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DOUBLE THREAT!
Local zoning rights and Rose Valley Lake are under assault.
Dear RDA Members and Friends,
Rally at the Capitol. The Pennsylvania Legislature is back in session next Tuesday, January 17th. To welcome them back, a rally is planned; PA citizens are urged to meet in Harrisburg from 11 am - 12 noon on the steps under the Capitol dome. The purpose of the rally is to deliver the message that our elected officials must protect our families, our properties and our communities by opposing legislation that challenges municipal rights.
As you know, the General Assembly ended 2011 by attempting to pass bills (SB 1100 & HB 1950) that would allow the state to interfere with local zoning laws, denying local municipalities the power to determine what is best for each community with regards to natural gas operations.
Handing the gas industry this special treatment could have negative effects on your property value and the quality of life in your neighborhood or community. Even if you personally live "off the shale", other industries may demand similar special treatment once the law is in place.
Join your fellow concerned Pennsylvanians on January 17th in the capital rotunda. If you are interested in carpooling, please send us a message at: info@responsibledrillingalliance.org
Can't make it? Call your legislators - let them know you stand against SB 1100 & HB 1950 and want legislature to respect municipal decisions!
Find your legislator and access contact information here:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/#address
Save Rose Valley Lake. Please join those of us in Lycoming County, as we face another challenge to our quality of life and our landscape, and perhaps yours. One more of our special Pennsylvania places is under assault, this time by another form of development.
Rose Valley Lake is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and managed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC). For nearly forty years, the 626 acres of lake and surrounding public lands have remained a conservation and recreation jewel, primitive and undeveloped, as intended by the public law and public funds that created it (Project 70 Land Acquisition & Borrowing Act). The "intent" for Rose Valley Lake, according to a 1972 PFBC document, was to "prevent developments . . . and retain the area in generally primitive conditions."
A dark cloud now looms over Rose Valley Lake that could endanger all Project 70 lands. We need your help.
THE ISSUE:
In order to facilitate private development, a developer proposes to trade the PFBC one acre of land (generally inaccessible to the public) and $15,000 in exchange for an expanded right-of-way through Rose Valley Lake public lands. This would set a damaging local and state-wide precedent which could affect all public parks, lakes, historic sites, and other facilities funded by Project 70. This includes at least 45 State parks and numerous other conservation, recreation and historic preservation areas, all established through Project 70.
Take Action Today!
This is a dangerous precedent! If a developer can get a right of way expanded for development, the gas industry could get a right of way changed for its demands.
Sign the Online Petition, to be presented to the PFBC at its January 30-31 meeting.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-rose-valley-lake/
Visit the website:
www.friendsofrosevalleylake.org
RDA thanks the Friends of Rose Valley Lake, a group of dedicated outdoor enthusiasts who believe in honoring promises of the past and doing all they can to preserve the heritage of Pennsylvania's natural outdoors.
Responsible Drilling Alliance, Board of Directors Ralph Kisberg Robert Cross Janie Richardson Barbara Jarmoska Mark Szybist Jennifer Slotterback | 
