Summary
In 2010, Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto began appealing to the Pennsylvania environmental community for help developing a strategy for trying to limit drilling prospects in Pittsburgh, and possibly similar actions on the state level. A special meeting of the city Council was convened to meet with local and national experts about such a strategy, including a municipal ordinance that would ban drilling within the city’s borders. City council members ultimately asked CELDF to draft an ordinance, which bans corporations from engaging in natural gas extraction, gives residents the right to water and self-government, and recognizes rights of nature, declaring “natural communities and ecosystems…possess inalienable and fundamental rights to exist, flourish and naturally evolve within the city of Pittsburgh.” Pittsburgh City Councilman introduced the Community Rights Drilling Ban Ordinance at the City Council Meeting on September 7, 2010. The Council unanimously adopted the ordinance on November 16, 2010.
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/pittsburghs-community-protection-from-natural-gas-extraction-ordinance/.
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