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The key difference between Ohio and Pennsylvania is that Pennsylvania has an environmental rights amendment, "that places responsibility on the Commonwealth to consider the environment in decisions it’s making. [Ohio has] a different court system, and different legislatures. Otherwise, if you just looked at the regulations, and what Pennsylvania was trying to do in Act 13, it wouldn’t look so different from what Ohio has done."
stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2019/06/21/fracking-in-ohio-series-how-ohio-compares-to-pennsylv...
#GreenAmendment #EnvironmentalRights #Act13 #Fracking #CleanAir #CleanWater
stateimpact.npr.org
An Ohio law and environment professor said that in some ways, Pennsylvania is better than Ohio in terms of regulating the industry.People will often make the argument against an Environmental Rights Amendment stating that, "Well... we already have environmental standards and laws in place that corporations must abide by. Why do we need more?"
Well, here's one reason why:
"E.P.A. Plans to Curtail the Ability of Communities to Oppose Pollution Permits
...
"The changes would eliminate the ability of individuals or community advocates to appeal against E.P.A.-issued pollution permits before a panel of agency judges. However, the industrial permit-holders could still appeal to the panel, known as the Environmental Appeals Board, to allow them to increase their pollution. "
This is precisely the kind of thing that a #GreenAmendment aims to prevent. The degree to which our Constitutional Law wavers with whatever administration is in office is far less than the degree with which the regulations and policies implemented by our government agencies waver.
We ought to have the ability to fight and hold polluters accountable whenever they pollute, because we have a fundamental, indefeasible right to clean air and clean water that deserves protection. The gravity of our Constitution provides that power and scope and longevity where our other laws are lacking. This proposed rule change by the EPA, is an attack on our human rights.
www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/climate/epa-community-pollution-appeal.html
Green Amendments For The Generations
E.P.A. Plans to Curtail the Ability of Communities to Oppose Pollution Permits
nytimes.com
The agency is preparing to weaken rules that, for a quarter-century, have given communities a voice in deciding how much industrial pollution may legally be released nearby.