Pittsburgh City Council Wants Marcellus Shale Drilling Ban on Ballot

According to a report by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,"Pittsburgh City Council launched a murky legal maneuver today in an attempt to get a Marcellus shale drilling ban onto November ballots.

Council earlier this month passed legislation that would make the ban part of Pittsburgh's Home Rule Charter and was awaiting Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's approval to get a required voter referendum on the ballot. The deadline for submitting referendum paperwork to the Allegheny County Elections Department is today.

But Ravenstahl informed council by letter Monday evening that he would neither sign nor veto the bill, choosing instead to sit on it until the deadline passes.

Councilman Doug Shields said this morning that council would attempt to get the elections department to accept its "interim approval" of the referendum, but admitted he was unsure if the maneuver would succeed.
"I've never been in a situation like this before," Shields said. "What we're going to do is go see elections Director Mark Wolosik and see if we can get it on the ballot. The legal question is, is this valid?"

Read more: Pittsburgh council tries to get Marcellus drilling ban on ballot without mayor's OK - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_750712.html#ixzz1UYZDaqTL