On Election Day, four Ohio cities will vote on ballot initiatives that would empower their citizens to ban fracking activities within their city limits: Kent, Youngstown, Gates Mills and Athens. Drafted by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), these Community Bill of Rights initiatives would codify community rights to self-governance and a healthy environment.
Voters in Yellow Springs, Mansfield, Oberlin, and Broadview Heights passed similar city ordinances in the last two years.
“For too long, the State of Ohio and the oil and gas industry have worked hand-in-hand to strip communities of their right to protect themselves and the environment,” said Tish O’Dell, CELDF Ohio organizer. Ohio communities are no longer willing to accept a legal system which forces fracking into communities.”
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