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WHEREAS, on November 16, 2010, Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to ban Marcellus Shale drilling within city limits, making Pittsburgh the first municipality in the state of Pennsylvania to halt Marcellus Shale drilling; and,
WHEREAS, reports and testimony have shown that extracting natural gas from shale by the process of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," has resulted in the contamination of water wells and drinking water; and,
WHEREAS, municipal governments have a duty to protect the public safety, health, and welfare of their community residents; and,
WHEREAS, municipal governments also have the duty to protect the rights of community residents against corporate activities that clearly jeopardize those rights; and,
WHEREAS, state and federal action against drilling in the Marcellus Shale will only occur if significant numbers of municipal governments follow the lead of the City of Pittsburgh; and,
WHEREAS, a Pittsburgh summit, Stopping Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling AT THE Municipal Level, has been planned for June 11, 2011 by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund for municipal officials and community groups to discuss how to ban Marcellus Shale drilling within municipalities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Maryland, and Ohio.
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh wishes to co-sponsor and endorse that June 11, 2011 conference (without concomitant financial expense) to guarantee the maximum involvement by neighboring municipalities in that conference.