Youngstown, Ohio, July 19, 2013 – They’re back and more
determined than ever to win on election day in November 2013. The Youngstown,
Ohio, Community Bill of Rights Committee is coordinating a new door-to-door
campaign to get the required number of registered Youngstown voter signatures
to put a question on the November ballot.
The group says that a Yes vote on that ballot question would
uphold Youngstown citizens’ fundamental rights to protect their family’s safe
drinking water, clean air, and land, and to local self-governance.
“We came so close to winning last time that we fully expect
to win the vote in November. In this past May’s election, we only needed 8
percent more to pass the Community Bill of Rights charter amendment. We had almost 3,000 Youngstown voters
who did the right thing by voting Yes, and that is very impressive and very
good news. We thank them,” said Youngstown resident Lynn Anderson.
The group believes that the increasing number of high-profile
scientific findings, government reports, news reports and claims by people
living near fracking-related operations is awakening more and more people to
the need for a Community Bill of Rights to help Youngstown prevent dangers,
civil rights violations, and risks associated with fracking and related
processes, infrastructure, and millions of gallons of fracking waste.
“Nationwide and locally there are unconventional fracking
wells and heavy industrial infrastructure that are way too close to homes,
schools, parks, cemeteries, farms, and forests. Millions of gallons of our
precious drinking water are being made permanently unusable due to the massive
amounts of water used to frack each well.
Each well pad can have numerous legs that can also be fracked. How can
these heavy industrialized operations be permitted so close to homes, farms, or
residential areas? This is not right.
We need local control to protect our community’s public health and
safety and to enforce how we want our communities to be. When the Community
Bill of Rights passes in November, 2013, fracking and related activities will
be banned in Youngstown as violations of the community’s fundamental rights,”
said Susie Beiersdorfer.
The Community Bill of Rights Committee points to unconventional
fracking going on in the protected area of this local region’s drinking water,
a source for at least 200,000 people as a risky activity and one that should
never have been allowed to occur. They wonder how the state could have
permitted fracking operations so close to a source of drinking water, our
Meander Reservoir Drinking Water Source Protection Area.
The group cites an example from nearby Weathersfield
Township of what could come to Youngstown if the Community Bill of Rights does
not pass in November. An
unconventional horizontal fracking well operation was placed very close to
Westwood Lake Mobile Home Park residents, many of whom are retired. Since then, residents have experienced diesel fumes, vibrations so
strong that pictures on the wall moved, continuous noise, bright lights, and
other nightmares that severely, unfairly, and adversely affect their quality of
life. Recently, Westwood Lake residents
had to contend with extreme noise and air quality issues from flaring of the
well. The following video shows
their suffering:
“Westwood Lake Nightmare” (published June 23, 2013)
“Think about it. What if this was your mother, grandmother
or another family member being forced to endure this unfair and unhealthy
situation? We need to protect our
loved ones from this kind of unjust intrusion and threat to public health,
safety, and well-being. This is America. We can do better than this. In America
we all equally deserve liberty and justice – fairness is not just for the few,
“ said Susie Beiersdorfer.
The Community Bill of Rights Committee and supporters say
that a Yes vote will protect our inalienable rights and clarify that local
elected authorities do indeed have the power – and the duty - to protect their
constituents’ public health, safety, and well-being, and families in their
jurisdiction. The fundamental
rights of local communities cannot be legislated away by state governments. The Community Bill of Rights will be a
much-needed return to the rule of law.
The group cites the earthquakes as another big concern for
our area and other states. For a recent mention of the now-famous 4.0 magnitude
Youngstown fracking waste injection well-related earthquake and important new
earthquake/injection well scientific information, please see:
Reuters: “Distant seismic activity can trigger quakes at
‘fracking’ sites,” by Sharon Begley, July 11, 2013 at:
The group will soon announce a
newly revised website where visitors can volunteer, donate, or get further
information about the Community Bill of Rights.For media inquiries, more information, and/or to volunteer to help the Community Bill of Rights effort, please contact the group via Frackfree Mahoning Valley at:
234-201-0402 or e-mail: frackfreemahoning@gmail.com
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