by Shanna Klucar, Program Administrator
On April 12, I had the opportunity to represent KTA at PennFuture and Sierra Club's Environmental Rights Amendment Symposium in Harrisburg. John Childe (attorney for the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation), Franklin Kury (author of Article 1, Section 27 of Pennsylvania’s constitution), and John Dernbach (professor at the Widener University School of Law) discussed the history and current application of Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment, which states:
“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.”
More information about how Article 1, Section 27, is available in this citizen’s guide from the Widener University School of Law.
However, more recent developments have made this amendment a useful tool for ensuring the rights of Pennsylvanians to clean air and water. To learn more about the history of Article 1, Section 27, and how it has come to be applied, click here.