VICTORY: State Supreme Court Rules Leasing Public Land for Fracking Betrayed Government's Constitutional Duties
Today, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state government must act as trustees for public natural resources under the Environmental Rights Amendment. The decision overturns a lower court decision and ruled that the state government did not comply with its constitutional duties to Pennsylvanians when it acted to lease public land to oil and gas interests without directing the profits toward conservation efforts, and that future leasing decisions must include an assessment of the public interest.
“This ruling is monumental for not only public lands but for the citizens of Pennsylvania. The court has made clear the constitution’s promise to protect the environment will be upheld, and it reinforces the notion and the law that states every citizen has a right to clean air, pure water, and protected land,” said George Jugovic, Jr., PennFuture's Vice President of Legal Affairs. "Government at all levels are put on notice that they cannot ignore the people’s constitutional rights, as guaranteed by the Environmental Rights Amendment. This decision affirms that those rights are fundamental, and they are enforceable."
Click here to view the full decision.
Click here to view the joint press statement.
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