Pennsylvania Lawsuit Over Local Control of Sludge and Factory Farms
The following is a press lrelease from the The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) ...
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Pennock Family and Township Supervisors Sue House Agriculture Committee Over Bill That Seeks to Shield Sewage Sludge and Factory Farm Corporations from Local Control
CONTACT: Thomas Linzey, Esq. at (717) 709-0457
Russell and Antoinette Pennock, the parents of a boy who died in 1995 after being exposed to land applied sewage sludge, announced today that they have filed a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee in Commonwealth Court. In the lawsuit, the Pennocks contend that the House Agriculture Committee violated Pennsylvania's Sunshine Law during its consideration of Senate Bill 1413, a Bill that attempts to shield sewage sludge and factory farm corporations from local, municipal control. The Pennocks have been joined in their lawsuit by Pennsylvanians for Responsible Agriculture (PFRA) and the Quality of Life and Local Control Caucus of Township Supervisors.
The suit contends that the House Agriculture Committee illegally voted to refer Senate Bill 1413 to the full House of Representatives in a meeting that was not advertised or open to the public, and that was held in the rear of the House voting Chamber. Senate Bill 1413 is being sponsored to prohibit municipal governments across Pennsylvania from adopting any Ordinances dealing with land applied sewage sludge or factory livestock operations. In addition to that general prohibition, the Bill also punishes local governments with the payment of attorneys' fees to the sludge and agribusiness corporations which sue local elected officials.
Senate Bill 1413 is a renumbered and reintroduced version of the controversial Senate Bill 826, which remains in the Senate Agriculture Committee after intense opposition from Township Supervisors, community leaders, and the public. Senate Bill 1413, a redux of Senate Bill 826, moved through the legislature in fourteen (14) days, and was pulled from the floor of the House after opponents of the legislation discovered that the Bill had been fast-tracked through the Senate and was moving through the House. Senator Roger Madigan (R-Bradford) is the primary sponsor of both Bills.
Thomas Linzey, attorney for the Plaintiffs, stated that "Senate Bill 1413 has become the rallying cry for those who want clean and accountable government. Meeting in secret, unadvertised meetings closed to the public harkens back to the smoke filled rooms of good ole' boys from yesteryear. Concealing such an anti-democratic measure as SB 1413 from the public reveals just how naked this power grab is - of removing local control over these issues to benefit sludge and agribusiness corporations. Shame on Chairman Ray Bunt, who tried to gerrymander this controversial piece of legislation through the House in violation of the Sunshine Law."
The lawsuit asks the Commonwealth Court to nullify all actions taken by the House Committee at its May 1st meeting held in violation of the Sunshine Law.
The following is a press lrelease from the The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pennock Family and Township Supervisors Sue House Agriculture Committee Over Bill That Seeks to Shield Sewage Sludge and Factory Farm Corporations from Local Control
CONTACT: Thomas Linzey, Esq. at (717) 709-0457
Russell and Antoinette Pennock, the parents of a boy who died in 1995 after being exposed to land applied sewage sludge, announced today that they have filed a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee in Commonwealth Court. In the lawsuit, the Pennocks contend that the House Agriculture Committee violated Pennsylvania's Sunshine Law during its consideration of Senate Bill 1413, a Bill that attempts to shield sewage sludge and factory farm corporations from local, municipal control. The Pennocks have been joined in their lawsuit by Pennsylvanians for Responsible Agriculture (PFRA) and the Quality of Life and Local Control Caucus of Township Supervisors.
The suit contends that the House Agriculture Committee illegally voted to refer Senate Bill 1413 to the full House of Representatives in a meeting that was not advertised or open to the public, and that was held in the rear of the House voting Chamber. Senate Bill 1413 is being sponsored to prohibit municipal governments across Pennsylvania from adopting any Ordinances dealing with land applied sewage sludge or factory livestock operations. In addition to that general prohibition, the Bill also punishes local governments with the payment of attorneys' fees to the sludge and agribusiness corporations which sue local elected officials.
Senate Bill 1413 is a renumbered and reintroduced version of the controversial Senate Bill 826, which remains in the Senate Agriculture Committee after intense opposition from Township Supervisors, community leaders, and the public. Senate Bill 1413, a redux of Senate Bill 826, moved through the legislature in fourteen (14) days, and was pulled from the floor of the House after opponents of the legislation discovered that the Bill had been fast-tracked through the Senate and was moving through the House. Senator Roger Madigan (R-Bradford) is the primary sponsor of both Bills.
Thomas Linzey, attorney for the Plaintiffs, stated that "Senate Bill 1413 has become the rallying cry for those who want clean and accountable government. Meeting in secret, unadvertised meetings closed to the public harkens back to the smoke filled rooms of good ole' boys from yesteryear. Concealing such an anti-democratic measure as SB 1413 from the public reveals just how naked this power grab is - of removing local control over these issues to benefit sludge and agribusiness corporations. Shame on Chairman Ray Bunt, who tried to gerrymander this controversial piece of legislation through the House in violation of the Sunshine Law."
The lawsuit asks the Commonwealth Court to nullify all actions taken by the House Committee at its May 1st meeting held in violation of the Sunshine Law.
posted by Sludge at 7:11 AM
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