Navigating electoral advocacy as a 501(c)(3) is not always easy but we have some great tips for those that are interested.
An Environmental Justice Advisory Board (EJAB) is a group that advises government agencies on issues related to environmental justice, ensuring that policies and actions address the needs and concerns of marginalized communities disproportionately affected by environmental harms. These boards play a crucial role in promoting fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race or income, in environmental decision-making processes. The importance of EJABs lies in their ability to bridge the gap between communities and policymakers, advocating for equitable solutions to environmental challenges. The goal of this document is to compare the strengths and weaknesses of different EJAB bylaws to provide informed recommendations for communities to advocate for strong Board structures that have the power to move their vision and needs forward.
In response to the Planning Director’s comments in the media that the proposed development is a better land use than electroplating or some of the other things that could go on this property, it’s simply a legal falsehood that the City has to grant a conditional use permit and allow this proposed development to move forward.
On October 22, 2020, the East Pittsburgh Borough Zoning Hearing Board voted to affirm the Borough Council’s earlier decision to rescind approval for a natural gas well pad proposed on the U.S. Steel Edgar Thompson property, just outside the City of Pittsburgh.
Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services represents North Braddock Residents for Our Future and resident Chad Nicholson as Intervenors in Merrion’s Appeal. “The Zoning Board’s decision is a major win for residents of these communities who have objected to this development from the start” said attorney Ryan Hamilton. The 3-2 vote is the most recent development in a story that began in 2017 when the Borough granted New Mexico- based Merrion Oil and Gas their requested Conditional Use Approval.
According to the Board’s written Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the Borough Council has authority to rescind a conditional use within two years if the use has not commenced. Exercising that authority, in January 2020, the Borough Council notified Merrion that its conditional use approval expired. Merrion quickly filed an appeal to the Zoning Board. The Board held two days of virtual hearings in June where the parties presented evidence and cross examined witnesses.
Ultimately, the Board found that as of January 21, 2020 Merrion did not have required DEP permits to start construction, did not request a building permit or occupancy permit for the site, and “[n]o oil and gas operations have commenced at the site.” Accordingly, the Board affirmed the Council’s decision to rescind Merrion’s zoning approval, noting that “failure to be familiar with the terms of the zoning ordinance do not excuse failure to comply with it.”
Edith Abeyta with North Braddock Residents for Our Future said, “"Merrion continues to hold a colonialist position regardless of their inability to comply with the law, their inability to correctly complete DEP permit applications, after more than two years and 11 deficiency letters, and the overwhelming resistance by the community to their proposed fracking activity. They believe they know what is best for the people who live here and are determined to extract resources from the community whether it is through the courts or from the land under our feet."
While the zoning board decision is a significant step towards halting Merrion’s plans to develop a well pad at the site, counsel for Merrion suggests they are likely to appeal resulting in a lengthy legal process with a yet to be determined outcome.
Contact: Tim Fitchett, Attorney tfitchett@fairshake-els.org
On October 6, 2020, Clean Air Council (CAC), through counsel, filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue Sunoco Pipeline L.P. (SPLP) for violations of its Erosion and Sedimentation Control permits related to the Mariner East II pipelines.
Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services of Pittsburgh, PA, which is representing Clean Air Council in this matter, filed the notice outlining an alleged pattern and practice of preventing professional geologists (PGs) working on the pipeline from properly inspecting and investigating environmental conditions, including subsidence, near the pipeline. The Notice of Intent to Sue contends that:
● SPLP prevented the PGs from talking with drillers, depriving them of required information.
● SPLP prevented PGs from reporting potentially dangerous subsidence outside of an arbitrarily determined boundary.
● SPLP failed to adequately monitor subsidence incidents that were reported.
● SPLP required the PGs’ reports to be editable and altered those reports before submission to regulatory agencies.
● SPLP required the PGs to conform their findings with those of the Utility Inspectors, regardless of their actual findings.
Given the limitations placed on PGs and the potential alteration of their reports, CAC contends that SPLP has violated their Erosion and Sedimentation permits. Those permits require that SPLP submit true and accurate reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to ensure compliance with the Clean Streams Law.
“Sunoco is so scared of what its scientists will find in investigating its pipeline construction that it’s muzzled them and doctored their reports” said Joseph Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council. “Building pipelines based on fake science is dangerous and fraudulent.”
The Notice of Intent to Sue can be found here.
Many property owners are surprised to learn that a trespasser may gain ownership of land by simply using it with no documented challenge for 21 years. Fortunately, landowners can avoid this threat with some good, basic practices.
On September 2, 2020 WeConservePA, supported by attorney Ryan Hamilton and legal intern Emily Rollins of Fair Shake ELS, published a legal guide to Adverse Possession in Pennsylvania in order to help property owners understand the concepts behind this legal theory and provide practical advice for avoiding disputes. An excerpt from the Guide is reproduced, below:
“In Pennsylvania, a claim of adverse possession gives a trespasser legal title to property if they can prove actual, continuous, exclusive, visible, notorious, distinct, and hostile possession of property for (in most cases) 21 years. One motivating factor behind the continued legality of adverse possession is that it ensures land does not lay dormant: it incentivizes property owners to timely assert their ownership rights and, if they fail to do so, allocates real property to those who put it to use. Land, buildings, and even rooms within buildings can be obtained through adverse possession. Property owned by the federal and state government is immune to adverse possession, but property owned by political subdivisions is not, unless the land is “devoted to public use” or held in furtherance of a governmental function. While adverse possession claims pose a risk for any conservation organization or trail group who owns property (whether in fee simple or by easement), there are practical approaches to avoiding disputes: First, understand your property boundaries. While descriptions in deeds and easement agreements provide a starting point, this is best accomplished with assistance from a professional surveyor who can stake out visible boundary markers on your property. Second, if the property interest is a trail or conservation easement, understand what activities are inconsistent with the purposes of the easement or effectively encroach on that easement. Finally, regularly monitor the property and assert your property rights to avoid encroachment. Regular monitoring will inform you of potential or actual encroachment and provide an opportunity to take appropriate action to avoid an adverse possession dispute, whether that means granting permission for use in writing or ejecting the trespasser from the property.”
For free access to the full guide, please search ConservationTools.Org or visit this link.
