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Mar 13, 2014

The Kane Republican: Highland OKs Legal Fights Against Injection Well

The Kane Republican: Highland OKs Legal Fights Against Injection Well

Highland Township Supervisors in Pennsylvania receive overwhelming support from residents to enforce their Community Rights Ordinance banning fracking wastewater injection wells, as Seneca Resources presses forward with a planned well.

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Mar 6, 2014

The Bradford Era: Handful of appeals against Highland Township injection well project

The Bradford Era: Handful of appeals against Highland Township injection well project

Highland Township, PA, prepares to enforce its CELDF-drafted Community Bill of Rights Ordinance banning injection wells against Seneca Resources Corporation.

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Feb 28, 2014

The Bradford Era: Highland Township citizens group joins fray over injection well

The Bradford Era: Highland Township citizens group joins fray over injection well

Highland Township, PA, stands behind its Community Bill of Rights banning injection wells with the support of Township Supervisors, residents, and CELDF, as Seneca Resources vows to fight the rights-based ordinance.

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Feb 28, 2014

The Western Front: Frontline – Support a Community Bill of Rights

The Western Front: Frontline – Support a Community Bill of Rights

Western University students in Bellingham, WA, call on their peers to launch a Community Bill of Rights initiative in Bellingham.

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Feb 12, 2014

The Bradford Era: Firm set to offer legal support in Highland Township injection well fight

The Bradford Era: Firm set to offer legal support in Highland Township injection well fight

CELDF affirms it will defend Highland Township, PA’s Community Bill of Rights Ordinance that bans fracking wastewater injection wells against Seneca Resources, which has been issued a permit by the EPA to site an injection well within the township.

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Feb 10, 2014

Daily Kos – Food Fight: Local Media Coverage

Daily Kos – Food Fight: Local Media Coverage

A diary from occupystephanie on Oregon Community Rights and sustainable food systems in the face of hostile state and corporate interests.

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Feb 9, 2014

Corvallis Gazette-Times: Food fight turns on local rights

Corvallis Gazette-Times: Food fight turns on local rights

A fight to protect the Willamette Valley, OR, from GM seed reveals itself to be a fight to protect Community Rights to create local, sustainable food systems, and the right to local self-governance.

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Dec 19, 2013

Press Release: Statement on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Ruling that Parts of Act 13 are Unconstitutional

Press Release: Statement on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Ruling that Parts of Act 13 are Unconstitutional

“This ruling, while welcome, does not stop fracking of Pennsylvania’s communities, nor does it recognize the right of the people of Pennsylvania to govern their own communities without state or corporate interference.” – Thomas Linzey, Esq., Executive Director

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Nov 6, 2013

Press Release: Ohio and Colorado Voters Adopt Community Bills of Rights

Press Release: Ohio and Colorado Voters Adopt Community Bills of Rights

Lafayette, CO, and Oberlin, OH, residents ban fracking as a violation of rights with strong majority wins.

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Oct 30, 2013

The Piscataquis Observer: Letter to the Editor – Sangerville a leader in self-governance

The Piscataquis Observer: Letter to the Editor – Sangerville a leader in self-governance

Sangerville, ME, resident stands behind their first-in-the-nation Community Bill of Rights infrastructure ordinance, adopted by residents in September.

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Oct 8, 2013

Read the Dirt: When The State Pushes Back

Read the Dirt: When The State Pushes Back

Editor Simon Davis-Cohen interviews CELDF’s Pacific Northwest Community Organizer Kai Huschke about our structure of law and governance that functions to deny communities’ rights when they interfere with corporate “rights,” as seen today in both Washington State and Oregon.

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Sep 18, 2013

Press Release: Sangerville, ME, Adopts Community Bill of Rights Ordinance to Reject Transportation & Distribution Corridors

Press Release: Sangerville, ME, Adopts Community Bill of Rights Ordinance to Reject Transportation & Distribution Corridors

Voters in Sangerville, ME, adopt a Community Bill of Rights ordinance to protect their municipality from a private transportation corridor.

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Sep 16, 2013

Press Release: Oregon Communities Launch Statewide Network for Community Rights

Press Release: Oregon Communities Launch Statewide Network for Community Rights

On September 12th, community members from eight Oregon counties gathered in Corvallis, Oregon, to launch the Oregon Community Rights Network (ORCRN).

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Aug 30, 2013

The Pacific Northwest Inlander: Judgment Day

The Pacific Northwest Inlander: Judgment Day

Corporate and government interests in Spokane, WA, succeed in blocking citizens’ initiatives that would establish Community Rights.

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Aug 21, 2013

The Bradford Era: Earthquakes elicit Elk County opposition to proposed injection well

The Bradford Era: Earthquakes elicit Elk County opposition to proposed injection well

Elk County Commissioners speak out against fracking injection wells.

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Aug 5, 2013

Noozhawk: Fracking and the Rights of Nature

Noozhawk: Fracking and the Rights of Nature

Community Rights and the Rights of Nature are changing our western legal paradigm, and are tools to protect Santa Barbara, CA, from fracking.

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Jul 3, 2013

Noozhawk: Protecting Santa Barbara County — Community Rights vs. Corporate Control

Noozhawk: Protecting Santa Barbara County — Community Rights vs. Corporate Control

Wayne Mellinger on Community Rights to protect Santa Barbara from fracking corporate interests.

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Jul 2, 2013

Local Lawmaking: A Call for a Community Rights Movement

Local Lawmaking: A Call for a Community Rights Movement

While on their face these issues may appear to be different – ranging from corporate agribusiness to energy extraction – the communities on the receiving end of things all have at least one thing in common: they’ve given up hope that their state or federal government will act to protect them.

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Jun 26, 2013

Piscataquis Observer: Sangerville group outlines community bill of rights to halt east-west highway

Piscataquis Observer: Sangerville group outlines community bill of rights to halt east-west highway

East Sangerville, ME, residents and selectmen partner with CELDF to use a Community Bill of Rights to stop a $2.1 billion limited access highway.

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Apr 29, 2013

Press Release: First County in U.S. Bans Oil and Gas Extraction

Press Release: First County in U.S. Bans Oil and Gas Extraction

Mora County, NM, adopts first-in-the-nation ban on oil and gas extraction, protecting residents and local ecosystems from fracking.

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Mar 28, 2013

CELDF Statement: A New Civil Rights Movement: Liberating Our Communities from Corporate Control

CELDF Statement: A New Civil Rights Movement: Liberating Our Communities from Corporate Control

A Pennsylvania Judge Holds That Corporations Are Not “Persons” Under the Pennsylvania Constitution.

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Mar 13, 2013

Highland Township Retains Law Firm to Defend Injection Well Ordinance

Highland Township Retains Law Firm to Defend Injection Well Ordinance

Highland Township, PA, Board of Supervisors vote unanimously to retain CELDF to help defend their “Community Rights Protection from Injection Wells Ordinance” against Seneca Resources.

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Feb 6, 2013

Fracking Scare Tactics in Highland

Fracking Scare Tactics in Highland

Update on pending lawsuit in Highland Township, PA, where supervisors recently passed a Community Bill of Rights to ban fracking injection wells – excerpt from The Kane Republican

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Jan 14, 2013

Public Herald: Just Say ‘No’ — Locals Ban Frack Waste in Pa.

Public Herald: Just Say ‘No’ — Locals Ban Frack Waste in Pa.

On January 9, 2013, in otherwise quiet Highland Township in Elk County, Pennsylvania, officials signed a community rights bill into law stopping the deposit of fracking waste within the township. Seneca Resources…had planned to inject its “production fluids” (oil and gas drilling and fracking waste) into an injection well about 2,200 feet from Crystal Springs….Injection wells have a history, both long and recent, of failing ….So, residents of Highland Township asked their municipal officials to say “No.”…Highland Township is the latest on a list of over 140 other communities that have said ‘no’ to factory farms, waste incinerators, corporate water withdrawals, and now fracking by passing rights-based ordinances….Rights-based ordinances are simple but formal, and they’ve been penned with the help of Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF).

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Dec 24, 2012

Read the Dirt: Barnstead, NH: Establishing the Community Right to Water and Self-Governance

Read the Dirt: Barnstead, NH: Establishing the Community Right to Water and Self-Governance

The Barnstead, NH, story – and how other New Hampshire communities have followed the blazing trail set by these bold and steadfast residents.

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Nov 6, 2012

Press Release: Broadview Heights Adopts Community Bill of Rights Banning Fracking

Press Release: Broadview Heights Adopts Community Bill of Rights Banning Fracking

Today, the residents of Broadview Heights banned fracking from within the City limits through a Community Bill of Rights Charter Amendment. The amendment established the right to clean air and water, and the right to local self-government, banning fracking as a violation of those rights.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success Story

Sep 8, 2012

Akron Beacon Journal: Communities seek ways to override state control of oil and gas drilling boom

Akron Beacon Journal: Communities seek ways to override state control of oil and gas drilling boom

Two activists are involved in grass-roots campaigns … pushing [for] what’s called limited home rule in Ohio townships and a community bill of rights in cities and villages, both aimed at increased protection for air, water, health, property values and public safety.

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Aug 7, 2012

Press Release: Washington Communities Launch Statewide Network To Advocate for Community Rights

Press Release: Washington Communities Launch Statewide Network To Advocate for Community Rights

SPOKANE: In late July, citizens from Washington communities gathered in Spokane to launch the Washington Community Rights Network (WCRN). Network members released The Spokane Declaration, calling upon communities across the state to join together in a movement to elevate the rights of people, their communities, and nature above the claimed rights of corporations….The creation of the Washington Community Rights Network comes out of active community campaigns on both sides of the Cascades.

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Jul 12, 2012

Alliance for Sustainable Communities: The Importance of Being Radical

Alliance for Sustainable Communities: The Importance of Being Radical

As an activist in Easton, there is one crucial challenge I have encountered in trying to engage residents in any cause, regardless of the issue. Whether it’s fighting fracking for natural gas, sewage sludge fertilization, landfills—the challenge is fragmentation. People—good people—are very busy, working hard to sustain themselves and their families, and they have little free time to divide among additional pursuits. When they do commit to carving out time for meetings, there tend to be so many issues facing any given community, that each community will be fragmented in their efforts….But there is good news—a possible silver bullet that can streamline our efforts to eradicate the root of the disease, rather than wasting scarce time and precious energy running around fighting symptoms wherever they crop up. That silver bullet is to declare and establish local self-governance at the municipal level according to state constitutional rights, including the right to deny corporations the ability to invade communities and run roughshod over The People.

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Apr 23, 2012

Gloucester, MA Part 2

Gloucester, MA Part 2

Gloucester residents celebrate legislation putting control of their municipal water system in community hands – Part 2

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Apr 23, 2012

Gloucester, MA Part 1

Gloucester, MA Part 1

Gloucester residents celebrate legislation putting control of their municipal water system in community hands – Part 1

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Apr 3, 2012

Las Vegas Optic: Anti-fracking law adopted

Las Vegas Optic: Anti-fracking law adopted

The Las Vegas, NM, City Council adopted a Community Bill of Rights ordinance establishing rights to clean water and to local self-government, banning fracking as a violation of those rights. Residents filled council chambers in support of the measure.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success Story

Mar 29, 2012

Las Vegas Optic: Support for city’s ‘rights’ ordinance

Las Vegas Optic: Support for city’s ‘rights’ ordinance

Community members in Las Vegas, NM, urge support for their Las Vegas Community Bill of Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance, which bans fracking.

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Mar 23, 2012

Philadelphia Inquirer: Op/Ed by CELDF’s Ben Price – Fracking spurs a municipal mutiny in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Inquirer: Op/Ed by CELDF’s Ben Price – Fracking spurs a municipal mutiny in Pennsylvania

Not content to leave Pennsylvania communities with any control over gas drilling within their borders, state legislators have stripped municipalities of their zoning authority under Act 13, choosing energy corporations over the people who elected them….It’s time we…stopped expecting any other outcome from Harrisburg. It’s time for a grassroots revolt aimed at enshrining the right to community self-government in the Pennsylvania Constitution, protecting local authority from the state. The work begins in our communities, with the adoption of local laws and home-rule charters directly challenging the legal doctrines that subordinate communities to the legislature, as well as the privileges that protect corporations from democracy. More than 100 municipalities across Pennsylvania have begun this journey, elevating the rights of people and communities above the rights of corporations and commerce. These municipalities recognize the need for community rights independent of the legislature and are coming together to form the Pennsylvania Community Rights Network.

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Jan 25, 2012

Santa Monica Patch: Council Moves Toward Making ‘Green’ Goals Mandatory

Santa Monica Patch: Council Moves Toward Making ‘Green’ Goals Mandatory

Santa Monica City Council members unanimously passed a resolution backing a bill of rights for the environment, which would give legal standing to city officials to protect the environment within Santa Monica’s borders if passed as a law in the future.

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Nov 18, 2011

Marcellus Protest 2011: November 18th – Power to the People, Not the Corporations

Marcellus Protest 2011: November 18th – Power to the People, Not the Corporations

Be part of something big. Something really big! Plan to join us on November 18th in State College, PA at the Penn State University campus for Marcellus Protest 2011: “Power To The People, Not The Corporations” rally.

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Nov 15, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Peters council opposes proposed drilling regulations

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Peters council opposes proposed drilling regulations

Less than a week after residents in Peters overwhelmingly voted to reject a ban on Marcellus Shale gas drilling, council members passed a resolution opposing legislation that would further restrict the zoning powers of municipalities. Council members unanimously voted Monday night to pass the resolution in response to a state House bill that would eliminate local zoning regulations in favor of new statewide rules governing gas well drilling operations.

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Nov 13, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Election showed fracking’s key role in region

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Election showed fracking’s key role in region

Right up to Election Day, Peters residents were receiving sleek fliers in the mail encouraging them to vote against a referendum to ban gas drilling in the Washington County community. The mailers weren’t coming from local opposition, but from Houston-based industry group Consumer Energy Alliance.

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Nov 10, 2011

Philly.com: Pittsburgh suburb: No to drill ban

Philly.com: Pittsburgh suburb: No to drill ban

By a ratio of more than 4-1, voters in an affluent Pittsburgh suburb said natural-gas drilling could go on in their township. In Tuesday’s general election, nearly 5,200 Peters Township voters rejected a referendum proposal that would have barred drilling, compared with a little more than 1,100 who voted for a ban.

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Nov 9, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Who knows best: On drilling, Republicans sell out on local control

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Who knows best: On drilling, Republicans sell out on local control

Republicans often say they are advocates of local control, repeating bromides such as “the people know better than the politicians or bureaucrats.” But not when it comes to Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania. On this subject, the politicians and bureaucrats are poised to tell the people that they know best — and never mind the local concerns of residents of municipalities across the state who will have to live with the results. Harrisburg knows best.

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Nov 9, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Bid to ban drilling in Peters is defeated; voters in State College succeed

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Bid to ban drilling in Peters is defeated; voters in State College succeed

Despite the work of a very determined group of citizens, a referendum banning Marcellus Shale gas drilling was overwhelmingly defeated Tuesday in Peters, Washington County….A similar measure in the city of Warren, Warren County, also was defeated, though one in the borough of State College, in Centre County, was approved by voters there.

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Nov 9, 2011

Real Clear Politics: Upscale Pittsburgh suburb rejects drilling ban

Real Clear Politics: Upscale Pittsburgh suburb rejects drilling ban

By a margin of more than four-to-one, voters in an affluent Pittsburgh suburb say natural gas drilling can go on in their township. In Tuesday’s general election, nearly 5,200 Peters Township voters rejected a referendum that would have barred drilling, compared with just over 1,100 who voted for a ban….Jules Lobel, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who represented the anti-drilling group in court, said the issue concerned the “whole question of local control over one’s life, over things that matter.”

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Nov 8, 2011

CELDF Press Release: State College Voters Adopt Community Rights Charter Amendment That Bans Gas Drilling

CELDF Press Release: State College Voters Adopt Community Rights Charter Amendment That Bans Gas Drilling

By a vote of 72% in favor, the people of the Borough of State College, home of Penn State University, adopted an amendment to their home rule charter that constitutionalizes a Local Bill of Rights, and protects those rights by prohibiting natural gas extraction and associated activities.

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Nov 8, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Gas-drilling ban stalls in Peters

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Gas-drilling ban stalls in Peters

Despite the work of a determined group of citizens, a referendum banning Marcellus Shale gas drilling was overwhelmingly defeated in the Washington County township of Peters tonight….The referendum was among one of the first in the nation in which voters had a direct voice in determining whether gas well drilling — and hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” — should be allowed in their neighborhoods.

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Nov 6, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Drilling war in Peters fought on the ballot

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Drilling war in Peters fought on the ballot

Amid the sea of colorful, plastic campaign signs scattered around Peters are angrier, bolder signs flapping in the wind, screaming “VOTE NO!! Protect Your Township,” and “Vote Yes! Protect Our Property Values.” They are part of the battle for the hearts and minds of voters in this affluent municipality of about 21,000 residents. The fight, which has already garnered attention from the national media, pits residents and energy companies who advocate drilling in the Marcellus Shale gas formation against a citizens group that is seeking to ban it in Washington County’s most populous municipality through a voter referendum on Tuesday.

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Nov 3, 2011

Peters Patch: Letter to the Editor: A Resident’s Reply

Peters Patch: Letter to the Editor: A Resident’s Reply

Mr. Merrell recently posted an open letter to the people of Peters in which he made several assertions regarding the content of the ballot referendum. Based on the development of the western intellectual tradition in the last century in relation to environmental ethics, environmental law, and human rights, I respectfully disagree with several of his comments and conclusions. Further it is my contention that the referendum is not a meaningless document but the natural outgrowth of the western intellectual tradition that has its origin in the philosophies of the Enlightenment thinkers.

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Nov 1, 2011

StateCollege.com: State College Council Members Fight Environmental Proposal, Cite Procedural Concerns

StateCollege.com: State College Council Members Fight Environmental Proposal, Cite Procedural Concerns

With a week left before Election Day, a State College Borough Council majority has begun lobbying against a proposed borough-charter amendment. The amendment would add an environmental bill of rights and a ban on commercial natural-gas drilling to the borough charter, the municipality’s governing document. Groundswell PA, a local environmental-advocacy group, has led the charge for the amendment.

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Oct 5, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Natural gas drilling ban remains on Peters ballot

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Natural gas drilling ban remains on Peters ballot

Peters officials do not plan to challenge a judge’s decision to allow a controversial referendum question on the ballot for the Nov. 8 general election that, if passed, would prohibit new natural gas extraction and likely spur lawsuits over access to Marcellus Shale deposits…. Washington County Common Pleas Judge Paul Pozonsky Monday dismissed an attempt by the township to block the referendum. In a brief order, the judge wrote that he could not act before the election because there was no “immediate harm caused by the presence of the measure on the ballot.”

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