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Maya K. van Rossum | |
|---|---|
| Born | India; U.S. Citizenship obtained in 1992 |
| Occupations | Environmental advocate; attorney |
| Organization(s) | Delaware Riverkeeper Network; Green Amendments for the Generations |
| Known for | Environmental legal advocacy; Delaware Riverkeeper; founder of the Green Amendments movement |
| Notable work | The Green Amendment (2017);The Green Amendment: The People’s Fight for a Clean, Safe, and Healthy Environment (2022) |
Maya K. van Rossum is an American environmental advocate and attorney who serves as the longtimeDelaware Riverkeeper and is the founder of the nationalGreen Amendments movement. As leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, she has been involved in regional watershed protection, environmental litigation, and community advocacy across the Delaware River Basin. Van Rossum has been profiled in regional and national media for her long‑running environmental advocacy, with coverage highlighting her decades as the Delaware Riverkeeper and her influence on state‑level debates over environmental rights.[1][2]Van Rossum was a lead petitioner in the 2013 Pennsylvania Supreme Court caseRobinson Township v. Commonwealth, which revived the state’s Environmental Rights Amendment and helped inspire her subsequent work promoting state-level constitutional environmental rights. She later founded Green Amendments for the Generations to advance similar constitutional protections nationwide and is the author of two books onenvironmental rights.
In interviews, van Rossum has explained that the movement grew directly out of the legal victory inRobinson Township, which she described as demonstrating the “transformative power” of constitutional environmental rights.[3] She has since worked with communities and lawmakers across the country to develop amendment language and support campaigns in more than a dozen states.
A 2023 feature inGreen Matters highlighted her framing of Green Amendments as a tool for addressing both environmental degradation and environmental injustice by elevating environmental rights to the same constitutional status as other civil liberties.[4]
Van Rossum has served as the Delaware Riverkeeper, the chief advocacy and leadership role within theDelaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN), since 1994, distinguishing her as the longest-serving Riverkeeper in the world. In this capacity, she leads the organization’s efforts to protect and restore theDelaware River and itstributaries through legal action, scientific review, community engagement, andpolicy advocacy. Her work with DRN has included challenging industrialpollution, opposing environmentally harmful infrastructure projects, and supporting local communities affected bywater quality and watershed impacts.[5]
Independent reporting has described van Rossum as a prominent advocate whose litigation‑focused approach has shaped environmental oversight in the Delaware River watershed. A profile inThe Philadelphia Inquirer noted that under her leadership, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network expanded its legal actions significantly during the early 2000s and 2010s, reflecting her emphasis on using the courts to enforce environmental protections.[6]
Coverage from WHYY marking her 25 years in the role highlighted her hands‑on approach to monitoring the river, testifying before government bodies, and mobilizing community members in response to environmental threats.[7]
As Delaware Riverkeeper, van Rossum has overseenlitigation and regulatory interventions on issues such asnatural gas development,pipeline construction,stormwater management, andaquatic habitat protection. DRN’s press archives document her involvement in regional and state-level environmental disputes, public education efforts, and campaigns aimed at strengthening environmental oversight across the watershed.[8] Her leadership in this role has positioned her as a prominent regional environmental advocate and provided the foundation for her later work promoting constitutional environmental rights.
In 2013, van Rossum served as a lead petitioner in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court caseRobinson Township v. Commonwealth, brought by theDelaware Riverkeeper Network and several municipalities in response to provisions of Act 13 governing natural gas development. The Court’s decision revived Pennsylvania’s long‑dormant Environmental Rights Amendment, affirming that the state constitution protects the people’s rights to clean air, pure water, and a healthy environment.[9]
Independent analyses have described the ruling as a landmark moment in state‑level environmental constitutionalism, expanding the enforceability of Pennsylvania’s environmental rights provisions and reshaping the legal framework for environmental oversight.[10] The case also played a central role in shaping van Rossum’s later advocacy. According to legal reporting, the decision demonstrated the potential power of constitutional environmental rights and helped inspire her to promote similar amendments in other states.[11]
Following the 2013Robinson Township decision, van Rossum began promoting the idea that state constitutions should explicitly protect environmental rights using bill of rights/declaration of rights placement and language that provide environmental rights with the same legal protection as other civil and political rights. She founded Green Amendments for the Generations to advance this approach and to support campaigns for constitutional environmental rights in states across the country.[12]
M. van Rossum officially coined and defined the term “Green Amendment” in the 2017 edition of her bookThe Green Amendment, Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment, in which she laid out a definition and criteria for the quality of constitutional environmental rights protection she advocates for (what she calls a “Green Amendment”).[13]
Independent reporting identifies the Green Amendments movement as part of a broader national effort to embed environmental rights in state constitutions, with supporters viewing these amendments as a way to strengthen legal tools available to communities affected by pollution[14][15]
Coverage has also examined the legal and political implications of the movement, noting that advocates see constitutional environmental rights as a response to gaps in federal environmental law and that state‑level debates have focused on the scope and enforceability of proposed amendments.[16][17][18]
Van Rossum is the author of two books on environmental constitutionalism and the Green Amendments movement. Her first book,The Green Amendment: Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment (2017), outlines the legal and philosophical foundations of constitutional environmental rights, coins and defines the term “Green Amendment” which is a quality of environmental rights amendment that places environmental rights on par with other civil and political rights given highest constitutional standing, and describes the origins of the movement following theRobinson Township decision.[19]
She later published an expanded and updated version,The Green Amendment: The People’s Fight for a Clean, Safe, and Healthy Environment (2022), which examines state-level campaigns, legal developments, the legal value of constitutional provisions that meet her Green Amendment definition, and the broader national effort to advance Green Amendment constitutional environmental rights.[20]
Van Rossum’s first book,The Green Amendment: Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment (2017), received the 2018 Living Now Evergreen Awards Gold Medal in the Nature Conservation category.[21] The book also earned an honorable mention in the Ecology and Environment category of the 2017 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.[22]
A 2024 profile inInside Climate News described van Rossum as “one of the most effective advocates in the country,” noting her willingness to confront policymakers directly and her long record of challenging industrial and governmental decisions affecting the Delaware River.[23] The article also emphasized her influence on state‑level environmental policy debates and her role in advancing constitutional environmental rights in states such as New York.
Environmental leaders interviewed in the same piece credited her with preventing significant industrial development along the Delaware River through sustained advocacy and litigation.[24]
Public discussions of the Green Amendments movement have also included critiques focused on the legal and practical implications of constitutional environmental rights. Policy analysts, industry representatives, and some lawmakers have raised questions about whether state-level environmental rights amendments could increase litigation, create uncertainty for regulatory agencies, or impose new obligations on state governments.[25][26][27] These critiques address the broader constitutional approach rather than van Rossum personally, reflecting ongoing debate about how environmental rights provisions should be interpreted and implemented. Van Rossum has responded to such concerns in interviews and commentary, arguing that fears of increased litigation or regulatory burdens mirror debates surrounding other constitutional rights and do not reflect how existing amendments have been applied in practice.[28][29]
Van Rossum’s advocacy has been featured in national and regional media, including environmental policy podcasts and public radio programs, where commentators have highlighted her role in shaping contemporary discussions of constitutional environmental rights, including her role in coining and defining the term “Green Amendment.” In an interview on the environmental podcastEarthbound, van Rossum described how Green Amendments have produced “a series of really effective outcomes” in states such as Pennsylvania and Montana, including litigation victories, cleanup of long‑ignored toxic sites, and protections for vulnerable ecosystems.[30]
Media profiles have portrayed van Rossum as a persistent and outspoken advocate whose work spans litigation, public education, and grassroots organizing.Green Matters characterized her as an “environmental justice warrior” and highlighted her efforts to address threats such as fossil fuel infrastructure, dredging projects, and declining water quality in the Delaware River.[31]
Additional commentary has examined the broader legal and political context in which van Rossum’s advocacy operates. In a 2025 opinion article forCommon Dreams, van Rossum argued that recent deregulatory efforts at the federal and state levels have weakened traditional environmental protections, framing constitutional environmental rights as a necessary safeguard for public health and natural resources.[32]
Coverage from outlets such asThe Allegheny Front,Sierra Club, andMs. Magazine situates van Rossum within a growing national movement to embed environmental rights in state constitutions, noting that supporters view these amendments as a way to strengthen legal protections for communities affected by pollution.[33][34][35]
Regional coverage has also documented the influence of van Rossum’s work on state policy debates, including legislative discussions in states such as Rhode Island, where lawmakers and advocates have cited the movement’s legal framework in debates over environmental oversight and constitutional protections.[36][37]