Protect PT
Who are we?
Protect PT is a 501(c)3 non-profit citizens’ organization working to ensure the safety, security and quality of life for residents of Penn Township, Trafford and surrounding communities in Westmoreland County, PA. We are a community organization led by socially and environmentally conscious members and volunteers who reside within the impacted community. Promote PT works to empower area residents to become informed and involved in current local events to promote a more viable and communal future.
Our Goals
Educate, Empower, and Engage
Educate residents and local lawmakers with factual and important information so they may better protect themselves. We hold educational meetings, invite guest speakers, conduct research, and publish resources for public benefit.
Empower residents to get involved in the local government process.
Engage our lawmakers directly at local meetings and hearings to ensure our rights are protected.
Protect PT’s Position
Based on the Act 13 ruling of Robinson Township v.s. Commonwealth the Mineral Extraction Overlay District is unlawful; Penn Township should revise the ordinance to limit industrial oil and gas activities to the industrial zones. By using this MEO, Penn Township is converting most of the agricultural zone into an industrial zone. This upends the investment backed expectations of the people who moved to the agricultural zones, which violates principles of due process. Read more about MEO's
There is no indication that Penn Township first evaluated the impacts to water, air, human health, aesthetics and the other values protected by Article I Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution; that constitutes a violation of the constitution because it fails to ensure that citizens will not suffer harm to their constitutionally protected interests, and because it constitutes a failure of Penn Township to fulfill its constitutional duty to be a trustee of public natural resources.
By blanketing existing zones with a new use that is out of character of the zoned land beneath it, the MEO is an impermissible application of the township’s zoning power. While municipalities do have the power to use zoning laws to regulate the gas industry, they must apply those laws in a way that are constitutional, and follow established legal precedent on zoning laws. The MEO District produces just such an irrational scheme by allowing a single type of industrial use, natural gas development, in otherwise non-industrial zones.