shifting funding of government operations on the backs of things that were intended to be conserved for future generations.â€? “I think [Fitzgerald’s spending plan] would leave the county vulnerableâ€? to a lawsuit, agrees Dernbach. In 2012, the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Fund sued the Commonwealth over gas revenue from state forestland, claiming that the state fattened the general operating budget with $600 million that should have aided conservation efforts instead. A decision from Commonwealth Court is expected shortly, says PEDF attorney John Childe. Allegheny County ofďŹ cials sound unconcerned about the possibility of legal action over Deer Lakes. “We feel very comfortable that we’re going through the necessary steps to address any concerns that would be raised in a lawsuit,â€? says county solicitor Andrew SzeďŹ . SzeďŹ emphasized that the Act 13 decision was not a majority ruling: Of the six justices who weighed in on the case, only two others backed Castille’s reliance on the Environmental Rights Amendment. That may weaken its power to set a legal precedent. Other Pennsylvania municipalities have leased parkland for drilling. Washington County’s Cross Creek Park, for instance,
already hosts wellpads. But Allegheny County would be the largest local government to do so, and activists especially distrust Fitzgerald. During his campaign for county executive, county records show, he accepted lots of gas-industry money, including nearly $20,000 from politicalaction committees or executives associated with Range and Huntley & Huntley alone. Huntley executives contributed another $10,000 to Fitzgerald in 2013.
PUBLIC MEETING ON THE PROPOSED DRILLING
Hundreds Of Unpaid Layaways Have Left Us With A Surplus Of Abandoned Brand New Furniture And Bedding At Deeply Discounted Prices!
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Wed., April 2, hosted by the county, at Deer Lakes Park at Deer Lakes High School, 163 East Union Road, in Cheswick.
Neither has some of Fitzgerald’s rhetoric inspired conďŹ dence among environmentalists. At county council’s March 18 meeting, he told councilors, “We’re lucky to partner with a good company like Range.â€? At a March 12 panel discussion on fracking, before a vocally anti-drilling audience, he said that “hopefullyâ€? state regulators will police the wells properly. “Hopefully,â€? he added, “we learn from some of the past mistakes with our air quality, our water quality.â€? “‘Hopefully’?â€? piped up someone in the crowd.
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MON-FRI 10-8 SAT 9:30-7 SUN 12-6
11601 16 6 LIBERTY AVE PITTSBURGH (THE STRIP) (412) 281-9730
Take 279 or 376 to the Grant-Liberty Exit. In the Strip District between 16th & 17th.
Ĺ? Ĺ? Ä’ Ĺ? Ĺ? Ĺ? Ä‘ Ĺ? S A M E - DAY P I C K U P A N D D E L I V E RY Ĺ? Ä‘ Ĺ? 333Ä‹ $ 1 0 ( ! 0 / Ä‹ + )
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