Guide to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council Collection, 1970-1998 AIS.1999.18

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Pennsylvania Environmental Council Collection
Creator
Pennsylvania Environmental Council
Collection Number
AIS.1999.18
Extent
78.75 Linear Feet (33 boxes)
Date
1970-1999
Abstract
Founded in 1969, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) become a group dedicated to legislative action regarding the environment and amassed a large amount of material pertaining to environmental issues. The collection contains information acquired by the PEC throughout the 1970s-1990s on issues relevant to their policies and actions (i.e., acid rain, air pollution, energy, hazardous materials, land, pesticides, transportation, water, and the wetlands). The information collected by PEC takes the form of news clippings, articles, correspondence, publications and pamphlets. PEC also published their own newsletters relevant to ongoing legislation regarding environmental issues. The PEC remains an active organization today.
Language
English .
Author
Shelley Byron.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

The environmental movement in the United States took hold during the 1960s at a time when college campuses across the country were taking part in Earth Day celebrations. There was a renewed focus on the issues and the current state of the environment. In 1969, a small number of conservationists joined together to take action on behalf of the environment in Pennsylvania. This group saw the need for a statewide citizen's organization that had the capability to link activities of prior organizations including watershed associations, Audubon societies, garden clubs and conservancies, Trout Unlimited, the Sierra Club, the Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, and the League of Women Voters. This organization was named the Pennsylvania Environmental Coordinating Council and was later changed to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC).

In October 1969, it was decided that the Pennsylvania Environmental Council was to become the group dedicated to legislative action. The PEC incorporated into their mission a lobbying group for environmental protection legislation and regulations. Their counterpart, the Environmental Planning and Information Center (EPIC), was to serve as more of a tax exempt research/information group. At the time of this split, both groups were incorporated into the Pennsylvania system in January 1970.

Although PEC and EPIC existed as separate entities, they worked closely together on various issues. The physical separation only existed for the purpose of cooperating with federal tax laws. PEC and EPIC worked out of the same office and slowly grew as an organization.

PEC used lobbying techniques to pass environmental legislation through the Pennsylvania government. In addition, the PEC also published their own newsletters such as, News and Views, which alerted citizens of upcoming environmental meetings and current legislative issues of environmental concern. PEC and EPIC also presented conferences on environmental policies and issues to relay information to the people on the current state of affairs. The information portrayed at the conferences included the environmental issues dealing with air, water, solid waste, land protection, education, population, growth, surface mining, and toxic waste.

PEC successfully expanded as an organization throughout the 1970s through the presentation of these conferences, newsletters, lobbying, and seminars. In 1973, EPIC was renamed the Pennsylvania Environmental Research Foundation. Then, in the mid-1980s, the Pennsylvania Environmental Research Foundation merged into the PEC and the two groups became known simply as the PEC. The merging of these two sections of Pennsylvania's environmental organizations created the version of the PEC as it functions today "joining policy work with on-the-ground education projects" (PEC).

Throughout the 1970s and into the beginning of the 1980s, PEC had a number of primary activities. PEC aimed to bring all environmental issues to the surface in Pennsylvania and address them each accordingly. Once an environmental issue was surfaced, PEC aimed for the passage of legislation and regulation for that issue. Legislation, such as the Flood Plain Control Act passed in October 1978, was passed successfully because of consistent lobbying on behalf of PEC.

PEC has not changed its approach to environmental issues. PEC has become an informational source on environmental issues and policy. Today, PEC provides various informative programs. In addition, the organization has grown from one original office to five and is now staffed by 33 members.

Scope and Content Notes

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) collection details the environmental movement and its impact in Pennsylvania throughout the 1970s and 1990s. A large segment of the materials in the collection are information files that have been gathered by members of the PEC on issues pertinent to Pennsylvania areas. Some of these issues include acid rain, air pollution, energy, hazardous materials, land, pesticides, transportation, waste, water, and the wetlands. Within each of these issues, the PEC collected documentation to detail how some materials were detrimental to the stability of the Pennsylvania environment. In addition, the PEC often published their own newsletters, handbooks, pamphlets, and articles to educate the public on legislative issues.

Today the PEC is still an effective lobbying organization often involved with legislative affairs. In 1999 the Archives Service Center received the PEC's earliest records documenting their activities from 1970 through the 1990s. In its entirety, this collection is full of research in the background of environmental issues and the active role the PEC has played in Pennsylvania's environmental movement.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Previous Citation

Pennsylvania Environmental Council Collection, 1970-1998, AIS.1999.18, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Pennsylvania Environmental Council Collection, 1970-1998, AIS.1999.18, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Shelley Byron in October 2009. The AV material was added in August 2013.

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into the following nine series:

Series I. Environmental Concerns

Series II. Workshops

Series III. Meetings/Conferences

Series IV. Legislation

Series V. Environmental Activities/Projects

Series VI. Department of Environmental Resources

Series VII. Handbooks/Policies

Series VIII. Publications

Series IX. Videotapes

Acquisition Information

Gift of Andrew McElvaine in August 1999.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Pennsylvania. Department of Environmental Protection
    • Pennsylvania. Department of Environmental Resources
    • Pennsylvania Environmental Council

    Genres

    • Correspondence
    • Clippings (Information artifacts)
    • Pamphlets
    • Newsletters

    Other Subjects

    • Green movement -- Pennsylvania
    • Acid rain -- Pennsylvania
    • Air -- Pollution -- Pennsylvania
    • Water -- Pollution -- Pennsylvania
    • Hazardous wastes -- Pennsylvania
    • Wetlands -- Pennsylvania
    • Pesticides -- Environmental aspects -- Pennsylvania
    • Environmental protection -- Pennsylvania
    • Environmentalists -- Pennsylvania
    • Associations
    • Environmentalism -- Pennsylvania
    • Environment
    • Nonprofit organizations -- Pennsylvania
    • Ecology -- Research
    • Environmental law -- Pennsylvania
    • Environmental policy -- Pennsylvania

Container List

Series IX. Videotapes

Extent

11 boxes

Scope and Content Notes

Added to the collection in August 2013, these 354 videotapes were shot between 1994-2001 as part of the Three Rivers Environmental Awards, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Duquesne Light Company. They depict a broad spectrum of environmental topics, including community projects, regional history, recreation, environmental science, as well as scenic footage of the Western Pennsylvania environment not found elsewhere. The collection consists of raw footage as well as edited tape in a variety of video formats, including high definition. This material was used at the annual Three Rivers Environmental Awards dinner which showcased the work of as many as 30 local projects each year as well as several segments of an environmental theme. A complete inventory of the video is available in the archives.