Western Pennsylvania is one of the epicenters of the United States’ fracking boom. A few years ago, some people had a sense that Allegheny County — home to the City of Pittsburgh and more than a million Pennsylvanians — might be spared the fate of its heavily-fracked neighbors. However, oil and gas leases and wells were growing more numerous in the county, and we saw the writing on the wall.
Food & Water Watch’s Pennsylvania team, working with coalition partners, volunteers, and local activists, is using the power of organizing to fight the fracking plague creeping into communities statewide.
Pennsylvania law bars municipalities from banning fracking outright, but they can regulate it through ordinances. We worked with former elected officials and other allies to build the Municipal Ordinance Project (MOP).
Since it began in 2018, the Municipal Ordinance Project has become our most powerful tool against fracking in Western Pennsylvania.
Along with allies and activists, we’ve passed 25 ordinances in Allegheny County, protecting more than 530,000 residents from fracking, and 35 ordinances in Pennsylvania. One of the first Municipal Ordinance Project campaigns occurred in Franklin Park Borough, about a dozen miles outside Pittsburgh.
Thaddeus of Protect Franklin Park and our Pennsylvania Senior Organizer, Robin, discuss what they’ve learned from the experience and how you can get involved in fights like these.
For years, the fracking industry has had a chokehold on local politics and economies. But more and more Pennsylvania residents are standing up for their health and communities, saying, “Enough is enough.”
Because of activists like you, together, we can fight to stop fracking in communities in Pennsylvania and across the country. Thank you.
Onward together,
Megan McDonough
State Director, Pennsylvania
Food & Water Watch
Food & Water Watch and its affiliated organization, Food & Water Action, are advocacy groups with a common mission to protect our food, water and climate.
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