Last Sunday evening I attended a Potluck & Politics event at the Kutztown Area Democratic Club where the topic was very local: the restrainment of local self government. The speaker was Ben Price of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. It was an educational and informative session. I've been well aware of some of the issues involved though not enough to write about them extensively.
Our local governmental units: townships, boroughs, villages, and such, are very numerous in Pennsylvania. We have a destructured governmental operation. For example, Berks County, where I reside, has 73 different municipal entities. In Pennsylvania most government is top down: state and county. Local governments pave roads, plow snow and are responsible for planning and zoning. Unfortunately they really have no authority for planning or zoning as that is mandated by the state legislature.
People are constantly criticizing their local officials because of issues like Wal-Mart, sludge, factory farms, huge new residential development and other issues. They seem unaware that the laws are written so there is virtually no local self government regarding these issues. It is all decreed at the state level and laws were written by the lobbyists in Harrisburg to remove any real local control.
All your township can do is insure all the rules and regulations are met. Aside from that blocking the spreading of human waste on that farm next to your well head cannot be stopped. The pig farmer who is going to redo his operation and begin raising 25,000 hogs? Good luck trying to sell your property anytime in the next fifty years because it just became worthless.
Worse, if your local municipality tries to do anything to stop any of these plans the Pennsylvania Attorney General has been empowered by the ACRE law to act, with your tax dollars, for those corporate agribusiness and developer interests. This was all supported by our Democratic Governor, by the way. He signed and supported ACRE.
The net effect is that your right to self government is gone. You have no say what happens in your community, where you live. If you object you can be sued along with your municipality. You will lose.
What can you do? First contact your Governor, State Representative and State Senator and insist they repeal ACRE and pass legislation restoring your democratic rights. Secondly have your local municipality contact the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund for information which will enable you and your neighbors to restore your democratic rights.
You do have the power and authority to pass local ordinances. No rational or sane judge can dismiss an ordinance which asserts your local right to self government. The CELDF can help you draft these laws. One such ordinance may prohibit any corporate spreading of sludge (partially treated human and industrial waste containing heavy metals and who knows what else) on your area fields and pollute your ground water.
This is serious business. We had a young man die from sewage sludge which was spread in our county.
You can also stop mining, landfills and other unwanted development which will affect your health, safety, well being and property values. The state has taken your basic right to self government and no legitimate court can stop your local government from asserting those rights. Corporations are not persons though an old Supreme Court decision gave it to them. Because of that businesses now have more rights than you possess and this has been to the serious detriment of the country. This election year make the issue of corporate personhood important with every candidate with whom you speak.
One of the things Howard Dean said in his presidential campaign stays with me: you have the power. You have the power to force change because you have the power to get involved and vote for change. In 2008 exercise that power.
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