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Local Ohio Officials Petition Governor for Return of Their Right to Protect Citizens From Fracking
Local Ohio Officials Petition Governor for Return of Their Right to Protect Citizens From Fracking
Friday, 10 July 2015
By Candice Bernd, Truthout | Report
More than 100 local Ohio officials, including mayors, county commissioners and city councilors, have issued a letter to Governor John Kasich petitioning him for the right to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) - or simply regulate drilling activities - within their own borders.
The letter, organized by Environment America, states:
Fracking … imposes particular burdens on local communities, from strained services to ruined roads. As with other extractive booms, the arrival and expansion of fracking operations has been correlated with a wide range of social problems, including increases in domestic violence, drug use, traffic accidents and civil disturbances. Other local impacts - such as water and soil contamination and reduced property values - are likely to persist long after the boom is gone, and we will be the ones left to pick up the pieces.
Local residents whose homes are adjacent to gas well sites live with nearly constant noise, light and air pollution, nonstop truck traffic and decreased property values. Local residents also face potential water and soil contamination, especially if well water is a resident's primary water source.
The call to restore local control comes after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the state expressly preempts cities' and counties' authority to regulate oil and gas drilling, effectively killing any Ohio municipality's ability to ban fracking. Ohio courts have dealt multiple blows to "home rule" authority for Ohio communities. Most recently, a Cuyahoga County judge upheld an earlier decision last week to dismiss a fracking ban in the Cleveland suburb of Broadview Heights....
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31808-local-ohio-officials-petition-governor-for-return-of-their-right-to-protect-citizens-from-fracking
Friday, 10 July 2015
By Candice Bernd, Truthout | Report
More than 100 local Ohio officials, including mayors, county commissioners and city councilors, have issued a letter to Governor John Kasich petitioning him for the right to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) - or simply regulate drilling activities - within their own borders.
The letter, organized by Environment America, states:
Fracking … imposes particular burdens on local communities, from strained services to ruined roads. As with other extractive booms, the arrival and expansion of fracking operations has been correlated with a wide range of social problems, including increases in domestic violence, drug use, traffic accidents and civil disturbances. Other local impacts - such as water and soil contamination and reduced property values - are likely to persist long after the boom is gone, and we will be the ones left to pick up the pieces.
Local residents whose homes are adjacent to gas well sites live with nearly constant noise, light and air pollution, nonstop truck traffic and decreased property values. Local residents also face potential water and soil contamination, especially if well water is a resident's primary water source.
The call to restore local control comes after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the state expressly preempts cities' and counties' authority to regulate oil and gas drilling, effectively killing any Ohio municipality's ability to ban fracking. Ohio courts have dealt multiple blows to "home rule" authority for Ohio communities. Most recently, a Cuyahoga County judge upheld an earlier decision last week to dismiss a fracking ban in the Cleveland suburb of Broadview Heights....
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31808-local-ohio-officials-petition-governor-for-return-of-their-right-to-protect-citizens-from-fracking
Broadview Heights is one of 3 Ohio towns whose citizens democratically voted to BAN fracking. And the Ohio "supreme" court ruled their vote irrelevant & unenforceable & that they don't have the right to ban fracking locally. The dissenting judge said its the worst judgement against Democracy that he'd ever witnessed..
Broadview Heights, Oh~
If you lived in Broadview Heights Ohio, would you want more fracking?
