Fwd: BREAKING NEWS!

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Jul 23, 2021, 8:28:15 AM7/23/21

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---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation <pedf...@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 22, 2021, 9:41 PM
Subject: BREAKING NEWS!
To: <ladyb...@gmail.com>

Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation

Make A Donation Today

Litigating For Our Environment

"The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation

of the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic values of the environment.

Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property

of all the people including generations yet to come.

As trustee of these resources,

the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them

for the benefit of all the people."

Article I § 27, Pennsylvania Constitution

News

These Forests Are Yours!

after twelve years of litigation . . .

PEDF Attorney John Childe has done it again with a historic win yesterday in Pennsylvania's Supreme Court. All funds from oil and gas drilling on public lands must be used to conserve and maintain the public's natural resources and cannot be used for the General Fund. Another rock has been added to the foundation of the Environmental Amendment.

July 21, 2021: Attorney Childe stated, "The Supreme Court Opinion issued today, identified by the Court as PEDF IV, affirms our belief that all funds from the oil and gas leases, including the royalties, bonus and rental payments, are part of the public trust, and must be used to conserve and maintain the public natural resources, including our State Forest. This decision ends the four-year battle against the Governor over the use of the bonus and rental payments, which have amounted to over $500,000,000.00 over the past ten years.

"The Opinion does not mean that money must be paid back. Only going forward, it must be used for conservation purposes and not used for the General Fund.

John Childe at the Supreme Court's door

Oral Argument, March 9, 2016

"Today's Opinion finally ends the twelve-year battle PEDF has waged to stop degrading our State Forest for revenue from oil and natural gas reserves to supplement the General Fund.

"The Supreme Court PEDF IV Opinion today reverses the decision of the Commonwealth Court finding that Article I Section 27 allows the Commonwealth to lease our State Forest for income. It reaffirms that the Commonwealth's role regarding our public natural resources is that of trustee. It reaffirms that the Commonwealth has no proprietary interest in those resources. And, it reaffirms that any decision the Commonwealth makes regarding the uses of our State Forest must be based on protecting the rights of the people to the clean air and preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of our public natural resources."