This Charter and all amendments hereto shall constitute the
form of government for the Township of Ferguson. Among the purposes
of this Charter are: to provide municipal services and facilities
with the highest degree of efficiency and economy; to establish a
supervisor-manager form of government; to secure all possible municipal
home rule and to provide for the health, safety and well-being of
the citizens.
The boundaries of the Township shall be the actual boundaries
of the Township at the time this Charter takes effect and as they
may be lawfully changed thereafter.
The Township of Ferguson shall continue to be a municipal subdivision
under its present name, "Township of Ferguson." As used in this Charter,
the word "Township" shall mean the Township of Ferguson in Centre
County, Pennsylvania.
A.
Powers. The Township has and may exercise any power, and may perform
any function not denied by the Constitution of the United States,
the Constitution of Pennsylvania, by this Charter, or by the General
Assembly, at any time.
B.
Construction. The powers of the Township under this Charter shall
be construed broadly in favor of the Township, and the specific mention
of particular powers in this Charter shall not be construed as limiting
in any way the general power stated in this Article. All possible
powers of the Township, except as limited above, are to be considered
as if specifically and individually set forth in this Article, whether
such powers are presently available to the Township or may hereafter
from time to time become available.
C.
Residual Powers in the Township Board. All powers of the Township,
including any such power which may hereafter be conferred on the Township
by amendment of the Constitution of the United States, or of the Constitution
of Pennsylvania, or of this Charter, or by Act of the General Assembly,
unless otherwise specifically set forth in this Charter, shall be
vested in the Township Board. The Board of Supervisors shall be elected,
shall organize, and shall function as provided in this Charter.
D.
Regional Cooperation. The Board of Supervisors shall be empowered
to enter into and withdraw from cooperative programs with other municipalities.
The Board of Supervisors is urged to participate in regional and intermunicipal
cooperation whenever efficiency and economics of services can be improved.
A.
Right to Pure Water. All residents, natural communities and ecosystems
in Ferguson Township possess a fundamental and inalienable right to
sustainably access, use, consume, and preserve water drawn from natural
water cycles that provide pure water necessary to sustain life within
the Township.
B.
Right to Clean Air. All residents, natural communities and ecosystems
in Ferguson Township possess a fundamental and inalienable right to
breathe air untainted by toxins, carcinogens, particulates and other
substances known to cause harm to health.
C.
Right to Peaceful Enjoyment of Home. Residents of Ferguson Township
possess a fundamental and inalienable right to the peaceful enjoyment
of their homes, free from interference, intrusion, nuisances or impediments
to access and occupation.
D.
Rights of Natural Communities. Natural communities and ecosystems,
including, but not limited to, wetlands, streams, rivers, aquifers,
and other water systems possess inalienable and fundamental rights
to exist and flourish within Ferguson Township. Residents of the Township
shall possess legal standing to enforce those rights on behalf of
those natural communities and ecosystems.
E.
Right to a Sustainable Energy Future. All residents in Ferguson Township
possess a right to a sustainable energy future, which includes, but
is not limited to, the development, production, and use of energy
from renewable and sustainable fuel sources.
F.
Right to Self-Government. All residents of Ferguson Township possess
the fundamental and inalienable right to a form of governance where
they live which recognizes that all power is inherent in the people,
that all free governments are founded on the people's authority
and consent, and that corporate entities and their directors and managers
shall not enjoy special privileges or powers under the law which make
community majorities subordinate to them.
G.
Rights of People as Sovereign. Ferguson Township shall be the governing
authority responsible to, and governed by, the residents of the Township.
Use of the "Township of Ferguson" municipal corporation by the sovereign
people of the Township to make law shall not be construed to limit
or surrender the sovereign authority or immunities of the people to
a municipal corporation that is subordinate to them in all respects
at all times. The people at all times enjoy and retain an inalienable
and indefeasible right to self-governance in the community where they
reside.
H.
Rights in the Pennsylvania Declaration off Rights. Every right enumerated
in the Pennsylvania Constitution, including, but not limited to, the
right to clean air, pure water, and the preservation of the natural,
scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment, is hereby
reaffirmed and declared self-executing, as stated in Article 1, Section
25, wherein it is declared that the entire Pennsylvania Declaration
of Rights is "excepted out of the general powers of government and
shall forever remain inviolate."
I.
Rights as Self-Executing. All rights delineated and secured by this
Charter shall be self-executing and these rights shall be enforceable
against corporations and governmental entities.
J.
Securing and Protecting Rights. To further secure and protect the
rights enumerated by the Bill of Rights:
1.
It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation to engage in the
extraction of natural gas within Ferguson Township, with the exception
of gas wells installed and operating at the time of enactment of this
Charter provision, provided that the extraction of gas from those
existing wells does not involve any practice or process not previously
used for the extraction of gas from those wells.
2.
It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation, or any director,
officer, owner, or manager of a corporation to use a corporation,
to deposit, store or transport waste water, "produced" water, "frack"
water, "flow-back," brine or other materials or by-products from unconventional
development of natural gas from shale formations, within, upon or
through the land, air or waters of Ferguson Township.
3.
It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation, or any director,
officer, owner, or manager of a corporation to use a corporation,
to engage in the creation of fossil fuel, nuclear or other non-sustainable
energy production and delivery infrastructure; such as pipelines,
processing facilities, compressors, or storage and transportation
facilities of any sort that would violate the right to a sustainable
energy future for residents of Ferguson Township.
4.
Corporations and persons using corporations to engage in natural
gas extraction in a neighboring municipality, county or State shall
be strictly liable for all harms caused to natural water sources,
ecosystems, and human and natural communities within Ferguson Township.
5.
Corporations in violation of the prohibition against natural gas
extraction, or seeking to engage in natural gas extraction shall not
have the rights of "persons" afforded by the United States and Pennsylvania
Constitutions, nor shall those corporations be afforded the protections
of the commerce or contracts clauses within the United States Constitution
or corresponding sections of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
6.
Corporations engaged in the extraction of natural gas shall not possess
the authority or power to enforce State or Federal preemptive law
against the people of Ferguson Township, or to challenge or overturn
municipal ordinances or Charter provisions adopted by the Ferguson
Township Council.
7.
No permit, license, privilege or charter issued by any State or Federal
agency, Commission or Board to any person or any corporation operating
under a State charter, or any director, officer, owner, or manager
of a corporation operating under a State charter, which would violate
the prohibitions of this Charter provision or deprive any Township
resident(s), natural community, or ecosystem of any rights, privileges,
or immunities secured by this Charter, the Pennsylvania Constitution,
the United States Constitution, or other laws, shall be deemed valid
within Ferguson Township.
8.
The provisions of this Section are severable. If any court of competent
jurisdiction decides that any subsection, clause, sentence, part,
or provision of this Section is illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional,
such decision shall not affect, impair, or invalidate any of the remaining
subsections, clauses, sentences, parts, or provisions of this Bill
of Rights and its prohibitions. The People of Ferguson Township hereby
declare that in the event of such a decision, and the determination
that the court's ruling is legitimate, they would have enacted
this amendment even without the subsection, clause, sentence, part,
or provision that the court decides is illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional.
All inconsistent provisions of prior ordinances and zoning ordinances
adopted at any time by Ferguson Township are hereby held in abeyance,
but shall take immediate effect in the event this Bill of Rights and
its protective prohibitions are overturned.
(Added by petition and referendum of the electors pursuant to
the Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 2901
et seq., and approved by the electors at the General Election held
November 6, 2012)
