Dear everyone we all know who live in Allegheny County, (yes, please share FAR and WIDE)!
If you are able to attend the Food and Water Action event detailed below, a week from tomorrow, that's Monday, June 24, 2019 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in Squirrel Hill at the home of Maren Cooke, please do!
We will carpool from Monroeville to Maren Cook's home. Let us know if you'd like to join a carpool by messaging sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com or send us a private message through the Sustainble Monroeville Facebook page. At least one carpool will be leaving from Trotwood Drive in Monroeville. It's worth attending just to spend a bit of time in Maren's home which is amazing. Her home, everything about how she lives demonstrates Permaculture in Action. The roof is full of half vegetables and half solar panels. You can go up there to see it! Maren has been hosting monthly Sustainability Salons at her home for as long as Sustainable Monroeville has been around, and that's been 10 years.
Whether or not you are able to attend a week from Tuesday, please consider donating to Food and Water Action. They are an incredible not- for- profit organization! Right now their work with Monroeville is centered around educating all of us and to support Monroeville in putting a protective of the citizens oil and gas ordinance in place Immediately. They are working in communities throughout Allegheny County.
Many of us Monroeville citizens have gone to Monroeville council meetings to request council put a protective ordinance in place as has been done in South Fayette, Oakmont, Forest Hills, Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh has banned fracking), and other boroughs. Mr. Wratcher, the Municipal Attorney for Monroeville, PA continues to say that council needs to ask him to draw up the ordinance. Our council members are refusing to make this request. Please contact your council person to ask that council ask Mr. Wratcher draw up this request. When council sees the level of concern among the people, the council will act! Sustainable Monroeville presented model ordinances to council over six months ago.
At the last council meeting this past week, both Ms. Gaydos and Mr. Poach said they are happy with the existing ordinance that states fracking is only allowed in industrial zones in Monroeville. This poses many issues. There are NO specifications as to allowable noise levels, light levels, setbacks and much, much more that needs to be specified to protect human health. Many in Sustainable Monroeville are completely opposed to continuing with the extractive industries. That said, we understand that we are not allowed to ban fracking in Monroeville. However, we are allowed to specify WHERE fracking (and infrastructure? who knows the answer to this?) can occur, and we are certainly allowed to put in place within our Monroeville borders rules for noise levels, light levels, setbacks, and more.
Watch this past week's Monroeville council meeting (6-11-19) from the link on the Municipal web site. It's an important one!!!
Please share this invitation with everyone you know who lives in Monroeville and really anybody you know who will be interested! The time to ACT is NOW!
We're going to start to fill the council chamber in Monroeville to make sure we get a protective of the citizens ordinance in place that specifies light and noise levels for fracking well pads, and most importantly 2500 foot setbacks from homes, schools and businesses. Right now, one of the well pads that has been approved for just over the border of Allegheny County into Westmoreland County right by the amazing bike trail off of Saunders Station near the municipal pool is 0.4 of a mile from the municipal pool. That means it is WAY too close to the homes over there, Ramsey Elementary, several elementary schools in Level Green to say the least. It is way too close to the Saunders Station and Haymaker residential sections of Monroeville as well, including Gateway High School, the Middle School and the Cleveland Steward Elementary School. Those of us who live in these areas are living in areas where there is a large threat to our human health. Let's correct this issue and do the right thing. We have that opportunity now!
Protect PT is also an outstanding organization that is doing a lot of the hard work around this issue. I highly recommend you join Protect PT. Go to their web site to learn more about what is going on right next door to Monroeville and how we can protect ourselves. Protect PT has brought many law suits against the gas companies to fight for our human health....They need our support.
Please mark Tuesday July 2 (July 4 is that Thursday so meeting is on Tuesday rather than Thursday) on your calendar for the next Monroeville Citizens Night to express your views, and the following Tuesday, July 9 for the next council meeting. We MUST demand the current council acts Now!
It is time to come together as ONE! If you have any questions, let us know.
Many blessings,
Kelly, Dave, Lois, Elisa, and all of us here in Monroeville, PA!
sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com
Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
