Join community members from the Turtle Creek Watershed, Airshed, and beyond as they come together for the second ReImagine the Turtle Creek Watershed & Airshed Communities Plus (TCWAC+) visioning session. During the first visioning session held in December of 2019, community members had the opportunity to brainstorm sustainable, regenerative solutions that they want to see implemented in their communities. At this second meeting, after reviewing the data collected from the first visioning session, we will hear from Brandon Dennison of Coalfield Development and Patricia DeMarco, and following their presentations, community members will have the opportunity to participate in the next round of visioning.
Join us to Reimagine and Act:
Friday, January 21, 2020 at the Forest Hills Borough Building, 4400 Greensburg Pike 15221, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
EventBrite Registration Link: bit.ly/2RWOzdF for Visioning 2: A Sustainable Economic Transition on Facebook
This event is free and open to the public. A plant-based lunch will be provided. Plates and cutlery will be provided, but if able, attendees are encouraged to bring their own. Pre-registration through Eventbrite is encouraged, though not required. Questions can be directed to sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you there!
ReImagine the Turtle Creek Watershed & Airshed Communities Plus (TCWAC+) is an initiative to vision sustainable community development in the Turtle Creek Watershed, PA Congressional District 18, and Allegheny Council District 8.
More Information about our speakers:
Brandon Dennison:
Brandon is Ashley Dennison’s husband and father to their boys: Owen and Will. Born and raised in West Virginia, he is Founder and CEO of Coalfield Development, coalfield-development.org which incubates social enterprises designed to diversify Appalachia’s coal-based economy and cultivate opportunity for people facing barriers to employment. Dennison graduated from Shepherd University with a B.A. in History and a B.S. in Political Science. He holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from Indiana University. In 2017, Brandon was named West Virginian of the Year by WV Living Magazine. In 2016, he was named one of “40 Under 40: Young Leaders Who Are Solving the Problems of Today” by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He is winner of the JMK Social Innovation Prize, is a DRK Entrepreneur, and is an Ashoka Fellow.
As a college student, Brandon Dennison volunteered with his church to repair homes in West Virginia’s coal country. He never forgot seeing people his own age desperate for paying work. In 2010, Brandon founded Coalfield Development Corporation as a community-based non-profit organization providing affordable homes, creating quality jobs, and generating opportunities for full life for low- income families in southern West Virginia. The Coalfield Development Corporation offers on-the-job-training, education, and mentoring to people in the southern coalfields. Brandon was quoted in the Bill Moyers “Making Change” series, saying, “Our responsibility is to create opportunity, then to provide encouragement and build the self-confidence necessary for pursuing opportunity.” Coalfield Development has created more than 200 new jobs, over 50 new businesses, and more than 800 professional certification opportunities for unemployed people, many of whom were laid-off coalminers.
Patricia DeMarco:
Patricia M. DeMarco is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. with a doctorate in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. She has spent a thirty -year career in energy and environmental policy in both private and public sector positions. She is a Rachel Carson Scholar and served as Executive Director of the Rachel Carson Homestead Association and Director of the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University. She holds the office of Vice President of the Forest Hills Borough Council. She sits as Secretary on the Board of Trustees for Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Her book, titled “Pathways to Our Sustainable Future – A Global Perspective from Pittsburgh” explores positive pathways toward sustainability, based on 28 case studies in Pittsburgh. Inspired by Rachel Carson’s environmental ethic, the book was funded by the W. Clyde and Ida Mae Thurman Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation. It was published by The University of Pittsburgh Press in 2017. Order the book and find a book signing event here https://patriciademarco.com/book/
She is the Executive Producer of a documentary film with Mark E. Dixon, “The Power of One Voice- A 50 Year Perspective on the Life of Rachel Carson” and has served as technical advisor for a video series with Kirsi Jansa titled “Sustainability Pioneers” https://patriciademarco.com/film-video/
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Sunday, November 3, 2019
The Need to Grow, Vegan Expo, and Re-Imagine!
Happy November, and a December SAVE the DATE!
We hope to see you this week at the Monroeville Public Library 11/4/19, and at the Monroeville Convention Center, 11/9/19 as well. Mark your calendar for December 11, 2019 at the Braddock Carnegie Public Library too for our exciting Re-Imagining Turtle Creek Watershed and Airshed Communities Visioning session! Some details below with more to come. Stay tuned!
1) FREE: The Need to Grow documentary at the Monroeville Public Library:
Monday evening, November 4, 2019 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Monroeville Public Library including discussion following the film screening of The Need to Grow. Feel free to bring healthy whole food, plant based snacks to share:
FREE!
Save the Soil. Save the World: The Need To Grow documentary narrated & produced by Rosario Dawson. A film by Rob Herring & Ryan Wirick tomorrow evening, November 4 at the Monroeville Public Library starting at 6:30 pm.
The Need to Grow is an incredibly wonderful & uplifting documentary offering a view into the hearts of activists and innovators in the food movement. Join us!
The Need to Grow is an incredibly wonderful & uplifting documentary offering a view into the hearts of activists and innovators in the food movement. Join us!
2) The Pittsburgh Vegan Expo, Saturday, November 9, 2019, 10 am to 4 pm at the Monroeville Convention Center:
Food, products, wellness room, demonstrations, movies, speakers, vegan trick or treat for kids, gingerbread house competition, breakdance, beatboxer, bellydance, live music, DJ, Re-model gala (recycled dance fashion contest), Vegan Spirituality-Southwest PA, Re-Imagine! TCWAC+ and many, many, more tabling, and much more!
3) FREE: Inaugural Re-Imagine! Turtle Creek Watershed and Airshed Communities Plus, Re-Imagine! TCWAC+ Visioning Session at the Braddock Carnegie Public Library, 5 pm to 8:30 pm (with 3:00 to 5:00 pm session too), Facebook page & EventBrite Registration available soon with more details!
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
URGENT! Attend October 3 Citizen's Night and October 8 Council Meeting at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal Building
Happy Autumn!
Listen to Greta Thunberg's wise words at the recent United Nations Climate Summit and then get busy acting locally in Monroeville, PA in early October by contacting your councilperson to let him or her know your thoughts about two critical issues:
1) We must be sure Monroeville does NOT sell the Municipal pool property. This property is specifically for recreational use in perpetuity according to documents we've seen.
2) We must be sure Monroeville council votes to put in place a protective of the citizens oil and gas ordinance at the November, 2019 meeting after being advertised in October, 2019.
Locally, what is going on here in Monroeville, PA and how can you be involved? Read the articles recently published with links below. Both articles were published by Trib Total Media in September, 2019 in The Times Express by Dillon Carr.
Actions for Citizens:
Please contact your councilperson and let him or her to vote to take the pool sale off of the table. If you do not live in Monroeville, please call Mayor Nick Gresock and Municipal Manager Tim Little to let them know selling the pool property is not ok.
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/monroeville-pool-up-for-sale-making-way-for-turnpike-commission-purchase/
Please call your councilperson and ask him or her to be sure the proposed oil and gas ordinance is advertised this coming month. Then ask that this updated protective of the citizens ordinance be voted in at the November, 2019 council meeting.
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/monroeville-residents-propose-oil-and-gas-ordinance/
We must fill the council chamber on both Thursday, October 3 at 7:00 pm for Citizen's Night and Tuesday, October 8 at 7:00 pm, for the next council meeting. Please mark your calendars, and plan to speak up about two critically important issues:
Council plans to vote to sell the Monroeville Municipal pool property on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 unless citizens rise up to say NO WAY! Council has been claiming that the turnpike commission has asked for that property to use to widen the turnpike. We were told at a council meeting not too long ago by one of the councilpersons that the property would be taken by eminent domain. This simply is not true. We have not seen any documentation that states this. Some of the pool members found out that the turnpike does not plan to widen that portion of the road until nine years from now. We also have learned that:
1) The property on the other side of the turnpike from the pool is also owned by the Municipality of Monroeville. We have asked why there has not been discussion about the turnpike using that property to widen the road and to leave the pool property alone.
2) The property the municipal pool sits on was condemned in 1974 and given to the Municipality of Monroeville. This 10 + acre property was to be used only for recreational purposes according to the condemnation documentation. It is therefore illegal to sell this property and to use it for any purpose other than recreation.
3) What is the hurry by council to sell this pool property? We have been asking for four months who owns the gas and oil rights underneath that property. No complete answer has been provided yet. Mr. Wratcher, the municipal attorney for the Municipality of Monroeville was formerly employed by APEX, a gas extraction company that is working in this area in the fracking industry. Is this a conflict of interest? Why is it that Mr. Wratcher is not able to figure out an answer to this question of who owns these mineral rights in a timely fashion especially as a former gas industry employee?
4) Could it be that the municipality owns the gas rights under this property? Could it be that the gas industry is eyeing these gas rights for fracking infrastructure or for other types of gas lines? We know that a fracking well pad is proposed for 0.4 mile from this site just into Penn Township, Westmoreland County right next to both the pool and the Heritage bike and Walking Trail. This is unacceptable. If it is true about the gas rights being owned by the municipality of Monroeville, we need to be sure that those rights are never used for fracking infrastructure such as pipelines and /or compressor stations, or any other fracked gas or other extractive industry infrastructure. Why? This property is for the use of Monroeville citizens for recreational use. Gas infrastructure does not belong underneath. In addition, this infrastructure does not belong near schools, homes, religious institutions, or businesses in our town.
Think Globally and Act Locally: Get involved in local Monroeville politics for a clean air and water and just future for all,
With gratitude,
David Mintz, Lois Drumheller, Madeline Havrilla, and Elisa Beck for Sustainable Monroeville
Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Listen to Greta Thunberg's wise words at the recent United Nations Climate Summit and then get busy acting locally in Monroeville, PA in early October by contacting your councilperson to let him or her know your thoughts about two critical issues:
1) We must be sure Monroeville does NOT sell the Municipal pool property. This property is specifically for recreational use in perpetuity according to documents we've seen.
2) We must be sure Monroeville council votes to put in place a protective of the citizens oil and gas ordinance at the November, 2019 meeting after being advertised in October, 2019.
Locally, what is going on here in Monroeville, PA and how can you be involved? Read the articles recently published with links below. Both articles were published by Trib Total Media in September, 2019 in The Times Express by Dillon Carr.
Actions for Citizens:
Please contact your councilperson and let him or her to vote to take the pool sale off of the table. If you do not live in Monroeville, please call Mayor Nick Gresock and Municipal Manager Tim Little to let them know selling the pool property is not ok.
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/monroeville-pool-up-for-sale-making-way-for-turnpike-commission-purchase/
Please call your councilperson and ask him or her to be sure the proposed oil and gas ordinance is advertised this coming month. Then ask that this updated protective of the citizens ordinance be voted in at the November, 2019 council meeting.
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/monroeville-residents-propose-oil-and-gas-ordinance/
We must fill the council chamber on both Thursday, October 3 at 7:00 pm for Citizen's Night and Tuesday, October 8 at 7:00 pm, for the next council meeting. Please mark your calendars, and plan to speak up about two critically important issues:
Council plans to vote to sell the Monroeville Municipal pool property on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 unless citizens rise up to say NO WAY! Council has been claiming that the turnpike commission has asked for that property to use to widen the turnpike. We were told at a council meeting not too long ago by one of the councilpersons that the property would be taken by eminent domain. This simply is not true. We have not seen any documentation that states this. Some of the pool members found out that the turnpike does not plan to widen that portion of the road until nine years from now. We also have learned that:
1) The property on the other side of the turnpike from the pool is also owned by the Municipality of Monroeville. We have asked why there has not been discussion about the turnpike using that property to widen the road and to leave the pool property alone.
2) The property the municipal pool sits on was condemned in 1974 and given to the Municipality of Monroeville. This 10 + acre property was to be used only for recreational purposes according to the condemnation documentation. It is therefore illegal to sell this property and to use it for any purpose other than recreation.
3) What is the hurry by council to sell this pool property? We have been asking for four months who owns the gas and oil rights underneath that property. No complete answer has been provided yet. Mr. Wratcher, the municipal attorney for the Municipality of Monroeville was formerly employed by APEX, a gas extraction company that is working in this area in the fracking industry. Is this a conflict of interest? Why is it that Mr. Wratcher is not able to figure out an answer to this question of who owns these mineral rights in a timely fashion especially as a former gas industry employee?
4) Could it be that the municipality owns the gas rights under this property? Could it be that the gas industry is eyeing these gas rights for fracking infrastructure or for other types of gas lines? We know that a fracking well pad is proposed for 0.4 mile from this site just into Penn Township, Westmoreland County right next to both the pool and the Heritage bike and Walking Trail. This is unacceptable. If it is true about the gas rights being owned by the municipality of Monroeville, we need to be sure that those rights are never used for fracking infrastructure such as pipelines and /or compressor stations, or any other fracked gas or other extractive industry infrastructure. Why? This property is for the use of Monroeville citizens for recreational use. Gas infrastructure does not belong underneath. In addition, this infrastructure does not belong near schools, homes, religious institutions, or businesses in our town.
Think Globally and Act Locally: Get involved in local Monroeville politics for a clean air and water and just future for all,
With gratitude,
David Mintz, Lois Drumheller, Madeline Havrilla, and Elisa Beck for Sustainable Monroeville
Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Happy Mothers of the Earth Day!
Happy Mother Earth Day!
Feeling compelled as a Mother today to post about Mother Earth, as our voice is her voice. Let's tell the new story of our regenerative future. Stand up and speak your truth in the midst of all of this madness. Let's tell the new story, and let's begin this new era today!
If you live in Monroeville, call and e-mail your councilperson to show your support to put a protective of the citizens detailed and updated gas and oil ordinance in place right away following the lead of Oakmont. Ask your council member why he or she has not yet acted on the recommendations of Sustainable Monroeville. Then please let us know if their answer to you is satisfactory. Ask your councilperson what regenerative future ideas are being implemented into the consent decree stormwater management plans for the Municipality of Monroeville. Will residents be educated and required to attach rain barrels on each of their downspouts at the expense of the municipality through the fee we are paying yearly? Will the community be educated about installing rain gardens and bio-swales in their landscapes? Will we work together as citizens to create Food, not Lawns laden with chemicals? Will we put ordinances in place to grow pesticide-free food everywhere?
If you are not already planning to vote, put May 21, 2019 on your calendar. If you live in Allegheny County, be sure to vote for Jenkins for District Attorney and if you live in East Pittsburgh, be sure to vote for Jonathan Reyes for East Pittsburgh Council at Large. Vote for Patricia DeMarco in Forest Hills!
Get involved in your local community to the best of your ability. Learn all you can and then ACT!
Join Protect PT! PT stands for Penn Township and Trafford, our neighboring communities who are dealing with many potential fracking wells and infrastructure in their community several of which are less than a mile from our community of Monroeville. Attend Sustainable Monroeville events with your family, friends and neighbors to keep up to date.
If you know anyone in the state of Colorado, or if you have $5.00 or much more to spare, please support dianaforcolorado.com. Diana Bray is my childhood friend and is the ONLY environmental candidate who states her opposition to fracking running for U.S. Senate from the state of Colorado. The competition is fierce, so if you feel called, PLEASE support her campaign!
Here's a few interesting excerpts from David Korten's 2015 book titled Change the Story, Change the Future: A Living Economy for a Living Earth.
From Chapter 5 titled Children of a Living Earth, pp. 74-75:
"Acting as a community in concert with Earth's physical structures and forces, Earth's diverse species filtered excess carbon and a vast variety of toxins from earth's air, waters, and soils and sequestered them deep underground. In so doing- whether by luck or deep cosmic intention-they created environmental conditions necessary for the birth of a species with a capacity for conscious, creative, self-reflective choice far beyond any other."
"In a collective trance induced by the idolatrous Sacred Money and Markets story, we of that species now devote our best minds and technologies to extracting and releasing those sequestered carbons and toxins back into Earth's atmosphere, waters and soils as money-seeking corporate robots exploit and suppress Earth's natural processes to make a quick buck, Our acceptance of this insanity is the ultimate demonstration of the potentially fatal consequence of living by a fabricated Sacred Money and Markets story."
from page 76:
"Hope lies in the evidence that we are reawakening in what I believe to be a fundamental truth of our existence. We humans, like all other beings, are both product and instrument of creation, not its purpose. We belong to Earth, and our health and well-being are inseparable from her health and well-being."
David Korten goes on to elaborate about Living Communities and moving from Abuser to Healer. There is hope. So let's get busy changing ourselves and therefore lovely, amazing, nurturing Mother Earth!
Many blessings for a wonderful day and lots of brand new beginnings! Hey, if you're not already eating a plant-based diet, try it out for one or two meals a week and gradually reduce your consumption of dairy, red meat, chicken and fish. Both your body and Mother Earth will thank you!
Join the Plant Based Eating Hub on June 30 at Temple David for a Pop-Up Plant-based eating event. It will be educational and delicious. Go to PlantBasedEatingHub.com for details!
And if you're feeling especially excited about our Regenerative Future NOW, attend Phipps' Conservatory's Big Green Block Party on Thursday May 16, 2019!
Namasté,
Elisa Beck on behalf of Panchamama, Mother Earth :)
Feeling compelled as a Mother today to post about Mother Earth, as our voice is her voice. Let's tell the new story of our regenerative future. Stand up and speak your truth in the midst of all of this madness. Let's tell the new story, and let's begin this new era today!
If you live in Monroeville, call and e-mail your councilperson to show your support to put a protective of the citizens detailed and updated gas and oil ordinance in place right away following the lead of Oakmont. Ask your council member why he or she has not yet acted on the recommendations of Sustainable Monroeville. Then please let us know if their answer to you is satisfactory. Ask your councilperson what regenerative future ideas are being implemented into the consent decree stormwater management plans for the Municipality of Monroeville. Will residents be educated and required to attach rain barrels on each of their downspouts at the expense of the municipality through the fee we are paying yearly? Will the community be educated about installing rain gardens and bio-swales in their landscapes? Will we work together as citizens to create Food, not Lawns laden with chemicals? Will we put ordinances in place to grow pesticide-free food everywhere?
If you are not already planning to vote, put May 21, 2019 on your calendar. If you live in Allegheny County, be sure to vote for Jenkins for District Attorney and if you live in East Pittsburgh, be sure to vote for Jonathan Reyes for East Pittsburgh Council at Large. Vote for Patricia DeMarco in Forest Hills!
Get involved in your local community to the best of your ability. Learn all you can and then ACT!
Join Protect PT! PT stands for Penn Township and Trafford, our neighboring communities who are dealing with many potential fracking wells and infrastructure in their community several of which are less than a mile from our community of Monroeville. Attend Sustainable Monroeville events with your family, friends and neighbors to keep up to date.
If you know anyone in the state of Colorado, or if you have $5.00 or much more to spare, please support dianaforcolorado.com. Diana Bray is my childhood friend and is the ONLY environmental candidate who states her opposition to fracking running for U.S. Senate from the state of Colorado. The competition is fierce, so if you feel called, PLEASE support her campaign!
Here's a few interesting excerpts from David Korten's 2015 book titled Change the Story, Change the Future: A Living Economy for a Living Earth.
From Chapter 5 titled Children of a Living Earth, pp. 74-75:
"Acting as a community in concert with Earth's physical structures and forces, Earth's diverse species filtered excess carbon and a vast variety of toxins from earth's air, waters, and soils and sequestered them deep underground. In so doing- whether by luck or deep cosmic intention-they created environmental conditions necessary for the birth of a species with a capacity for conscious, creative, self-reflective choice far beyond any other."
"In a collective trance induced by the idolatrous Sacred Money and Markets story, we of that species now devote our best minds and technologies to extracting and releasing those sequestered carbons and toxins back into Earth's atmosphere, waters and soils as money-seeking corporate robots exploit and suppress Earth's natural processes to make a quick buck, Our acceptance of this insanity is the ultimate demonstration of the potentially fatal consequence of living by a fabricated Sacred Money and Markets story."
from page 76:
"Hope lies in the evidence that we are reawakening in what I believe to be a fundamental truth of our existence. We humans, like all other beings, are both product and instrument of creation, not its purpose. We belong to Earth, and our health and well-being are inseparable from her health and well-being."
David Korten goes on to elaborate about Living Communities and moving from Abuser to Healer. There is hope. So let's get busy changing ourselves and therefore lovely, amazing, nurturing Mother Earth!
Many blessings for a wonderful day and lots of brand new beginnings! Hey, if you're not already eating a plant-based diet, try it out for one or two meals a week and gradually reduce your consumption of dairy, red meat, chicken and fish. Both your body and Mother Earth will thank you!
Join the Plant Based Eating Hub on June 30 at Temple David for a Pop-Up Plant-based eating event. It will be educational and delicious. Go to PlantBasedEatingHub.com for details!
And if you're feeling especially excited about our Regenerative Future NOW, attend Phipps' Conservatory's Big Green Block Party on Thursday May 16, 2019!
Namasté,
Elisa Beck on behalf of Panchamama, Mother Earth :)
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Preserve Monroeville's Home Rule Charter. Vote NO on all five ballot questions and One More thing!
Hello, and Happy November,
Preserve Monroeville's Home Rule Charter.
Vote NO on all five ballot questions on Tuesday, November 6. 2018! Why?
Our understanding is that there has been a committee in Monroeville working on the Home Rule Charter. For now, Sustainable Monroeville endorses leaving the Home Rule Charter intact so the citizens of Monroeville are able to stand up for protecting its citizens.
From Lois Drumheller: "The bottom line is this... If we don't pay attention to the subtle changes in local government, it won't be easy to locally get the government we want - especially when it comes to public input, fair elections... you know what I mean. So.... anyone to comment at this point? Thanks for listening. I intend to show the ballot questions, and compare/contrast them with the current HRC.
One more thing y'all:
Subject: Uphold PA's Environmental Rights Amendment & Act on Climate
Hi,
I signed a petition to Gubernatorial and Legislative Winners of 2018 PA Midterm Election.
Will you sign this petition? Click here:
https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/uphold-pas-environmental-1?source=s.em.cp&r_hash=JDTRJIEU
Thanks!
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Preserve Monroeville's Home Rule Charter.
Vote NO on all five ballot questions on Tuesday, November 6. 2018! Why?
Our understanding is that there has been a committee in Monroeville working on the Home Rule Charter. For now, Sustainable Monroeville endorses leaving the Home Rule Charter intact so the citizens of Monroeville are able to stand up for protecting its citizens.
Join us tomorrow evening, Monday, November 5, 2018 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM at the Monroeville Public Library in the downstairs program room to discuss what's written below and to get an update on what's going on with fracking IN and AROUND Monroeville, PA right NOW!
Feel free to share widely to those who will ACT on Tuesday! If you know anyone who lives in the state of PA, encourage them to spend a few hours at the polls Tuesday to get folks to sign petitions from the Better Path Coalition to preserve Article 1 Section 27 of the state of PA's Constitution which assures us citizens of PA clean air and fresh water. Note: Details for this initiative are at the BOTTOM of this e-mail including a link to the petition!
Even if you've never done work with petitions, please step out of your comfort zone, take a clip board and a stack of petitions with you Tuesday to the polls and for the rest of your day Tuesday. You will be happy you did!
This has been a wild week in Pittsburgh, PA. From the darkness emerges the light. Yet, it's important to get involved in order to watch the positive unfolding. Here's a few simple ways to get involved this Tuesday and it goes just a bit beyond voting if you have the courage to step just a tad outside of your comfort zone. If you need courage to do this and a bit of healing of your spirit, let us know *sustainablemonroeville@gmail.
The bottom line from our perspective is vote NO on all five ballot questions at the polls on Tuesday. We MUST keep Monroeville's Home Rule Charter intact at this time! Another bottom line is to read what's way down at the bottom of this e-mail, print out and take some petitions and a clip board for people to sign the petition to preserve Article 1 Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution which ensures clean air and fresh water for the citizens of the Commonwealth of PA. We've GOT this!
Blessings, Peace, and Namasté to all of my friends and relations! Elisa Beck :)
Question 1, according to Monroeville's municipal website is recommended to be "yes" vote, which contradicts the "no" recommendation we heard at the last council meeting from at least 2 members of council. When you examine what an elected tax collector's duties are, it's clear that they shall NOT include collection of what's known as "511 taxes" (business privilege, mercantile, local service taxes). The way it's already set by HRC, the tax office employees are continue their work on 511 taxes. Those employees report directly to the municipal manager, who should be responsible for how those are collected. It makes sense to leave the HRC alone and allow the manager to administrate, which is in line with what that position does with the financial manager in budget planning and implementation.
Question 2, is also recommended on Mrv's website to be "yes", but if you read the HRC, all contracts or purchases > $4,000 may be increased by Council to the extend of the maximum permitted from time to time. Why change something that has method to be adjusted under current rules? Every provision currently allows the bidding process to be fair.
Question 3 is also recommended to be Y, which is another reason to ask, "why?" Council has power to investigate hearings and subpoena power. Why is it necessary to change for the sake of being able to do it out of state, as each state has it own provisions. Give us a reason. I see none, and I don't take it for granted to fix something that is not broken.
Question 4 is also recommend to be Y, but uses no reasoning to remove a section that aligns with the state constitution as defined by the Local Government Commission, which DOES allow under the PA Constitution the exclusive grounds for removal of an official. So, why strike down the paragraph that aligns with this and just refer to section 2109 of the HRC, which is nebulous in what is intended for removal from or forfeiture of office of elected officials. The municipality's explanation of this in my view is disingenuous. "Infamous crimes" are those that include forgery, perjury, embezzlement of public monies. That makes me more than suspicious.
Question 5 on Recall is another one recommended for Y, but I ask again, "Why?" When officials commit malfeasance, misfeasance or violation of the oath of office, they should be called out on it. True, it's almost impossible to recall an elected official, but it is legal. It takes 2/3 of the state legislature under the Senate to follow through, and true, people have to be pretty pissed off to even coordinate a petition to start this process off. But, IT'S OUR PROCESS. I say this, as surely many other people say this. We need to take note of Home Rule seriously! Why take a process away that may account for these violations? Why shouldn't we remind locally officials to act in accordance to the law? They should operate in accordance to law. It's time we all took our own little civics course, got a copy of the Home Rule Charter (it used to cost $3.00) and bring it to every meeting we attend. Yes, the public has a right to refer to this document, which means, READ IT. Remember... An elected group of citizens studied the conditions we should be governed by locally. They were elected by referendum, not by the closed door process we saw a few years ago. In 1974, this was a decision by everyone in Monroeville to study the conditions to open up government, not restrict it! Before then, things were a little too restricted under borough code. They went through an OPEN process that resulted in the HRC being developed. It's time we remembered that, and WHY this group of people, some who are still alive (thank you, Mary Lou Span) and they did us all a favor of having the vision to determine what was right LOCALLY, BY LAW. It's our constitution! Realize this.... Since last year, we are looking at referendums that haven't even seen a ray of sunshine in the process of their development. Never let something become MORE restrictive. ALWAYS keep the public aware of how the people we elect are using the rules. NEVER make the implementation of those rules restrictive by introducing legislation to limit our ability to hold them responsible."
Please vote NO on all five ballot questions! Thanks Lois Drumheller for letting us know why!
On another note, The Better Path Coalition is planning to kick off 2019 with a HUGE event celebrating Article 1, Section 27 of the PA Constitution. As a founding member of the coalition, we're working with our partners to plan an amazing day of action on Sunday, 1/27 and a delivery of this petition to every office in the capitol on Monday, 1/28 (with some very special help). We want whoever wins the election in November and whoever returns to Harrisburg to uphold the amendment, which happens to be the strongest of its kind in the country. We want elected officials who will lead on climate, take aggressive action against pollution, and prevent new sources of pollution from entering PA.
We'll be at the polls on November 6th with paper copies of this petition we'll be asking voters to sign as they leave. We're looking for volunteers across the state to spend an hour or two (or more) gathering signatures. If you'd like to take part, please register here! http://bit. ly/petitionatthepolls
That's why I signed a petition to Gubernatorial and Legislative Winners of 2018 PA Midterm Election, which says:
"You will serve during the period climate scientists agree is the last chance we have to act if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. You will also be charged with taking on threats to our water, air, and environment that have harmed our communities and natural resources, in some cases, for years.
Pennsylvania’s constitution contains the strongest environmental rights amendment in the country. Article 1, Section 27 says “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”
We call on every newly-elected official and every elected official who returns to Harrisburg in 2019 to fulfill their Constitutional obligation to uphold Article 1, Section 27 by taking aggressive action to address the urgent environmental and climate challenges that confront us and establishing policies that prevent new sources of pollution from entering the Commonwealth.
Will you sign the petition, too? Click here to add your name:
https://petitions.moveon.org/
Thanks!
We'll be at the polls on November 6th with paper copies of this petition we'll be asking voters to sign as they leave. We're looking for volunteers across the state to spend an hour or two (or more) gathering signatures. If you'd like to take part, please register here! http://bit. ly/petitionatthepolls
That's why I signed a petition to Gubernatorial and Legislative Winners of 2018 PA Midterm Election, which says:
"You will serve during the period climate scientists agree is the last chance we have to act if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. You will also be charged with taking on threats to our water, air, and environment that have harmed our communities and natural resources, in some cases, for years.
Pennsylvania’s constitution contains the strongest environmental rights amendment in the country. Article 1, Section 27 says “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”
We call on every newly-elected official and every elected official who returns to Harrisburg in 2019 to fulfill their Constitutional obligation to uphold Article 1, Section 27 by taking aggressive action to address the urgent environmental and climate challenges that confront us and establishing policies that prevent new sources of pollution from entering the Commonwealth.
Will you sign the petition, too? Click here to add your name:
https://petitions.moveon.org/
Thanks!
One more thing y'all:
Subject: Uphold PA's Environmental Rights Amendment & Act on Climate
Hi,
I signed a petition to Gubernatorial and Legislative Winners of 2018 PA Midterm Election.
Will you sign this petition? Click here:
https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/uphold-pas-environmental-1?source=s.em.cp&r_hash=JDTRJIEU
Thanks!
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Friday, September 21, 2018
October 1, 2018 in Monroeville and Plum! Electric Cars, Plum Waste Injection Well hearing announced, Deutsch Well Pad Land Development final approval in Penn Township close to Monroeville.
SAVE the DATES: Monday, October 1, 2018 from 6:30-8:30 PM for the next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville at the Monroeville Public Library with guest speakers via the internet on Electric Cars in our town and at 6:00 pm in Plum, for a hearing on the injection well in Plum, PA. How can you be in two places at once? Well...decide which event you resonate most with, then send a friend or family member to the other event! Written testimony on the Plum injection well can be submitted to the DEP through October 8. Details below.
On Tuesday, October 2, 2018 the Penn Township Planning Commission will meet at 6:45 pm for a workshop session and the meeting will begin at 7:30 pm. Some of their new business includes " Acceptance of the Deutsch Well Pad Final Land Development for final approval of a land development. The property is located at 888 Meadowbrook Road. Property is zoned RR (Rural Resource). Tax map parcel 55-02-00-0-023." This property is about 0.2 mile from the Monroeville Municipal pool and about three miles from the Monroeville Municipal building.
On Tuesday, October 2, 2018 the Penn Township Planning Commission will meet at 6:45 pm for a workshop session and the meeting will begin at 7:30 pm. Some of their new business includes " Acceptance of the Deutsch Well Pad Final Land Development for final approval of a land development. The property is located at 888 Meadowbrook Road. Property is zoned RR (Rural Resource). Tax map parcel 55-02-00-0-023." This property is about 0.2 mile from the Monroeville Municipal pool and about three miles from the Monroeville Municipal building.
_______________________________________________________
Sharing Electric Cars in Monroeville? Yup! The Greenspot team is very excited to present their shared mobility program to Sustainable Monroeville. Their innovative program is a proven way to lower CO2 emissions, decrease the number of cars on the road and have far-reaching sustainable benefits for all residents.
GREENSPOT will share their concept of electric vehicle (EV) car sharing, a promising alternative to greenhouse gas vehicles up and down our traffic corridor. They have implemented one of the only EV car-sharing programs in the United States through a pilot partnership with Zipcar and ChargePoint, which provides easy access to EV charging stations and curbside infrastructure for EVs.
Monroeville was recently introduced to how they work with municipalities and landlords to address the future challenges of urban mobility. Urban dwellers and the millenial generation are not keep to own a vehicle that sits idle for 95% of the time. It may be the right time to resort to more fundamentally sustainable alternatives such as car sharing and electric vehicles.
Greenspot will present via the internet. Sustainable Monroeville invites you to see this presentation with us. Will this reliably revolutionize the way we commute? Will it be more economical? We need a long term solution to revolutionize urban mobility!
Questions? Contact sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com
GREENSPOT will share their concept of electric vehicle (EV) car sharing, a promising alternative to greenhouse gas vehicles up and down our traffic corridor. They have implemented one of the only EV car-sharing programs in the United States through a pilot partnership with Zipcar and ChargePoint, which provides easy access to EV charging stations and curbside infrastructure for EVs.
Monroeville was recently introduced to how they work with municipalities and landlords to address the future challenges of urban mobility. Urban dwellers and the millenial generation are not keep to own a vehicle that sits idle for 95% of the time. It may be the right time to resort to more fundamentally sustainable alternatives such as car sharing and electric vehicles.
Greenspot will present via the internet. Sustainable Monroeville invites you to see this presentation with us. Will this reliably revolutionize the way we commute? Will it be more economical? We need a long term solution to revolutionize urban mobility!
Questions? Contact sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com
______________________________________________________________
Public hearing scheduled on waste injection well in Plum
State environmental officials have scheduled a public hearing for a company’s proposal to locate a waste injection well in Plum.
Penneco Environmental Solutions is seeking approval from the Department of Environmental Protection to dispose of wastewater at the Sedat #3A natural gas well in Plum.
The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1 in the auditorium at Oblock Junior High School, 440 Presque Isle Drive.
The conventional, non-shale well was first drilled in 1989 to a depth of 4,300 feet and extracted natural gas at three depths. The well was put out of service in 2015 and plugged to a depth of 1,900 feet.
According to the DEP, both it and the federal Environmental Protection Agency must approve permits for the proposed injection well, which is located off of Old Leechburg Road near Greensburg Road.
On March 7, the EPA issued an underground injection control permit for the well. It allows the company to inject wastewater into the well, pending DEP issuing a permit to change its use from production to disposal. Penneco applied to the DEP on March 13 to change its use to allow disposal.
Those wishing to testify at the hearing should register in advance by contacting Lauren Fraley, DEP community relations coordinator, atlfraley@pa.gov or 412-442-4203 before noon on Sept. 28. Participants will also be able to register at the door before the hearing beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Participants will have up to five minutes to pose comments, statements or questions, and should bring written copies of their testimony and exhibits to submit to the DEP. Organizations are asked to designate one individual to speak on their behalf.
The DEP said it will respond to all comments and questions raised in testimony in a written comment and response document.
Written testimony will be accepted at the DEP’s Southwest Regional Office at 400 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, 15222 until Oct. 8. Written statements must include name, address and phone number of the person making them and identification of the permit application - Sedat #3A.
Brian Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.
All the best!
Doug Shields
Douglas A. Shields
W. PA Outreach Liaison
Pittsburgh, PA
Food & Water Watch
Office: 1 267 428 1917
Cell: 1 412 969 5816
The Municipal Ordinance Project (MOP)
Don’t Be A Town Without a Plan! Does your local Zoning Code protect you?
Many Allegheny County cities, municipalities unprepared for shale gas drilling rebound
Thank you,
(e): sustainablemonroeville@gmail.
(e): sustainablemonroeville@gmail.
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Health Effects of Unconventional Shale Gas Development on Children
Please attend the August meeting of Sustainable Monroeville at the Monroeville Public Library on Monday evening, August 6, 2018 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.
The program will cover the health effects of fracking on children and
adults in communities where unconventional shale gas development
(fracking) is occuring. Some of the amazing speakers include Lois
Bjornson, Dr. Ned Ketyer, and Kelly Yagatich. We'll hear an update on the state of the oil and gas ordinance in Monroeville, PA and
will share the map our municipal manager, Tim Little prepared showing
the proximity of both active and proposed well pads in Plum and Penn
Township to Monroeville, PA. Existing Murrysville well pads are not yet on this
map. Flyers will be available detailing the Environmental Health
Registry for people who live within five miles of a well pad which
already includes some of the population in Monroeville and likely will
include all who live in Monroeville once all of the proposed pads are
built likely within the next few years.
Lois Bower-Bjornson is the mother of four and lives in the most
heavily fracked county in Pennsylvania Washington County. Lois is a
field organizer for Clean Air Council. She works on the local, state,
& federal levels to address communities concerns of living with oil
and gas and their backyards.
Dr.
Ned Ketyer has special interests in developmental pediatrics and
preventative medicine, specifically how nutrition and the environment
affect health. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of
Vermont and his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical
School. He completed his residency at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. As
one of the founding physicians of Pediatric Alliance, PC, Dr. Ketyer
served as its president from 1997-2004. He has been practicing general
pediatrics at Pediatric Alliance since 1990. Dr. Ketyer and his wife
have three boys and live in Pittsburgh's South Hills.
Kelly
Yagatich works for Clean Air Council and is a resident of Monroeville.
Kelly will be informing us of the petrochemical build out of Shell's new
proposed ethane cracker plant 30 miles north of Pittsburgh and sharing the same airshed as Pittsburgh, PA.
SAVE the DATE: There will be an event co-sponsored by the Environmental Health Project, ProtecT PT and Sustainable Monroeville on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 at the Penn Area Library Multi-Purpose room from 10 am to 2 pm in Harrison City, PA 15636 to register with the health registry
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please share this information widely. We are depending on you the community to spread the word and bring your friends as neighbors to this informative meeting.
Thanks so much!
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook:)
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Groups of 10, what's in a lawn, and meeting dates for the rest of April and May, 2018
What is the history of Air Pollution in Western PA? Tonight, Wednesday, April 18, 2018 is the inaugural meeting of Groups of 10 at the Monroeville Public Library. Groups of 10 is a project of the Clean Air Council. For details contact Madeline Havrilla, maddiehav247@gmail.com
What's in a lawn? Or rather, why is it sooooo very important to understand why the answers to our civilizational woes are in the soil?
Civilizations rise and fall based on the quality and fertility of their soil. Soil is a living civilization under our feet! Or it ought to be...In the past 10 years in the state of PA, we've not been paying much attention to the state of our soil. Did I say the past ten years? Hmmmm, it's really more like the past 100+ years! With the industrial revolution in the U.S. and around the world, and the rise of the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, on our lawns, on our food and other crops, and the rise of post WWII Agribusiness with a huge influx of genetically modified (GMO) crops, our soil and our physical health has gone to #@^&....Well, you get the idea!
Most recently deep Marcellus Shale exploration to force natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations thousands of feet, miles below us, (aka Fracking) using millions of gallons of our river water....specifically at the moment being planned for right here in Monroeville, PA, and occurring already in the surrounding communities of Penn Township, Murrysville, Upper and Lower Burrell, and elsewhere, we have not been respecting Mother Earth one bit...And with that, our once fertile Western PA soils are not so fertile anymore...Neither are the people for that matter. Studies have shown due to the agrochemicals from industrial farming and the chemicals used, produced and poured into our environment through the air and water in coal, nuclear, and gas exploitation, men's sperm counts are down and women are having trouble conceiving children. It's the issue of hormone disruption. Sexual confusion. Boys being born with undescended testicles or no prostate, and women's sex organs confused...No wonder our youth and young adults are so mixed up! Literally...physically mixed up due to the effects of hormone disrupting chemicals being ingested by mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers...Read the works of Theo Colburn and the Environmental Working Group for more information on this topic (EWG.org)
It's time to go back to no-till farming methods. It's time to do organic farming our front yards, our back yards and our side yards. It's time to vote people in that understand Life on this planet. It's time to reconnect with our Mother. Mother Earth, Panchamama! How? Scroll back to 2009 and 2010 up to the present on this very blog, sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com, and Extra Extra, Read all about Permaculture and the culture of LIFE rather than us continuing on with the extractive industries and the Culture of DEATH. Our lives as human beings on Planet Earth depend on it!
It's time to wake up and smell the roses...if you can through some of the most polluted air in the world, here in these beautiful hills and valleys of Western PA...where the industrial revolution began and is in the process of ending as we have known it!
Be strong, be empowered, speak up and out whenever you can. Write, call, text, e-mail to your councilperson, your Mayor, your Municipal Manager...And then do it again! Your voice and most of all your VOTE matters!
Meeting Dates for April and May, 2018:
The next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville is on Monday evening, May 7, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Public Library.
The next Monroeville Citizen's Night is Thursday evening, May 10 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building.
The next council meeting is on May 15, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building.
All municipal officials, the municipal manager and the Mayor are always invited to Sustainable Monroeville meetings. We're hoping they join us for the month of May and then plan a Town Meeting in council chambers. The citizens of Monroeville sure have a LOT of unanswered questions about how the Seismic Testing was conducted by Geokinetics and what plans Huntley and Huntley has for the development of Marcellus and Utica Shale exploration in our town...
Onward we Go!
Many Blessings for a wonderful springtime and remember to shine your light bright!
The truth will prevail,
Elisa Beck on behalf of
Sustainable Monroeville
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
SustainableMonroeville@gmail.com
Share this blog address with your friends and remember to report stinky air on the SMELLPGH App. Remind your friends to do the same!
What's in a lawn? Or rather, why is it sooooo very important to understand why the answers to our civilizational woes are in the soil?
Civilizations rise and fall based on the quality and fertility of their soil. Soil is a living civilization under our feet! Or it ought to be...In the past 10 years in the state of PA, we've not been paying much attention to the state of our soil. Did I say the past ten years? Hmmmm, it's really more like the past 100+ years! With the industrial revolution in the U.S. and around the world, and the rise of the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, on our lawns, on our food and other crops, and the rise of post WWII Agribusiness with a huge influx of genetically modified (GMO) crops, our soil and our physical health has gone to #@^&....Well, you get the idea!
Most recently deep Marcellus Shale exploration to force natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations thousands of feet, miles below us, (aka Fracking) using millions of gallons of our river water....specifically at the moment being planned for right here in Monroeville, PA, and occurring already in the surrounding communities of Penn Township, Murrysville, Upper and Lower Burrell, and elsewhere, we have not been respecting Mother Earth one bit...And with that, our once fertile Western PA soils are not so fertile anymore...Neither are the people for that matter. Studies have shown due to the agrochemicals from industrial farming and the chemicals used, produced and poured into our environment through the air and water in coal, nuclear, and gas exploitation, men's sperm counts are down and women are having trouble conceiving children. It's the issue of hormone disruption. Sexual confusion. Boys being born with undescended testicles or no prostate, and women's sex organs confused...No wonder our youth and young adults are so mixed up! Literally...physically mixed up due to the effects of hormone disrupting chemicals being ingested by mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers...Read the works of Theo Colburn and the Environmental Working Group for more information on this topic (EWG.org)
It's time to go back to no-till farming methods. It's time to do organic farming our front yards, our back yards and our side yards. It's time to vote people in that understand Life on this planet. It's time to reconnect with our Mother. Mother Earth, Panchamama! How? Scroll back to 2009 and 2010 up to the present on this very blog, sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com, and Extra Extra, Read all about Permaculture and the culture of LIFE rather than us continuing on with the extractive industries and the Culture of DEATH. Our lives as human beings on Planet Earth depend on it!
It's time to wake up and smell the roses...if you can through some of the most polluted air in the world, here in these beautiful hills and valleys of Western PA...where the industrial revolution began and is in the process of ending as we have known it!
Be strong, be empowered, speak up and out whenever you can. Write, call, text, e-mail to your councilperson, your Mayor, your Municipal Manager...And then do it again! Your voice and most of all your VOTE matters!
Meeting Dates for April and May, 2018:
The next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville is on Monday evening, May 7, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Public Library.
The next Monroeville Citizen's Night is Thursday evening, May 10 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building.
The next council meeting is on May 15, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building.
All municipal officials, the municipal manager and the Mayor are always invited to Sustainable Monroeville meetings. We're hoping they join us for the month of May and then plan a Town Meeting in council chambers. The citizens of Monroeville sure have a LOT of unanswered questions about how the Seismic Testing was conducted by Geokinetics and what plans Huntley and Huntley has for the development of Marcellus and Utica Shale exploration in our town...
Onward we Go!
Many Blessings for a wonderful springtime and remember to shine your light bright!
The truth will prevail,
Elisa Beck on behalf of
Sustainable Monroeville
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
SustainableMonroeville@gmail.com
Share this blog address with your friends and remember to report stinky air on the SMELLPGH App. Remind your friends to do the same!
Friday, April 6, 2018
Seismic Testing in April, 2018 Monroeville, PA. What's Next?
Hello, and Happy windy and cold April! The delicate buds are peeking out of the ground in Monroeville, PA. So pretty. Soon the lime green buds will take over and bathe us in new life and a new way of seeing ourselves and what has been going on here in Monroeville, PA...
Be sure to mark your calendar for the April 10, 2018 at 7:00 PM Monroeville Council meeting at the Monroeville Muncipal building. Does anyone know if citizens concerns about the Seismic Testing that has been occurring in the Municipality of Monroeville has been placed on the agenda for this upcoming council meeting? Please call Mr. Little, the municipal manager, or e-mail to him to ask. Our guess is there will be many citizens at the meeting wanting some answers about what has transpired in our beautiful town of Monroeville, PA over these past few weeks. Is the testing still occurring? Seismic testing that is? Has Geokinetics completed its work? If not, when will the work be complete? Will citizens be informed of upcoming exact dates and times if Seismic charges, aka explosives, are used so we know what to expect? Who knew this would be occurring or has already occurred in at least one cemetery in Monroeville, PA? Is that a legal use of Seismic Testing, explosive seismic testing in a cemetery? These questions and many more were asked by residents at the Sustainable Monroeville meeting this past week. These questions remain unanswered. And now we're not sure what to believe based on what's in the Seismic Testing ordinance, and what's really been happening.
Here's links to a few articles that appeared in TribLive this week regarding what's been happening in Monroeville, PA this week:
http://triblive.com/local/monroeville/13503210-74/monroeville-asks-court-to-halt-companys-seismic-testing
http://triblive.com/local/monroeville/13503666-74/residents-block-seismic-testing-on-one-street-in-monroeville
As of this writing at 3:30 PM on Friday afternoon, April 5, 2018, there have been sightings of Geokinetics in Monroeville, PA. What are they doing, and where are they doing it?
The next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville will be on Monday evening, May 7, 2018 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. As always these meetings are in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library and are free and open to the public. All municipal officials, councilpersons, the Mayor, and of course all community members are invited to this next meeting where the agenda will focus on putting updated and most appropriate oil and gas laws in place to protect our property and our health as it seems fracking is coming down the pike! Please reach out to your councilperson directly to invite them to this upcoming meeting.
Based on how the Seismic Testing was handled, we, the citizens must be vigilant and be sure everyone is following the rules. We must be proactive because it has become apparent that once the industry begins what they set out to do, the ball keeps rolling even if they are not necessarily following the rules...
Below is from Doug Shields of Food and Water Watch, a Non-Profit. Doug has been helping us along in this process of educating the public about Seismic Testing and now soon, Fracking so We the People, the Citizens of Monroeville, PA will be able to protect our residences, business and health. Thanks Doug!
Be sure to mark your calendar for the April 10, 2018 at 7:00 PM Monroeville Council meeting at the Monroeville Muncipal building. Does anyone know if citizens concerns about the Seismic Testing that has been occurring in the Municipality of Monroeville has been placed on the agenda for this upcoming council meeting? Please call Mr. Little, the municipal manager, or e-mail to him to ask. Our guess is there will be many citizens at the meeting wanting some answers about what has transpired in our beautiful town of Monroeville, PA over these past few weeks. Is the testing still occurring? Seismic testing that is? Has Geokinetics completed its work? If not, when will the work be complete? Will citizens be informed of upcoming exact dates and times if Seismic charges, aka explosives, are used so we know what to expect? Who knew this would be occurring or has already occurred in at least one cemetery in Monroeville, PA? Is that a legal use of Seismic Testing, explosive seismic testing in a cemetery? These questions and many more were asked by residents at the Sustainable Monroeville meeting this past week. These questions remain unanswered. And now we're not sure what to believe based on what's in the Seismic Testing ordinance, and what's really been happening.
Here's links to a few articles that appeared in TribLive this week regarding what's been happening in Monroeville, PA this week:
http://triblive.com/local/monroeville/13503210-74/monroeville-asks-court-to-halt-companys-seismic-testing
http://triblive.com/local/monroeville/13503666-74/residents-block-seismic-testing-on-one-street-in-monroeville
As of this writing at 3:30 PM on Friday afternoon, April 5, 2018, there have been sightings of Geokinetics in Monroeville, PA. What are they doing, and where are they doing it?
The next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville will be on Monday evening, May 7, 2018 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. As always these meetings are in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library and are free and open to the public. All municipal officials, councilpersons, the Mayor, and of course all community members are invited to this next meeting where the agenda will focus on putting updated and most appropriate oil and gas laws in place to protect our property and our health as it seems fracking is coming down the pike! Please reach out to your councilperson directly to invite them to this upcoming meeting.
Based on how the Seismic Testing was handled, we, the citizens must be vigilant and be sure everyone is following the rules. We must be proactive because it has become apparent that once the industry begins what they set out to do, the ball keeps rolling even if they are not necessarily following the rules...
Below is from Doug Shields of Food and Water Watch, a Non-Profit. Doug has been helping us along in this process of educating the public about Seismic Testing and now soon, Fracking so We the People, the Citizens of Monroeville, PA will be able to protect our residences, business and health. Thanks Doug!
"There is an Oil and Gas Drilling zoning ordinance in place in Monroeville.
A brief History…
Last summer, I worked with Sustainable Monroeville to get the Seismic Survey Ordinance enacted (9/2017).
At that time I met with Manager, Tim Little, and pointed out to him that Monroeville’s zoning code:
1. Has an oil and gas section.
2. That the code allowed for fracking, as a conditional use exception, in all zoning districts of the municipality. See old ordinance (still on line) https://www.ecode360.com/documents/MO1197/source/563338.pdf#search=gas%20oil
2. That the code allowed for fracking, as a conditional use exception, in all zoning districts of the municipality. See old ordinance (still on line) https://www.ecode360.com/documents/MO1197/source/563338.pdf#search=gas%20oil
- Informed that this was an incompatible use with residential and commercial and other non-industrial zoning districts.
- Fracking is an industrial land use
- Any fracking operations should be limited to the municipality’s industrial zones, as a conditional use; it is an industrial activity it goes to the industrial zone. The industrial zones are noted in light blue on the municipal zoning map: You will note that this amendment to the zoning code significantly limits areas where drilling/fracking can be donehttp://www.monroeville.pa.us/docs/commdev/PdfZoningMap01042018.pdf
- In October, 2017, Monroeville Council amended their code to do just that.
- In December 2017, legislation was offered in Council (no one would admit to being the bill’s sponsor which is very odd) to further amend the zoning code to allow fracking in the S1 Special Conservancy district. See zoning map – dark green area in the SW of the municipality. This would increase the likelihood of fracking as there is room for a well pad there. It is about 3 miles from the well going in at the Edgar Thompson Steel mill (the portion in in N. Versailles).
- Huntley and Huntley has leases for gas in this area as well. (see FracTracker lease map: http://leases.fractracker.org
The leases are noted in orange. Click on the large orange tracts in south Monroeville – note the area is all leased by Huntley and Huntley. Then, attempt to convince me that they don’t want to frack in Monroeville. Who sponsored the amendment to expand fracking us in the S1- Special Conservancy district? I have no idea. You have to have a council member introduce the legislation. Were it not for the vigilance of Sustainable Monroeville members, the amendment may well have been passed unnoticed.
The S1- Special Conservancy district is essentially the area occupied by the old Chambers municipal waste landfill (now owned by Waste Management). The Planning commission gave the amendment a negative recommendation. Allegheny County Planning review of the proposed ordinance raised significant questions about the amendment as to both its form and substance.
The Council took action last month to remove the offered amendment from the agenda.
Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code (which allows municipalities to employ zoning) you cannot ban a legal land use via zoning. I provide you with a link to a document that explains the basics of zoning very well. The matter of exclusionary zoning is defined there at page 8. “
This is a very good resource to understand the basics of zoning in PA. Easy to read and understand."
Sincerely,
Doug Shields
Douglas A. Shields
W. PA Outreach Liaison
Food & Water Watch
Cell: 1 412 969 5816
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
All We Need is Love & Ray Kemble in Dimock, PA
What are we doing here on Planet Earth anyway? Are we here to fight with one another, or are we here to love one another? We know for sure both ends of the spectrum are happening on Planet Earth at this moment in time. Where do you fall on the spectrum? HATE........LOVE.......HATE.......LOVE......
What are we here for? Could we be here to love ourselves? Consider that. Breathe Deeply. Perhaps once we begin to love and take care of ourselves, to nurture ourselves, we will all love Planet Earth, take care of her, ourselves and one another...
The information below came to me today from local groups in Western PA who follow the shale fracking situation very closely. Read it. Digest it. Educate your neighbors and friends about what we have to look forward to in our future if we continue along the extractive path...
The information below came to me today from local groups in Western PA who follow the shale fracking situation very closely. Read it. Digest it. Educate your neighbors and friends about what we have to look forward to in our future if we continue along the extractive path...
"There is a new push to end all fracking-related gag orders and expose the truth about the amount of contamination suffered by Americans so far.
There is an enormous portion of the population who still have no idea about the harmful effects of fracking - in large part due to gag orders and insufficient media coverage. Ray should be thanked for his courage in continuing to speak out, despite the gag order.
Youtube of Ray Kemble speaking to the EPA about his water being contaminated.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Water Pollution Victim Sued by Polluter
Dimock, Pennsylvania - November 30, 2017 - Cabot Oil & Gas has filed a $5 million dollar lawsuit against a water pollution victim and his lawyers. The first hearing in the case is set for December 11 in Montrose Pa.
Ray Kemble’s water well was contaminated in 2008, along with the water wells of eighteen of his neighbors. Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) determined Cabot’s poor well construction led to the contamination of the aquifer.
Cabot was banned from drilling and fracking in the area. That ban remains in effect today.
PADEP settled an enforcement action against Cabot in 2010. Cabot also settled a lawsuit brought by 19 victims in 2012.
Despite the state’s ban on Cabot’s gas extraction activities in and around Dimock, late in 2012 Cabot was allowed to frack multiple gas wells they had drilled years earlier. Soon after, Mr. Kemble’s water well was re-contaminated. At least three other water wells nearby were also contaminated after that fracking occurred.
Victims of water pollution are often required to sign non-disclosure agreements which bar them from speaking about their pollution cases. Mr. Kemble’s lawyers re-wrote his agreement to give Mr. Kemble more latitude to continue to speak publicly about the harm he suffered.
Cabot is suing Mr. Kemble for business disparagement, believing he did not have had the right to continue to speak publicly about his case."
Friday, September 29, 2017
Call for Volunteers and Save the Dates!!
Hello, and Happy Beautiful Fall!
We need YOU whether or not you live in Monroeville, PA! We will reciprocate with other communities as it's time to come together and work together for Clean Air and Fresh Water for all of us. We share the same Airsheds and Watersheds, all of US!
We need callers to remind folks about the Sustainable Monroeville meeting this coming Monday, October 2, 2017 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Public Library; the Citizen's Night meeting this coming Thursday, October 5, 2017, at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building, and for the Council meeting on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, at 7:00 PM where Monroeville council will be voting on amending the existing Oil and Gas Zoning Code to limit FRACKING to industrial zones in Monroeville, PA.
If you are available to make calls for one hour, or many hours, please contact Doug Shields of Food and Water Watch at dshields@fwwatch.org
If you are available to make calls for one hour, or many hours, please contact Doug Shields of Food and Water Watch at dshields@fwwatch.org
See the incredible exhibit called Petrochemical America at the SPACE Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA. It's there at SPACE through October 7, 2017. We do NOT want Monroeville, or the whole state of PA for that matter, allowing gas flares spewing pollution into our lungs anymore...
SAVE the DATES:
Monday, November 6, 2017 at 7:00 PM for the next Sustainable Monroeville meeting with Heather Harr of the League of Women Voters and also a speaker from the Environmental Health Project with open discussion.
Thursday, November 8, 2017 at 7;00 PM for Citizen's Night
Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at 7:00 PM for Council Meeting
Monday, November 13, 2017 for the FREE Shale & Public Health Education Day in Pittsburgh, PA, sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Registration is open!
Monday, November 6, 2017 at 7:00 PM for the next Sustainable Monroeville meeting with Heather Harr of the League of Women Voters and also a speaker from the Environmental Health Project with open discussion.
Thursday, November 8, 2017 at 7;00 PM for Citizen's Night
Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at 7:00 PM for Council Meeting
Monday, November 13, 2017 for the FREE Shale & Public Health Education Day in Pittsburgh, PA, sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Registration is open!
Blessings for our Regenerative Future NOW! Elisa Beck:)
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