Search Results for: rights of nature

May 18, 2016

Guest Blog: Updating EPA Frack Waste Regulations: Let’s Call it What it Is

Guest blogger Tish O’Dell of Broadview Heights, OH, observes that efforts to update frack waste regulations perpetuates harm. It’s time to shift from slowing down the destruction of our communities and ecosystems, to stopping it.

Read More | Community Wires

May 3, 2016

Press Release: Pennsylvania Township Legalizes Civil Disobedience

Grant Township, PA, residents make history as the first community in the U.S. to legalize nonviolent civil disobedience to protect their community from a fracking wastewater injection well.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Apr 26, 2016

Press Release: Highland Township Votes “Yes”to Consider Home Rule

As Highland Township, PA, residents fight to keep out a frack wastewater injection well, tonight they voted “yes” to form a study commission to consider a Home Rule form of government, which could expand local control.

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

Mar 12, 2016

Press Release: Barnstead, NH, Adopts First-in-the-Nation Law Protects Against Religious Persecution, Including Religious I.D. Requirements

Barnstead, NH, residents make history as the first community to adopt a Community Bill of Rights establishing the right to be free from religious identification requirements.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Mar 11, 2016

Press Release: Colorado Supreme Court Rules Local Self-Government State Constitutional Amendment Can Advance to Next Stage Toward Ballot

The Colorado Supreme Court clears the way for residents to advance their Community Rights state constitutional amendment initiative to the November ballot. Oil and gas industry representatives had attempted to keep the measure from being voted on by the people.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Dec 2, 2015

CELDF Celebrates 20 Years!

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund turns 20 years old! What began as a mission to help communities fight permits has evolved into a Community Rights Movement for people and nature.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Nov 3, 2015

Press Release: Despite Court Ruling, Grant Township Bans Fracking Injection Wells Again, Through Municipal Charter

The people of Grant Township, PA, adopt the first rights-based charter in the country banning frack wastewater injection wells, two weeks after a federal judge overturned portions of a Community Bill of Rights ordinance banning the wells.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Oct 15, 2015

Press Release: Grant Township, PA: The People Left Out of Court Decision

A U.S. District Court finds in favor of corporations to site a frack wastewater injection well in Grant Township, PA – ignoring the will and the rights of the people who live there. Grant residents consider an appeal, while growing numbers of residents seek a state constitutional amendment to protect their rights.

Read More | Uncategorized

Oct 5, 2015

Press Release: New Hampshire Legislature to Consider CELDF-Drafted State Constitutional Amendment

A CELDF-drafted state constitutional amendment recognizing the rights of communities to govern themselves is being introduced in the New Hampshire legislature.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Sep 19, 2015

Press Release: Ohio Supreme Court Upholds the Right of the People of Youngstown to Vote on a Citizens’ Initiative

The people of Youngstown’s constitutional right to vote on a local Bill of Rights charter amendment initiative was upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Sep 16, 2015

Press Release: Ohio Supreme Court Rules Against Secretary of State

The Ohio Supreme Court rules in favor of the democratic rights of citizens, and against the Ohio Secretary of State’s claimed “unfettered authority” to block the people’s right to initiative.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Aug 31, 2015

Is it Really ILLEGAL to Think Outside the Box?

What is it that keeps us from getting what we want in our communities? Why can’t we say, “No!” to harmful activities? The short answer is: THE LAW. A handful of legal doctrines make it illegal for communities to govern on important issues like fracking, factory farms, large-scale energy infrastructure projects and commercial water extraction.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Aug 31, 2015

The System is Fixed and We Need to Break It

The system is broken! At CELDF we hear this all the time from communities asking for our help. Yet, to our eyes, the system is actually working just fine for those who created it; it’s been fixed to work on behalf of corporations that are protected by our state and federal governments.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Aug 31, 2015

Press Release: Ohio Citizens Protest Against Secretary of State for denying their Constitutional Right to Vote

Ohio residents will demonstrate in downtown Columbus on Wednesday, against Ohio Secretary of State’s recent decision to remove three Home Rule county charter initiatives from the November ballot.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Aug 31, 2015

Tamaqua Borough, Pennsylvania

The story of one Pennsylvania community gaining community rights.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 30, 2015

Press Release: Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection Recognizes Community Authority to Ban Frack Wastewater Injection Wells

MERCERSBURG, PA: On August 12, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) took an unprecedented step, for the first time suspending the issuance of a state frack wastewater injection well permit on the basis of a local ordinance banning injection wells.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 27, 2015

Press Release: Ohio Government Officials Again Deny Citizens the Right to Vote on Fracking

YOUNGSTOWN, OH: A week following Ohio Secretary of State John Husted’s ruling which stripped residents in three counties of their right to vote on Home Rule Charter initiatives, the Mahoning County Board of Elections voted to do the same to Youngstown residents. The Board refused to place a proposed Charter Amendment on the November ballot, even though all requirements for qualifying the amendment to the ballot were met, and the Board’s own attorney advised placing the amendment onto the ballot.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 22, 2015

The Colorado Statesman: Activists tweak message, timing in latest anti-fracking ballot fight

Activists will take another crack at passing the Colorado Community Rights Amendment, a proposed ballot initiative designed to give localities a veto over corporate activity, starting with the oil and gas industry.

Read More | News from the Grassroots

Aug 21, 2015

E&E Reporter: Fracking foes ask Ohio Supreme Court to reinstate ballot drives

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted blocked the initiatives in Athens, Fulton and Medina counties on Nov. 13, 2014, saying local governments cannot get around state law that allows fracking. He acted under a section of Ohio law that allows the secretary of state to respond to election complaints (EnergyWire, Aug. 17).

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 21, 2015

Press Release: Fracking Fight Heats Up in Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH: With the oil and gas industry already reveling in a recent Ohio Supreme Court decision stripping local control on fracking and other extraction activities away from communities, the Secretary of State has now handed the industry another victory, opening the door for fracking infrastructure projects to spread even faster across Ohio.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 19, 2015

Meigs County Home Rule Committee

A state constitution is the governing document of a U.S. state, like as the United States Constitution is the governing document of the United States. Then, a county charter can rightly be compared to a constitution at the local level. It spells out the powers, duties and structures of government and the rights of county citizens.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 14, 2015

Press Release: Ohio Secretary of State Denies Ohio Citizens their Constitutional Right to Vote

COLUMBUS, OH: The Ohio Secretary of State, Jon Husted, declared that the citizens of Medina, Fulton, and Athens Counties may not vote on their own county charter initiatives, despite meeting requirements to place those initiatives on the November ballot.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 12, 2015

Media Statement: Meigs County Commissioners Resort to Chicanery to Keep County Charter Initiative off the Ballot

MEIGS COUNTY, OH: Frustrated by the efforts of the Meigs County Commissioners to keep residents’ community rights county charter initiative off the November ballot, the Meigs County Home Rule Committee (MCHRC) has sued the Commissioners to force the measure on to the ballot.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 12, 2015

State College

On November 8, 2011, the residents of State College voted overwhelmingly—72%—to amend their Home Rule Charter to include a Community Bill of Rights.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 12, 2015

Peters Township Overview

On November 23, 2010 Ellen Mavrich contacted CELDF asking for advice about adopting a community rights ordinance similar to the one enacted by Pittsburgh City Council, in consultation with CELDF, on November 16th. This is their story.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 11, 2015

Press Release: Ecosystem, Community Group, and Municipal Authority File for Intervention in Lawsuit to Defend Community from Injection Well

HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP, PA: Today, an ecosystem in the United States filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit to defend its own rights to exist and flourish.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Aug 4, 2015

Water Privatization

Water is life – yet corporations are taking communities’ water for profit. CELDF has assisted the first communities in the U.S. to prohibit water privatization. Learn here about the harms from privatizing our water, how communities are organizing to stop them, and what you can do in your own community.

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Aug 4, 2015

Retail Chains

Everyone loves a good deal, right? But what are those low, low prices really costing you and your community? CELDF helps communities threatened by big retail chains. Read here about their harms, and what you can do in your community.

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Aug 4, 2015

Pipelines

CELDF is helping the first communities in the country to prohibit pipelines. Read here about the dangers of pipelines, the ways in which communities are organizing to stop them, and what you can do in your community.

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Aug 4, 2015

Mining

CELDF helps communities facing industrial mining operations, which threaten the environmental, economic, and civil rights of communities. Learn here about the dangers of mining, and what you can do in your community.

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Aug 4, 2015

Fracking

Fracking is spreading across the U.S. – and CELDF has assisted the first communities in the U.S. to ban it. Learn here about the harms caused by fracking, how communities are organizing to stop them, and what you can do in your community.

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Aug 4, 2015

Chemical Trespass

Chemical trespass occurs when people and the natural environment are harmed by chemical agents that are forced into communities – and CELDF is helping the first communities in the country to stop it. Learn more about chemical trespass, how communities are organizing to ban it, and what you can do in your community.

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Apr 1, 2015

In Remembrance of Gail Darrell

It is with great sadness that we share with you the loss of our friend and colleague, Gail Darrell. For nearly a decade, Gail has worked to protect communities across New England from corporate and government interests that sought to override the rights of people, communities, and nature.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Mar 15, 2015

OHCRN Statement: Broadview Heights, OH, County Court Decision Evokes Rallying Cry from Residents

While a County Court elevates corporate claimed “rights” over community rights in Broadview Heights, OH, residents assert the decision is illegitimate and determine to continue on.

Read More | Uncategorized

Feb 23, 2015

Press Release: Oregon Files Constitutional Amendment to Secure Right to Local, Community Self-Government

ORCRN files a proposed state constitutional amendment to secure citizens’ right to local, community self-government, thereby enabling the people to protect themselves from harmful corporate activities, and move towards sustainability.

Read More | Community Wires

Feb 18, 2015

OHCRN Statement: Rejecting the Munroe Falls Decision

Read More | Uncategorized

Feb 17, 2015

OHCRN: Kent Law Director Proposes Charter Amendment Granting Him Veto Power over Citizens’ Proposed Initiatives

Kent, OH, law director attempts to preempt citizens’ right to initiative by changing the city’s Charter – giving him the authority to veto proposed initiatives at his discretion.

Read More | Community Wires

Feb 14, 2015

CELDF Statement: Spokane Initiative Decision

In the face of corporations and government joining together to suppress the democratic rights of the people of Spokane, WA, to vote on a Community Bill of Rights, last week the Washington Court of Appeals overturned an earlier ruling and ordered the initiative be placed back on the ballot for a vote of the people.

Read More | Uncategorized

Feb 4, 2015

CELDF Statement: Spokane Initiative Decision

In the face of corporations and government joining together to suppress the democratic rights of the people of Spokane, WA, to vote on a Community Bill of Rights, last week the Washington Court of Appeals overturned an earlier ruling and ordered the initiative be placed back on the ballot for a vote of the people.

Read More | Uncategorized

Feb 3, 2015

CELDF Statement: Spokane Initiative Appellate Court Decision

In the face of corporations and government joining together to suppress the democratic rights of the people of Spokane, WA, to vote on a Community Bill of Rights, last week the Washington Court of Appeals overturned an earlier ruling and ordered the initiative be placed back on the ballot for a vote of the people.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Nov 10, 2014

Punishing Democracy

Denton, TX, joins a growing number of communities being sued by their own government and corporate entities, to punish communities for democratically enacting bans on fracking.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Sep 1, 2014

Spokane

In 2007, after a series of Democracy Schools held in Spokane, Washington, a group of citizens led by local school teacher Brad Read built a coalition to support a Community Bill of Rights for City residents.

Read More | Community Wires

Aug 19, 2014

Press Release: Lafayette, CO, Residents Seek Injunction Against State & Oil and Gas Industry for Violating the Right of Local Self-Government

Lafayette, CO, residents seek a preliminary injunction against the State of Colorado, the Governor, and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association to enforce their Community Bill of Rights banning fracking – adopted overwhelmingly by residents last November.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

May 15, 2014

Mora County Legal Defense Fund

The Mora County Legal Defense Fund was formed to protect Mora’s Community Rights – including their right to clean air and water, a healthy environment, and local self-governance – as they face a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, which claims a constitutional right to frack against the will of the people of Mora.

Read More | Uncategorized

Feb 24, 2014

CELDF’s February Update

Here’s an update on some of our latest work.

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Jan 31, 2014

CELDF’s January 2014 Update

Thank you for supporting us in 2013! With your contributions, we will expand our work in 2014, meeting the growing numbers of requests for help from communities across the United States. If you have not yet donated, please click on the purple DONATE button on our website.

Read More | Uncategorized

Dec 20, 2013

FAQs – Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ruling on Act 13

Q. Does the Act 13 ruling ban fracking in Pennsylvania? A. No. The Act 13 ruling allows municipal governments to return to their status prior to the adoption of Act 13 – that of being able to adopt local zoning ordinances which control where oil and gas drilling can occur on the surface within the community.

Read More | Uncategorized

Dec 19, 2013

Pennsylvania’s Act 13 – Fracking

On December 19, 2013, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court found much of Act 13 unconstitutional. CELDF issued a press statement and FAQs

Read More | Uncategorized

Dec 19, 2013

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

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Oct 17, 2013

October 2013 CELDF Update

Updates from Oregon to Austraila in this month’s CELDF’s newsletter.

Read More | Uncategorized