Bill of Rights Committee looks to add fracking to the ballot

The Athens Community Bill of Rights Committee, a group organized to introduce anti-fracking legislation for Athens, has opened its petition drive and started collecting signatures in order to get the legislation on the ballot.The petition, requiring 472 resident signatures according to city council, will be on the ballot Nov. 5 of this year.“If adopted by the voters, the Ordinance will prohibit deep shale extraction of oil and gas within the city of Athens, and also the storing, transporting and disposing of waste products from gas or oil extraction within the city and its jurisdiction,” according to a news release.Organizer Richard McGinn said he expects there to be three times as many signatures as needed. He also said he could collect the signatures himself if needed, and he saw that much support behind the legislation.“Most of the people that come up to us really like the proposal, really like the ordiance,” McGinn said.The committee will have volunteers all over Athens and Ohio University’s campus over the course of the current week where they will look to persuade individuals to sign the petition. They will have volunteers at the Ohio University Baker Center and at the Alumni Gate on the corner of Union and Court.The organization was attempting to get a large number of signatures at the weekly Farmer’s Market this past Saturday but were turned away, as they were told that the owner of the mall did not want them there.This minor setback did not keep the organization from seeking more signatures, as some members were sent to uptown Athens and others were sent to Baker Center to seek student signatures.There is notable opposition to the legislation as numerous people outside of Athens’ city limits are taking issue with what they perceive to be an infringement on their rights. Some see this as the city trying to grab power and dictate what others do with their land. They do not see why legal action would be able to be taken if cities outside of Athens (especially those upstream of the Hocking River) did not take steps to stop fracking. Several letters to the editor at The Athens News and the Athens Messenger have made this more than apparent.However, OU students have taken a strong interst in the issue. A student subcommitee called  the Bill of Rights Student Subcommittee has also been started in order to drill up support among the students at Ohio University and make up a large part of the volunteers.