You are INvited! Free to ReImagine! Wednesday, December 11, at 5:00 pm

Join us to Reimagine the heart and soul of Southwestern Pennsylvania: Free and open to the public!

The ReImagine initiative began in the spring of 2017 in Beaver County. Led by the League of Women Voters and local residents, a group of community members met for three visioning sessions, where they discussed sustainable economic and community development projects that they wanted to see completed in their county. In May of 2019, ReImagine Beaver County released a report with the community's visions, and now they are actively working to implement positive change in their communities. Similar initiatives have also taken place in Butler and Indiana Counties.

And now this:
The League of Women Voters and local community partners are now launching an initiative to Reimagine the Turtle Creek Watershed, which encompasses the eastern part of Allegheny County including the city of Pittsburgh, and western Westmoreland County. To make this event as inclusive as possible, we are expanding it beyond the watershed into the "airshed" to include District 8 of Allegheny County Council and PA congressional District 18 - because the positive and negative externalities of economic and community development don't know municipal boundaries. This initiative will begin with a series of brainstorming sessions about the things that the people of these communities would like to see in their area.

Join us on Wednesday, December 11th at 5:00 pm at the Braddock Carnegie Library to learn about the initiative and to begin the visioning process.
The main agenda for the evening is as follows:

5:00 to 6:00pm: Free, plant-based dinner will be served courtesy of the League of Women Voters; organizations will also have tables set up for people to browse.

6:00 to 6:30pm: Introductions, Introductions to visioning, and short presentations by Ujamaa Collective, Epic Metals, and Coalfield Development

6:30 to 7:30pm: Small group brainstorming / visioning activity

7:30 to 8:00pm: Large group discussion and next steps

For those interested, prior to the main event, starting at 2:30pm, there will also be yoga led by Dr. Moni Wesner and a free screening of the documentary The Need to Grow.

This initiative only works if there is representation from many communities. We hope that you will be able to join us and share your visions. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to ReImagine the Turtle Creek Watershed on Facebook or sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com.

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Oil and Gas Ordinance Update: Monday, June 3 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Public Library!

FREE and Open to the Public:

Please join us on Monday evening, June 3, 2018 in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library from 7:00 to 8:30 PM for an update about the existing and planned oil and gas ordinance for Monroeville, PA. No matter where you live, this will be an incredibly informative and important evening. 

Thank you Monroeville resident Kelly Yagatich, Gateway High School and University of Pittsburgh graduate, for planning this educational evening for the residents, council, Mayor, Municipal Manager, and beyond! 

Kelly, your generation is our future. May the next 7 generations carry on in your footsteps.

Blessings to us all as we move greacefully into our Regenerative Future NOW! 

Elisa B., Lois D. and Dave M. for Sustainable Monroeville :)

From the amazing Patricia DeMarco, our Western PA local Rachel Carsonesque incredible woman:

As my May blog post in Pathways and Transitions, I am sharing the keynote address I gave in Wheeling West Virginia at a Green New Deal Town Hall.  This is the time to recognize that the transition away from fossil fuels is no longer optional, but critical for our survival.  The path forward offers better choices, robust opportunities and a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.  We must decide to leave a living planet as our legacy.  We must organize and campaign for justice and fairness in the transformation.

Green Jobs and a Living Planet - Make it Happen! https://patriciademarco.com/blog-2/

For more discussion on this topic, join the Battle of Homestead Foundation for a roundtable discussion "Labor and Environmental Coalitions: A Must for survival of Both" on June 8, 2019 at 1:30 to 3:00 PM at the Pump House 880 East Waterfront Drive, Munhall PA 15120  Free and open to the public.

In Solidarity,

Patty

Live in harmony with nature

Patricia M. DeMarco, Ph.D.

Author: "Pathways to Our Sustainable Future-  Global Perspective from Pittsburgh"

Forest Hills Borough Council, 2016-2020

Visiting Researcher & Writer, Carnegie Mellon University

Senior Scholar and Adjunct Faculty, Chatham University

2017 William Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award

2018 Visionary of the Year- PA Interfaith Power and Light

(412) 708-9277

www.patriciademarco.com

Go Solar!

Join Sustainable Monroeville on Monday evening, May 6, 2019 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library to learn about solar co-ops and how to:

GO SOLAR!

Erica Jackson of FracTracker to speak at the Monroeville Public Library. Monday, March 11, 2019 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM

Hello and Happy March, 2019!

In collaboration with the Monroeville Public Library and Sustainable Monroeville, Erica Jackson of FracTracker will talk about local and regional oil and gas issues, with time for Q&A and time to listen to the community's needs around the topic. She'll also talk about the FracTracker Alliance app, a citizen science tool you can use to support data transparency and fracking resistance.

Monday evening, March 11, 2019 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM with Erica Jackson of FracTracker. Free and open to the public!

Contact person: Erica Jackson, Community Outreach and Communications Specialist, FracTracker Alliance. Phone: 412-229-7514 Email: jackson@fractracker.org

See you on Monday, March 11, 2019 in the Yolanda Room at the Monroeville Public Library!

ReplyForward

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.

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.com, and we'll be happy to send encouragement in a variety of ways!! :)

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 :)

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.

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/p/e_9lP_pRs5 

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!

Hydraulic Fracturing aka Fracking and associated infrastructure is upon us in Monroeville, PA and the Eastern Suburbs

Hello and Happy end of June 2018! What's new in Monroeville, PA and surrounding communities in the Eastern suburbs. A lot of active and proposed hydraulic fracturing wells and associated infrastructure including the injection well just approved for Plum, PA...

Please come to the July 2, 2018 at 7:00 PM meeting of Sustainable Monroeville at the Monroeville Public Library to learn more from Gillian Graber and what action items you can take.

Modeling our Regenerative future and taking care of Mother Earth 🌏 is what we all are learning by spending time at Boyce Park at the Meadow on Indian Hill. The beautiful brown-eyed Susans are in full bloom! We learn how to give back to the earth by putting plants in the ground that are good for pollinators like 🦅 birds and 🐝 bees. We understand we can reduce the amount of grass in our yards and parks and instead plant wild flowers and food. We learn to steer clear of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides on our yards and in our food and water.

In conjunction with all we learn, we must understand why it’s of utmost importance that Monroeville PA put an oil & gas ordinance in place with specific restrictions on noise levels, light levels, air and water pollution monitoring and more. So far Monroeville Council and the Mayor do not agree. What is your opinion? Please join us for the Monday July 2, 2018 at 7:00 pm meeting of Sustainable Monroeville at the Monroeville Public Library (MPL) to learn from Gillian Graber, Executive Director of Protect PT for updates about proposed fracking sites in two of our neighboring communities Penn Township and Trafford. Ms. Graber will also cover what we as individuals can do to protect ourselves.

Other Save the Dates: Thursday, July 5, 2018 for Citizens Night and Tuesday, July 10 at 7:00 pm for the council meeting at the Monroeville Municipal building Wednesday, July 18 6:30-8:30 for Clean Air Council’s Groups of 10 at the MPL. Free, open to the public & All are welcome!

Put August 29, 2018 on your calendar as a tentative SAVE the DATE for the EHP coming to Monroeville, PA to sign folks up for the health registry. We are within 5 miles, most of us, of an active pad in Plum, I think....The proposed well pad just over into Westmoreland County beyond the bike path on Saunders Station is 0.2 mile from the Monroeville Municipal pool. About 1.2 miles from Ramsey Elementary and closer to Crossroads Pre-School.

See you on Monday, July 2, 2018 at 7:00 PM to hear genius Gillian Graber of ProtecT PT educate and activate all of us!

Elisa Beck :)

sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com

SustainableMonroeville.blogspot.com

Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!

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!

"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

1. Informed that this was an incompatible use with residential and commercial and other non-industrial zoning districts.
2. Fracking is an industrial land use
3. 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

4. In October, 2017, Monroeville Council amended their code to do just that.
5. 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).
6. 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. “

See:  http://www.crcog.net/vertical/sites/%7B6AD7E2DC-ECE4-41CD-B8E1-BAC6A6336348%7D/uploads/Zoning_Validity_Challenges_Handbook.pdf

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

dshields@fwwatch.org

Cell:  1 412 969 5816

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org

April Meetings in Monroeville, PA about Seismic Testing and Fracking in Monroeville, PA

Hello, Everybody!

March came in … not with a good, good, good Beach Boys vibration, but with vibes we had been warned about in Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties sounding off on seismic testing. As we head into April, our group of Sustainable Monroeville Volunteers have meanwhile been busy canvassing all over Monroeville. The overwhelming numbers of homeowners are NOT happy about seismic testing. Have you seen the signs? There is one more event door knocking event to complete, as our volunteers have covered 8 out of 9 territories (turfs). 

Come to the next Sustainable Monroeville Meeting to hear about and discuss Monroeville’s reaction to the O&G Industry. 

Monday, April 2, 2018, 7:00 PM, Monroeville Public Library Program Room

Agenda:

• Seismic Testing and miscommunications (or, How GeoKinetics - the seismic testing arm of Huntley and Huntley, are stomping and shaking their way through Monroeville).
• News of Air Quality Monitoring Systems, with thanks to our friends in Westmoreland County, where they know a thing or two about safety measurements. An Allegheny County Update on that.
• Monroeville Council’s upcoming Seven Springs Mountain Resort Meeting, which is the reason Council has moved Citizens’ Night up to Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at 7:00 PM, Municipality of Monroeville (let’s wish them a great time in the resort learning about new initiatives, and … wait - there is nothing at this conference about the Oil and Gas Industry???)

See you Monday night, April 2, 2018… Bring a friend. Bring a neighbor. Everyone is welcomed! 

Great Big Thank You,

Lois

l_drumheller@me.com
412.374.0870-412.736.1765 (m)

www.sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com

Hope has two daughters, anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.    St. Augustine

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...

"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.

Fracking Pollutes: Ray's Case

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlTqY1Pb1oY&t=4s

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."

Monday evening, September 11, 2017 at the Monroeville Public Library for INHABIT: A Permaculture Perspective at 7:00 PM, Organic Whole Food Plant Based Pot Luck at 6:00 PM; Tuesday evening, September 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM for the Monroeville Council Meeting

Hello and Happy September to all those who have been part of Sustainable Monroeville since its inception in 2009~2010, to all who have participated in our meetings and events over these past many years, and to those who have recently discovered our blog and events in the past few eventful months! 

We welcome all people of all ages and all political persuasions to join us in our now broadened Mission as Regenerative Monroeville leading to Regenerative Western PA: To gently and with lots of inspiration, joy, and fun move Western PA forward in the Regenerative Green Economy!

We certainly are blessed here in Western PA to be far inland as hurricane Harvey has passed through Houston and hurricane Irma is poised to pass through Florida and possible other southern states as I type this blog entry.... We are not displaced here in Western PA. Rather, we are hosts for lots of displaced people and animals. We are working with the shift into our Regenerative Economy, one step at a time. There are so many brilliant examples of our Regenerative Economy NOW in Pittsburgh, PA. Last night I was blessed to spend time with my family at the newest in Pittsburgh Living Building Challenge Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Water Building, the Frick Environmental Center. We viewed filmmaker Kirsi Jansa's tenth and final film short in her Sustainability series. Here's the link to the first nine episodes: http://sustainabilitypioneers.com The tenth and final episode will be available on-line soon!

Join Sustainable Monroeville on Monday evening, September 11, 2017 for an organic whole food, plant-based pot luck dinner at 6:00 PM, and a viewing of the documentary INHABIT: A Permaculture Perspective, at 7:00 PM.

INHABIT: A Permaculture Perspective : A new documentary introducing permaculture: designing a world where and planet can thrive. INHABITFILM.COM

Monroeville Council will be voting on the proposed Seismic Testing ordinance at the September Council meeting Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM, at the Monroeville Municipal Building. We are so excited that the Monroeville Council in collaboration with the Municipal Mayor, Lawyer, and Manager, drafted a protective ordinance based on both the South Fayette and Oakmont Seismic Testing Ordinances. 

We, the citizens of Monroeville and beyond are working along with Doug Shields, Western PA Liaison for the national non profit, Food and Water Watch and with the Municipality of Monroeville to forge an updated Protective Oil and Gas ordinance. We intend to protect ourselves, our communities, our property values, and of course, most important of all, the health and wellness of ourselves and all of the animals, plants, and the entire ecosystem here in Western PA, beginning now in Monroeville!

Have a blessed weekend and see you in Monroeville, PA early this week!

Elisa Beck :)

Founder, Sustainable Monroeville

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Tonight, Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in Monroeville, PA. Share Widely!

Please join us tonight, Tuesday, July 11, 2017, in the Monroeville Council Chamber at 6:00 PM. Let's talk  about preserving the value of our homes and properties! 

Share widely with all of your friends and neighbors!

Grandmother Earth is calling us!
Some breaking fabulous news!
1) On June 20, 2017, the Supreme Court affirmed by majority, the Environmental Rights Amendment, Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution to assure Clean Water and Clean Air for all Pennsylvania citizens.
2) On Monday, July 3, 2017, the borough of Oakmont, PA, held a special meeting and enacted by unanimous vote, a very limiting Marcellus ordinance.
3) Please join us tonight, that's Tuesday, July 11, at 6:00 and 7:00 PM for the July 2017 Citizen's Night and Council Meeting, to hear the proposal for a similar very limited Marcellus ordinance for Monroeville, PA.
If you care about limiting or eliminating chemicals in our water causing hormone disruption, limiting, or eliminating both air and water pollution from the Marcellus Shale industry, please join either or both of these meetings as a supportive observer, or to share your opinion.

In case you did not hear the front page Times Express News a few weeks ago, Seismic Testing is being conducted in Monroeville. Tim Little, Municipal Manager met with the gas company Huntley and Huntley to approve this Seismic Testing. Mr. Little was able to approve the Seismic Testing in our Municipality without putting the information in front of the citizens of this municipality because the Municipality of Monroeville does not have a law on the books yet, to limit these activities.
Individual citizens are being, and have been approached since April, 2017 by Huntley and Huntley to ask if it is fine to test for both Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale under their private properties. Please know that you, as a private land owner in Monroeville, or anywhere, can deny the testing.

The following essay was written by an intentionally unnamed individual about the Fracking process:
"This is what has happening in Pennsylvania and all over the world.
The Fracking process:
1. A gas company identifies an area with underground gas.
2. The company leases the right to extract gas from many sites in the area without revealing the risks.
3. The company uses seismic tests to map the locations of underground shale and natural fractures.
4. The company applies for permits to drill and extract gas. Companies will subvert any local zoning laws made by communities to keep fracking out, appeal straight to the federal government and bankrupt municipalities in court. See Grant Twp, PA.
5. The gas company removes all the trees from a 5-10 acre swath to build the "well pad".
6. Initially one or two wells are drilled for every square mile. Eventually there can be 10-12 wells per square mile.
7. First, a vertical well is drilled in the bare ground, cutting through different rock layers and pushing toxic drilling muds into aquifers.
8. A cement casing is poured to protect the groundwater, but casings are fragile and can crack under the extreme pressure of hydraulic fracturing or earthquakes. Eventually the casing will fail, allowing chemicals and gas to leak through the cracks. 6% fail the day they are put in.
9. The horizontal well is then drilled, cutting across natural faults and fractures in the rock. These wells can be up to two miles long.
10. Each Frack= 5 million gallons of water, 1,000 truck trips, 100 tons of toxic chemicals X up to 10 fracks for each well X 4 to 12 wells per pad. This mixture of water, chemicals, and sand are forced into the well under extreme pressure to shatter the shale rock and release the gas.
11. 60-80% of this fluid remains underground contaminating groundwater. The radioactive wastewater and drill cuttings that return to surface are stored in tanks or open pits. Later it will be buried on site, dumped in landfills, injected back underground or into aquifers and they have even illegally dumped at sewage treatment plants.
12. Processing facilities, compressors, and pipelines are built to separate and transport the gas. Pipelines fail, explode, and leak methane into the atmosphere which is 80 times more potent than Co2 as a greenhouse gas.
13. A chemical dryer removes moisture and light oils from the extracted gas using the hazardous chemical 2-butoxyethanol.
14. The gas is compressed before being put into pipelines.
15. Gas is vented out along the pipeline to relieve pressure in the system.
16. Gas is then liquified for export overseas or odorized and delivered to your home.
Some of the most important laws that protect the public don't apply to oil & gas companies due to loopholes put into the Safe Drinking Water Act including community right-to-know laws. We must end this invasive, destructive, and devastating process now! Ban fracking worldwide!!"

Tonight, we plan to propose an extremely conservative fracking, and fracking related activities ordinance for Monroeville, PA.  

Please join us at Citizen's Night at 6:00 PM and also at the Monroeville council meeting following at 7:00 PM to show your support for this ordinance.

Thanks,
Elisa Beck:)
Ward 2 Resident, Monroeville, PA
Sustainable Monroeville, Founder