Section 1. Name. The name of this Ordinance shall be the "Township Environmental Policy Act."

Section 2. Authority. This Ordinance is adopted and enacted pursuant to the authority granted to _______ Township by all relevant state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, the following:

The general authority granted by the Constitution of Pennsylvania and the Second Class Township Code to make and adopt all such ordinances, bylaws, rules, and regulations as may be deemed expedient or necessary for the proper management, care, and control of _________ Township and its finances and the maintenance of the health, safety, peace, good government, and welfare of ________Township;

The Constitution of Pennsylvania, Art. 1, § 2, which provides that all power is inherent in the people, and that all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness;

The Constitution of Pennsylvania, Art. 1, § 27, which guarantees a clean and safe environment for the people of Pennsylvania; and

Pennsylvania Statutes, Tit. 53, Municipal and Quasi-Municipal Corporations, § 66506, which authorizes _____________ Township to enact ordinances necessary for the proper management, care, and control of the Township and its finances and the maintenance of peace, good government, health, and welfare of the Township and its citizens, trade, commerce, and manufacturers.

Section 3. Findings and General Purpose. The ________ Township Board of Supervisors recognizes that:

(1) A corporation is a legal fiction created by the express permission of the people of _________ Township as citizens of this State;

(2) A corporation is a limited liability entity, and its officers, directors, and investors are shielded from liability for harms caused by the corporation;

(3) If a corporation causes harms to the residents of ________Township, the corporation's structure as an incorporated entity, and the limited liability of the individuals that control the corporation, make it more difficult to obtain redress and compensation from a corporation than from a natural person or unincorporated association or partnership;

(4) Protection of the natural environment and the residents of this Township is a fundamental obligation of the Township Supervisors of __________Township, in their role as elected representatives of the residents of _________Township; and

(5) This Township has experienced serious environmental degradation from projects commenced by corporations. This Township finds that prior degradation has diminished the quality of life of the residents of the Township, and that this Ordinance protects that quality of life by requiring a corporation to select the most environmentally sound alternative for particular projects.

Section 4. Specific Purpose. The specific purpose of this Ordinance is to require all corporations planning to undertake certain activities within ______Township to prepare a Township Environmental Impact Statement ("TEIS") to examine the environmental and community impacts resulting from major corporate projects, to analyze alternatives to the proposed projects, and to select the most environmentally sound alternative for those projects.

Section 5. Statement of Law. Corporations planning significant corporate actions within ________Township shall prepare a detailed statement known as a Township Environmental Impact Statement (TEIS) for all significant corporate actions within the Township. By law, corporations shall be required under this Ordinance to select the most environmentally sound alternative for any project undertaken by the corporation.

Section 6. Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to words used within this Ordinance:

"Alternatives" - Alternatives to the proposed significant corporate action which fully examine a range of all possible approaches to a particular project, including the total abandonment of the project. A corporation shall not artificially narrow the goal of the project to narrow the range of alternatives considered for the project. The consideration of Alternatives must rigorously explore and objectively evaluate all alternatives to the project.

"Connected Actions" - Actions which are closely related and which depend on other actions which are taken previously or simultaneously, or are interdependent parts of a larger action.

"Corporation" - Any corporation organized under the laws of any state of the United States or any country. The term "corporation" shall include all entities that possess limited liability characteristics, including limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, business trusts, and limited liability corporations organized under the laws of any state or the United States or any country. This term shall not include general partnerships, except general partnerships in which corporations are partners.

"Most Environmentally Sound Alternative" - The alternative to the proposed corporate action that has the least impacts on the natural environment and communities within the Township of ___________, of the range of alternatives examined to the proposed significant corporate action.

"Significant Corporate Action" - Any action entirely or partly financed, assisted, conducted, controlled, or approved by a corporation which has more than a minor impact within the Township. The aggregate impact of multiple actions, each having minor impacts within the Township, shall be considered a significant corporate action if the multiple actions are connected actions or similar actions and have cumulative impacts that are greater than minor impacts.

Section 7. The Township Environmental Impact Statement. The Township Environmental Impact Statement shall include a detailed explanation and analysis of the following:

i. the environmental impact of the proposed action;
ii. any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented;
iii. alternatives to the proposed action;
iv. the most environmentally sound alternative to the proposed action;
v. the purpose and need for the project.

Section 7.1. Activities Requiring the Preparation of a Township Environmental Impact Statement. The following activities, if undertaken by a corporation, shall require the preparation of a Township Environmental Impact Statement:

i. Any corporate activity which requires a permit or other form of approval from the Township Supervisors;
ii. Any corporate activity which will cause more than a minor impact to the Township's natural environment or its communities;
iii. Any corporate activity similar to activities in other localities that have previously caused more than a minor impact to the natural environment or communities.

Section 7.2. Process for the Development of a Township Environmental Impact Statement. The Township Environmental Impact Statement shall be developed through the following process:

i. Scoping Phase - The corporation shall engage in a scoping process, through which the corporation shall invite the participation of state and local agencies, interested persons within the community, community nonprofit organizations, and other interested entities, to determine the scope of the project and the significant issues to be analyzed in depth within the statement. The Scoping Phase shall be performed after the publication of a Scoping Notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township in which the project is being pursued. The Scoping Notice shall invite interested persons to participate in the scoping process, and will announce at least one public meeting to be held at the Township building after 6:00 p.m. on a non-holiday weekday.

ii. Production of a Draft Township Environmental Impact Statement ("DTEIS") - The corporation shall prepare and release a DTEIS following the completion of the Scoping Phase. Notice of the availability of the DTEIS shall be advertised in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the affected Township. The DTEIS shall contain several sections, including the following:

(1) Cover Sheet identifying the corporation, a brief description of the proposed corporate activity, and contact information for the corporation;
(2) A description of the corporation, including a listing of its Board of Directors and Officers, and including, as an attachment, a copy of the corporation's articles of incorporation and bylaws;
(3) Summary of the significant corporate action which is the subject of the DTEIS;
(4) Table of Contents;
(5) Purpose of, and need for, the activity;
(6) Alternatives including proposed activity;
(7) Affected environment;
(8) Environmental consequences of proposed activity;
(9) List of preparers; list of agencies, organizations, and persons to whom copies of the Statement were sent;
(10) The selection of a "Selected Alternative" and an explanation of why the Selected Alternative is the most environmentally sound alternative for the proposed activity;
(11) Full responses to all public comments submitted at the public Scoping hearing;
(12) The DTEIS shall contain a signature page, containing the signature of an official of the
corporation swearing to the accuracy of the material within the document.

iii. Invitation of Comments to the Draft Township Environmental Impact Statement ("DTEIS") - The corporation shall distribute twenty copies of the DTEIS to the Township Supervisors, mail one copy to any interested person and organization, to the County Commissioners, and provide a copy of the DTEIS to the libraries within the County. There shall be at least ninety (90) days provided for public comment, and such comment period shall not begin until the corporation has distributed copies of the DTEIS to the Township Supervisors, to all persons and organizations participating in the Scoping process, to the County Commissioners, and to the libraries within the County.

iv. Responding to Comments on the Draft Township Environmental Impact Statement ("DTEIS") - The corporation shall respond to all comments submitted on the DTEIS. Possible responses include (1) modifying the alternatives; (2) developing and evaluating alternatives not previously given serious consideration by the corporation; (3) supplementing, improving, or modifying its analyses; (4) making factual corrections; or (5) explaining why the comments do not warrant further corporate response, citing the sources, authorities, or reasons which support the corporation's position.

v. Preparation and Release of a Final Township Environmental Impact Statement ("FTEIS") - The corporation shall publish and distribute an FTEIS, which identifies the most environmentally sound alternative to the activity pursued by the corporation. The FTEIS shall analyze that alternative, and defend the corporation's selection of that alternative. The FTEIS shall also contain contemporary, updated information and explain the impacts of that new information on the selection of the most environmentally sound alternative.

vi. Preparation and Release of a Final Decision - The corporation shall prepare and distribute a Final Decision, in which the corporation shall commit itself to pursuit of the project as outlined in the Final Township Environmental Impact Statement ("FTEIS"). The Final Decision shall be issued no earlier than sixty days (60) after the release of the FTEIS and no later than ninety days (90) after the release of the FTEIS.

Section 8. Citizen Suits. This Ordinance hereby creates and vests a right in all citizens of the Township of ____________ adversely affected by the failure of a corporation to comply with this Ordinance, to sue to compel compliance with this Ordinance. Such suit may challenge a corporation's failure to apply this Ordinance to a particular action, or may challenge the inadequacy of the corporation's compliance with sections of this Ordinance. An action challenging the inadequacy of the corporation's compliance with the Ordinance shall be filed within sixty days of the preparation and release of the Final Decision by the corporation. An action challenging the failure of a corporation to apply this Ordinance to a particular action shall be brought at any time. All actions shall be filed in the Court of Common Pleas for _______County. Citizen-Plaintiffs shall notify the Township Supervisors of their intent to sue, and shall give the Township Supervisors thirty (30) days to enforce the provisions of this Ordinance.

Section 9. Corporate Actions Pending Litigation Review Period. The corporation shall not commence, or commit resources to, corporate actions examined under this Ordinance until sixty (60) days have passed from the date of the issuance of the Final Decision by the corporation.

Section 10. Supplemental Township Environmental Impact Statements. TEIS's prepared for projects that do not commence within twelve (12) months after the issuance of the FTEIS under this Ordinance must be revised and supplemented to reflect updated, contemporary information. Draft and Final STEIS's shall be prepared in accordance with this Ordinance, and the process for publication and release of those documents shall be identical to the process required for a Draft and Final TEIS, and issuance of a Final Decision.

Section 11. Severability. The provisions of this Ordinance are severable. If any section, clause, sentence, part, or provision of the Ordinance shall be held illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision of the court shall not affect, impair, or invalidate any of the remaining sections, clauses, sentences, parts, or provisions of this Ordinance. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Board of Supervisors of __________ Township that this Ordinance would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional section, clause, sentence, part, or provision had not been included herein.

Section 12. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect five days after enactment by the Board of Supervisors of _________ Township.