What you have just read is not some proclamation from the Sierra Club or the Audubon Society. It is Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
This article is a clear directive to all local municipalities in the state to enact or enforce ordinances that protect, not only the purity of our natural resources, but the quality of our lives, in the face of the Marcellus Shale natural gas rush: ordinances that defend, not only against local air and water pollution, but also nuisances such as noise and light pollution, especially when well pads are located in close proximity to residential areas.
Any state law, such as the outdated (1984) Oil and Gas Act, which prohibits a local municipality from doing so while not offering adequate protections to the rights guaranteed in Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, must be deemed unconstitutional in our state. It must be updated and amended to bring it into compliance with the state's constitution.
The citizens of the Commonwealth need to hold their elected officials accountable for upholding their rights to clean air, pure water and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic values of their environment, as is guaranteed them by the Pennsylvania Constitution.
-j.p.m.