PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh is the first city in Pennsylvania to approve a total ban on natural gas drilling. The Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday voted 9-0 to approve the ban.

City Councilman Doug Shields introduced the bill earlier this year. He said before Tuesday’s vote that drilling companies were putting jobs and making money before people’s health. He called approving the ban an important statement other communities will look to duplicate.

Attorneys representing gas companies said they might challenge the ban because they say drilling is regulated by state and federal environmental protection agencies.

An industry group, the Canonsburg-based Marcellus Shale Coalition, has said the measure would deny private property owners their “fundamental rights” and does not take into account the economic benefits of drilling to the region.