This article by Beth Burger appeared in The Columbus Dispatch, September 30, 2018.
The Ohio Supreme Court is being asked to reconsider whether a proposal to ban oil and natural gas extraction and waste disposal in Columbus should go on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Last month, the Franklin County Board of Elections denied the environmental group Columbus Community Bill of Rights’ effort to get the measure on the ballot, questioning its legality. The group filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court, which ruled with the Board of Elections.
″(The Board of Elections members) are limited to counting signatures and making sure the forms are filled out right. They’re not allowed to consider the substance of the proposal,” said Terry Lodge, a Toledo-based attorney who is representing the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund [CELDF].
Last week, in a last-ditch effort, the group filed its motion for reconsideration with the state Supreme Court.
“They’re looking for every reason to keep us off the ballot. This is our only recourse,” said Carolyn Harding, a co-organizer for Columbus Community Bill of Rights.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. Military and overseas absentee voting began Sept. 22. Early in-person voting and absentee voting will begin Oct. 10. With each passing day, there’s less time to launch a public-awareness campaign about the issue, Lodge said.
“The group is sort of in suspended animation,” he said. “They don’t know whether to campaign or put up signs or what.”
The proposed ballot initiative would make it illegal to drill for oil and natural gas in Columbus, as well as store or dump drilling waste in the city or transport waste across the city. A “bill of rights” also would assert that residents should have clean water, air and soil that are free from fracking waste in central Ohio. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources regulates oil and natural gas exploration and operation at the state level. MORE…