These and other questions will be addressed at an environmental
symposium on Sunday, April 12 at the Market Square Presbyterian
Church in downtown Harrisburg.
The speakers are:
•Franklin Kury,
former state legislator and author of the Environmental Rights Amendment to the
Pennsylvania Constitution, adopted by voters in 1971. Mr. Kury will discuss the origins of the amendment, its
legislative history, and its intent.
•John Dernbach, distinguished professor of law at Widener
University. Mr. Dernbach will speak on the amendment's history after
adoption and its treatment by the courts.
•John Childe, attorney with the Pennsylvania Environmental
Defense Foundation. Mr. Childe will cite the amendment in a pending suit against
the commonwealth involving the leasing of public lands for natural gas
development.
This event is open to the public. Free parking is available
in the Market Square Garage, adjacent to the church.
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2015
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: Market Square Presbyterian Church
20 South 2nd Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment states:
“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to
the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the
environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of
all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these
resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of
all the people.”
In 2012, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 13, a
law meant to further natural gas development by limiting local regulation of
oil and gas operations. After significant
outcry from citizens, a case was brought before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court by municipal
and environmental parties. After considering both sides' arguments, the Court struck down several provisions of Act 13. A plurality of justices on the Court, basing their decision on the Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution, reasoned that those provisions violated both the
environmental rights of citizens and the Commonwealth’s obligations as a
trustee of public natural resources under the Amendment.
This landmark decision has breathed new life into the
Environmental Rights Amendment and marked the first time the amendment was
interpreted by the courts in such a manner as to have any meaningful impact.
