Letter to the Editor: State Takes Power from Local Towns in Fracking Move

Dear neighbors,

In townships and municipalities across the state, Pennsylvanians are awakening to recent action in our state legislature, and realizing with concern what it will mean to us locally. Problem: In the near term, this pre-emption of our local rights is focused on oil and gas drilling, but long term, Harrisburg's action could affect much more. 

Across the state, township councils are in shock. Some had carefully placed ordinances on their books to protect their residents from the poisons associated with fracking for natural gas. These boroughs and townships now find Harrisburg mowing down those ordinances and imposing ones that instead favor the oil and gas companies.

If Washington, D.C., announced to the nation that, from now on, all decisions previously made at the state level were going to instead be made from D.C., there would be riots. With this statewide takeover, Harrisburg has done just that, effectively telling every borough and township across the state that we no longer have any local rights to our own decisions.

Your voices need to be heard, now.

A state-wide online petition against this Harrisburg takeover is now available (with more than 10,500 signatures, many more needed) and every Pennsylvanian is urged to sign it and send it to others.

Let your state representatives and senators know how you feel at http://signon.org/sign/petition-opposing-pa?source=s.em.cr&r_by=152868&mailing_id=1157 .

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Donohoe

Forest Hills resident