From the Sierra Club (https://www.sierraclub.org/):
Pennsylvanians have a constitutional right to clean air and water and the protection of the Commonwealth’s natural resources. Unfortunately, current law makes it very difficult for the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to hold polluters accountable.
Ask your State Senator to cosponsor this important legislation at https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/Pennsylvania?actionId=AR0172936.
The OAG can’t mobilize to protect our natural resources unless it gets a referral from the local district attorney, the Department of Environmental Protection or another agency with jurisdiction.
This process is cumbersome and time consuming, and it prevents the OAG from doing its job to protect the people of Pennsylvania and their constitutional right to clean air and water.
Recently, Sens. Santarsiero and Collett introduced legislation that would provide a solution to this problem and give the OAG concurrent jurisdiction in environmental crimes under Pennsylvania’s Solid Waste Management Act, Clean Streams Law, and Safe Drinking Water Act.
This legislation will allow the OAG to conduct investigations and bring criminal charges against polluters and seek restitution for impacted communities across Pennsylvania and is particularly crucial in the fight to reduce lead contamination in our schools and PFAS exposure in our drinking water.
It’s time to untie the hands of state prosecutors so they can hold polluters accountable.
Leave a Reply