Council 9-0 for Shale Gas Ban

A ban on drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale formation under the city of Pittsburgh is all but on the books. Pittsburgh City Council today took a final 9-0 vote on the controversial ordinance. The mayor has not yet said if he will sign the ordinance but the unanimous vote makes it veto proof. Doug Shields, who championed the cause, says the focus on controlling gas drilling cannot wane. He called on council members to turn their attention to a bill sponsored by Councilman Patrick Dowd that would limit where a gas company can drill through zoning rules. Shields also called on council to continue to serve as a role model for other municipalities. “Honestly, I never really realized how broad and how far this council’s voice was heard,” says Shields. Other municipalities are considering similar bans.

The legislation could run afoul of state law that prevents a municipality from banning any type of activity within its borders. Shields says it is time for the state to act to protect the health and the rights of the citizens of Pennsylvania rather than looking out for big business and their bottom lines. Shale drillers have threatened to pull business from Pittsburgh based companies and say they may not locate headquarters or other offices in the city. Marcellus Shale Coalition executive director Kathryn Klaber says “The vote represents a blow to the city's weak financial standing, and at the same time is a straightforward attack on individual property rights. At a time when the natural gas industry is generating jobs and prosperity for tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians and economic development across the Commonwealth, it's unfortunate that the council continues to maintain a shortsighted view regarding responsible shale gas development and its overwhelmingly positive economic, environmental and energy security benefits."

Council President Darlene Harris scoffed at threats of losing jobs, “Yeah, they’re bringing jobs alright, There are going to be a lot of jobs for funeral homes and hospitals. That’s where the jobs are.” The comments drew applause from the audience. Harris encouraged them to continue to put pressure on elected officials at all levels saying a lawmaker may be wavering but “when about 800 constituents come walking into a room and tell you, ‘this is not what I want’ you get a vote for a ban.”

After the 9-0 vote, supporters in the audience gave council a standing ovation and several council members stood up and applauded them.

PGH Council Says 'No" to Shale Drilling

Pittsburgh City Council has given preliminary approval to a ban on future Marcellus Shale gas well drilling. The bill, which was first introduced in August has gone through several rounds of debate at the council table and has been the subject of more than one public input session. Bill Sponsor Doug Shields says over the weeks it has become clearer to him that the ban is needed if the city is to protect its water supply, property values and quality of life. Most council members and legal experts believe the bill runs afoul of state law but Shields says it is far too important of an issue for him to worry about a legal challenge. “Maybe some members are comfortable with this challenge, some members aren’t, but I won’t concede an inch on a legal argument. I will not concede anything until that argument is made. I will not be preempted. I hope we do not preempt the city’s voice,” says Shields.

Shields says he is not certain that the drilling companies would want to launch the fight but if they do he has been in contact with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. A representative of that group says he will put in writing that the CELDF will provide free legal assistance to the city if a challenge if filed.

The bill was passed 7-0 with councilmen Ricky Burgess and Daniel Lavelle not in the room at the time of the vote. While the mayor has not taken a stance on the bill the 7 votes means council would be able to override a veto.

Mayor Spends Budget Address Blasting Council

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl spent more time chiding City Council during his annual budget address this morning than he did laying out the numbers. Mayor Ravenstahl says council members are sending the city into a “financial nightmare” if they do not approve his plan to lease the city’s parking assets. The mayor says he has balanced the 2011 budget and a five-year plan by using reserves but he says the picture will be very different in the sixth year. “The first year following the five year plan our fund balance will be depleted. We will be forced to make a $91 million payment to the state pension system,” says Ravenstahl, “ That is a quarter of our city’s entire budget and more than it costs to operate any city department.”

Ravenstahl says that can all be avoided if the council would just approve his plan to lease the parking assets and use the proceeds to shore up the faltering pension program. He says he refuses to take on more debt as has been suggested by some council members and he hopes he and the council can find a way to revive the lease plan. Council members have been invited to meet with the mayor this afternoon to talk about a modification of the lease bid submitted by J.P. Morgan and LAZ Parking. The administration believes that can be done without having to issue a new request for proposal.

Councilman Bill Peduto says today was the mayor’s day to talk to the council about the budget and that did not happen. “I did not hear the budget today. I heard a lot of lobbying on behalf of a ‘Wall Street’ plan but I missed out on the budget today,” says Peduto. Councilman Doug Shields says he was, “a little bit chagrined to hear it is all council’s fault.” “There is a viable plan that the council enacted on the table and he does not seem to be making mention of that fact,” Says Shields. Shields and Peduto both say it is in the mayor’s best interest to listen to council’s ideas in an effort to find a solution.

The mayor says he did not spend his time talking about the budget because it is very similar to the 2010 spending plan. He says it contains no tax increases, no service cuts and no new programs so he thought it better served the public to talk about what is looming in the future. Spending in 2011 will come in around $450 million with a slight addition to the surplus. The five-year plans calls for a surplus in 2012 and then deficits in the next three years. The mayor says he also hopes to talk to the state about new revenue options but he thinks it is clear that the state will not talk until the city “puts its own financial house in order,” and he thinks that includes leasing the parking assets.

Mayor Ravenstahl characterized the relationship he has with council as “not good.” Doug Shields says the current mayor and council have it the worst relationship he has ever seen.

Listen to the mayor's budget address to council here.

Councilman says 'No' to Drillers

Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields says he is not going to follow the advise of the city law department and will instead move forward with plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit Marcellus Shale drilling in the city. The law department and legal scholars have told Shields in the past that such legislation runs contrary to state law. Shields says he wants to protect the residents of Pittsburgh from some of the environmental impacts being attributed to shale drilling in other parts of the state. However, he says the decision to introduce the legislation goes beyond gas drilling. He says it is about “local self government” and the ability to “say ‘no’ to corporations that will cause damage to our community.” Although no drilling applications have been filed in the city there are reports of energy companies sending letters to residents laying the groundwork for drilling in a handful of neighborhoods in the city including Lawrenceville.

Shields Wants Cease and Desist Sent to PWSA

Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields is taking his fight with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority to the next level. The authority began offering an opt-out water line insurance program this year that added a $5 charge to all customers unless they formally declined the offer. The anger grew when many of those customers learned that the insurance would not even cover their lines. Shields says city code makes “Negative Option Billing” illegal. Shields sent a letter to the City’s Law Department asking it to, “send to PWSA a cease and desist order to prevent continuation of this illegal activity.” Shields says the department has been “unresponsive to his letter” and has now has asked City Council President Darleen Harris to send a similar letter. Shields notes that city code includes a fine of as much as $500 a day per offense. “If you want to solve our pension problem, we can perhaps levy the fine against the Water and Sewer Authority and they will have to pay it, and right now it’s tallying up into the millions of dollars,” says Shields. Shields anger seems to be at least somewhat shifting from the PWSA to the Law Department. He says, “The solicitors office has been rather nonresponsive since last Wednesday on the matter. I guess they don’t have an answer, or can’t read the law.”

Shields Wants to Table Mayor's Choices for CPRB

Pittsburgh Councilman Doug Shields says it's not a political battle between Council and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl "it's an obligation of council to amend the city code and offer a clear, consistent way to have appointees come before council and to replace members as they cycle off the board."
Shields is referring to the dispute between council and the mayor over the 7 nominations Ravenstahl made to the Citizen Police Review Board (CPRB) on June 18--the same day the administration was in court fighting efforts by the board to get access to police records regarding the G20 Summit. The mayor has denied allegations he was trying to thwart the board but said the 60 day timetable for acting on suggested nominations by council was nearing an end.
Ravenstahl nominated 5 new members and re-appointed 2 current ones. But Shields is asking council to table those nominations because the process of appointing members "is as clear as mud." Shields wants council to clarify the language in the city code before they act on any nominations to the CPRB. Shields says the code specified how the original board was to be constructed and the process to fill a vacancy when a member resigns, but he says there is no specific language on how to appoint successors to members whose terms expire. Currently, they remain until they are replaced, even a year or two later.
Shields says the problem is the mayor treated the appointments as if there were 7 vacancies and there was officially only one.
Shields says he doesn't want the CPRB's integrity challenged "so it can do its work and not worry about if a member was legitimately appointed or not."
Shields plans to introduce his bill Tuesday to clear up the nominating process. He says if council passes it, the mayor would be free to nominate the same 7 people as he did June 18.