to draft a Community Bill of Rights (CBOR) Ordinance that would prevent a proposed toxic-waste injection well from being built in their town. The Ordinance established all residents, natural communities, and ecosystems within the Township (including, but not limited to, rivers, streams, and aquifers) “possess the right to clean air, water, and soil” and “the right to exist, flourish, and naturally evolve.”
The CBOR declared any permit for fracking injection within Grant Township to be invalid – as a violation of the aforementioned rights – and that corporations have no legal rights as “persons” under the law, if they violate the rights enumerated in the ordinance.
Background
The Town adopted the ordinance after Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) obtained a federal permit to inject fracking waste into an abandoned well within the town. This type of waste is known to be radioactive and chemically toxic. Community members feared that chemicals in the fracking waste would leach from the injection well into their private water wells, which are the community’s only source of drinking water.
Legal Challenge
Following the ordinance’s adoption, PGE filed a lawsuit, claiming it violated the company’s rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and federal and state laws. In 2015, a federal judge ruled against Grant Township and struck down the CBOR ordinance as unconstitutional, stating the Township lacked authority to ban injection wells.
After the 2014 CBOR was overturned, in November 2015, residents voted to adopt a new Home Rule Charter, which established that residents have a right to “be free” of activities that risk harming water, soil, or air quality (such as an injection well that collects oil and gas waste) and also recognizes rights of nature. The rights-based Charter reinstated the ban on injection wells, changing the township’s form of government and overriding the judge’s decision.
CELDF assisted the community with the drafting of the Charter and is representing the Township in ongoing litigation with PGE.
Impact Statement
Grant township has adopted a CBOR twice – once in 2014 and once in 2015. Despite overturning the 2014 ordinance, Grant Township enacted a Home Rule Charter in 2015, which successfully prevented PGE from being to operate the injection well. There is still no injection well within the town.
Involved Organizations
Related Initiatives
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2026. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/grant-township-ordinance-establishing-bill-of-rights/.
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