Pennsylvania Law to Protect A.T.

On June 11th 2008, the Governor of Pennsylvania signed House Bill 1281 amending the Appalachian Trail Act of 1978.  HB 1281 is now know as Act 24 of 2008 and became effective on August 10th, 2008. The amended act now requires municipalities within which the Appalachian Trail passes to adopt and enforce zoning ordinances that preserve the “natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the trail and to conserve and maintain it as public resource”. This is unprecedented in the history of the Trail.

Sponsored by State Representative Bob Freeman, along with the support of 34 bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill requires municipalities that border the Appalachian Trail to enact zoning and other land use ordinances as part of their responsibility to protect the A.T., even if the remainder of the township is not zoned.  Furthermore, it provides support from both the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

DCED, DCNR and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) have formed an Interagency A.T. Zoning Implementation Task Force. The task force plans to notify municipalities regarding the new law and provide resources that will allow for a review, revision or creation of a zoning ordinance within the currently legislated one-year requirement. As part of the implementation strategy, the task force has selected a professional firm to produce a tool kit that will assist municipalities in their completion of that act’s zoning requirements. In addition, task force members have petitioned State Representative Bob Freeman to amend the Act to give the townships and boroughs two years to enact legislation instead of one, thus recognizing the complexity of crafting effective land use legislation.

Get Involved:

• If you live in Pennsylvania, you can be involved with the implementation of Act 24 of 2008 by attending relevant town meetings.
• If you live outside of Pennsylvania, consider contacting your local legislators to discuss a bill like this in your state.

• Make a donation to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to support its important work to protect the A.T. in Pennsylvania.

Birth of the New A.T. Act:

State Representative Bob Freeman who sponsored the Bill said the legislation was suggested by Easton environmental attorney Charles “Chot” Elliott. The idea came on the heels of ATC’s defeated appeal to the state appellate court of a lower court ruling in Monroe County, where a developer proposed constructing a private automobile racing club, known as the Alpine Rose, beside the Trail corridor.

Chot worked with law student James Y. Miles at Temple University to discern the weaknesses in the lawsuit brought by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Blue Mountain Preservation Association under the Commonwealth’s 1978 Appalachian Trail Act (P.L. 87 No. 41).  In an unpublished J.D. thesis, Miles found that townships have split loyalties between economic development and environmental protection even as the latter is required by the Commonwealth’s constitution. “The question remains regarding whether those entities charged with the public trust have been loyal, or are capable of being loyal, to the express policy of the Trail Act.” The study holds promise for all progressive states with constitutions guaranteeing citizen rights to clean water, air and natural environments.  The new Act 24 of 2008 will ensure adequate land-use zoning among the fifty-plus townships crossed by the A.T. in Pennsylvania.