PA Environment Digest Blog: DEP, DCNR, Guests Honored Franklin Kury, Author Of PA Environmental Rights Amendment, With Dedication In Rachel Carson Building

On April 12, DEP, DCNR and many guests dedicated the Law Library Conference Room in the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg to Franklin Kury, the legislative author of Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment to the state Constitution.

In addition to Franklin and Beth Kury, the event was attended by--

-- Acting DEP Secretary Richard Negrin

-- Acting DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn

-- John Dernbach, Widener Law Professor of Environmental Law & Sustainability

-- John Norbeck, DCNR Deputy for Parks & Forestry

-- Joe Powers, former DEP Executive Deputy

-- And many others.

Elected to the House of Representatives for three terms (1966–1972), Franklin Kury is a leader in the enactment of environmental laws, such as amendments to the Clean Streams Act, that are seen as the culmination of the environmental revolution that marked the end of the exploitation of the state’s natural resources by the coal, steel and railroad industries.

He was the author and lead advocate for the environmental amendment to the state constitution that declares a right to a clean environment by the people and makes the state government the trustee of the public natural resources.

On May 18, 1971, the people of Pennsylvania voted 1,021,342 to 259,979-- a 4 to 1 margin-- to add this right to the state constitution along side the rights to religious freedom, freedom of press and speech, political powers, right to elections, security from search and seizures, and the “inherent rights of mankind”--

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

Kury was proud of the fact the Women’s Equal Rights Amendment on the same ballot passed by a 2 to 1 margin.

In 1972, he was elected to the first of two terms in the State Senate where he led a six-year struggle that resulted in the enactment of the state’s floodplain and stormwater management laws.

In 2011, he authored Clean Politics, Clean Streams: A Legislative Autobiography published by the Lehigh University Press.

In 2021, he celebrated the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Environmental Rights Amendment in Pennsylvania by authorizing In The Constitutional Question To Save The Planet: The Peoples’ Right To A Healthy Environment proposing a U.S. constitutional amendment on environmental rights.

Tom Ridge, Governor of Pennsylvania (1995-2001) said of the work-- “Franklin Kury has given us the intriguing inside story of an important Pennsylvania legal, policy, and social development—the “Environmental Amendment” to our Constitution. . . . It will give scholars, historians, policymakers, and citizens alike important insights and good guidance for the next 50 years. For this book, and for his decades of wise environmental leadership and respected political activism, Frank deserves our thanks.”

Resource Links:

-- Feature: Environmental Heritage - The Environmental Amendment to the State Constitution – 37 Years Later - By Franklin Kury [PaEN]

-- PA Environmental Council: Securing Our Environmental Rights [PaEN]

-- Watch WITF StateImpactPA Generations Yet To Come Documentary On Environmental Rights Amendment

-- Now On Demand: StateImpactPA, WITF, PA Parks & Forests Foundation Panel Discussion On 50th Anniversary Of PA’s Environmental Rights Amendment [PaEN]

-- Patriot-News: Franklin Kury And The 40-Year Fight For Clean Air, Water In PA [PaEN]

-- Book: Clean Politics, Clean Streams By Franklin Kury [PaEN]

-- CBF Blog: Franklin Kury: Two Jars Of Water, And A Lasting Environmental Legacy For Pennsylvania [PaEN]

-- New Book By Franklin Kury Makes The Case For A Constitutional Right To A Healthy Environment [PaEN]

-- Franklin Kury Previews Upcoming Book Celebrating 50th Anniversary Of PA’s Environmental Rights Amendment [PaEN]

-- PA Environmental Defense Foundation: A Review Of Where We Are Today On The 50th Anniversary Of PA's Environmental Rights Amendment [PaEN]

-- Straight Talk: Article I, Section 27 PA Environmental Rights Amendment Court Decision - By John Arway, Fish & Boat Commission [PaEN]