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POLL: Should Fracking Be Permitted Under Cemeteries?

A gas company wants to drill for gas under a cemetery in eastern Ohio. Should that be allowed?

 

Trustees in an eastern Ohio town are considering an offer from a gas company that wants to drill for gas under a cemetery, according to a story on Cleveland.com.

But it's not just happening in Lowellville, OH. It's been considered elsewhere.

On one side of the debate is the prospect of making money for cities that need it. On the other is the mess, noise, the smell and the idea of disturbing the ground under the graves of loved ones.  

With gas drilling -- via fracking -- increasingly being pursued in our neighborhoods, what do you think of the idea? 

  • Should fracking be allowed under cemeteries?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • Yes.
        55 (22%)
    • No.
        195 (78%)
    Total votes: 250
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: Fracking in Cemeteries and fracking

Mars

6:48 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights...

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Tom Tucker

7:07 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Wow. I can't believe this is being considered.

Actually, yes I can. "Anything for businesses -- We Don't Want To Get In Their Way" -- the Republican Party-way.

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AMA

8:00 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I agree with you Tom. The conservatives like all that fracking and drilling.
Facts are facts. Finding any plot of land ,no matter where it is, is fine with the fracking companies. To refresh memories, Highland Hts was going to put wells in the FAMILY PARK until it was voted down at the meeting at city hall.....NO one is considered when it comes to making a buck,only their own pockets.
I

Leigh

7:34 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Really? Really? Making this a Republican Pary issue? That is as dumb as fracking under cemeteries. SIIIIGHING!!!!!

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Garry Kanter

8:22 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

"DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!!"

So yes, it's a "Republican Party issue". As are the unregulated and barely taxed aspects.

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tom m

9:01 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

well garry ....somebody has to help pay for that new healthcare TAX

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Garry Kanter

5:32 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

If there was such a TAX to be paid, it won't be the hydraulic fracturing companies paying it.

Corporations may have rights, but they don't get sick, or take part in the individual mandate requirements.

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Tom Tucker

7:42 am on Wednesday, July 4, 2012

It's only dumb to people like you because facts are something you either ignore and turn a blind eye to. Pay attention and perhaps you won't be so ignorant.
Let's also look at who has control of all branches in Ohio gov't.
Care to make another ignorant comment? Yeah, you'd be best served to remain silent.

Alexandra

9:08 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I have used fracking as a swear word for 5 years, I find it humorous now it is an actual term for this process. I concur, leave the deceased in peace, the land was set aside for a reason...I am a Repub and I find the mere idea of this offensive.

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Kimber Malloy

2:49 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Me too, and mother fracking also. Who knew.
Whats next-the "S" word is a type of farming????

Mars

9:14 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I would have though this wonderful drought we've been experiencing this summer would clue people into just how precious and important clean, pure water is... Then again, money is king. Too bad you can't eat and drink money.

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Robert Bodi

5:01 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Mary Lou, you need to educate yourself about fracking. Except in very rare circumstances, fracking does not cause any water pollution when done correctly. There are many regulations that must be followed, and the process is safe and very effective. (The issue of whether to drill under cemeteries is open, however, for other understandable reasons.)

And about money being king, do you air condition your house? Drive a car? Heat your house in the winter? Watch TV? Use a computer? If so, then you need energy. It has to come from somewhere. And natural gas is a relatively clean source of energy, and quite economical, too.

-Bob

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Debbie S.

7:54 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Bob - you are very mistaken about the process being safe and effective. Fracking involves injecting a highly polluted mining by-product slurry into the ground so forcefully that it can travel through the already-broken (by the mining process) rock layers. It is a proven source of the earthquakes last year in Youngstown among other environmental problems. There are several states which have rejected fracking disposal (and one that has made it outright illegal). Ohio is very short-sighted to desire to be a leader in this industry. We are short selling our children's natural resource inheritance.

AMA

9:53 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The healthcare issue....It's NOT a tax but a penalty.
Research before you go on the defense. Only conservatives call it a tax,because that's what FOX News calls it?

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Carlton

11:41 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Anita, read the ruling, the only reason that the Affordable Health Care Act was consider constitutional was because it was a tax. It is NOT constitutional as a penalty, you can't have it both ways.

"The Affordable Care Act's requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax. Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the ruling.

But, to stay on topic, what difference does it make if the fracking is done under a cemetery or under public lands or in someone's backyard? Its a question of zoning and property rights. The cemeteries are not public land, if they have the permitting and zoning who are you tell them what they can and can not do on their land.

FYI there are already two gas wells under Lake View Cemetery and they are not that intrusive.

Well: 34035219080000
Company: Bass Energy Co. Inc.
Permit Date: 6/21/2006

Well: 34035219090000
Company: Bass Energy Co. Inc.
Permit Date: 6/21/2006

If your going to allow fracking in the Heights, frankly the cemeteries are the best places to drill. Better there then Cain Park or in your neighbor's back yard

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Peter Grossetti

11:48 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Carlton - how do you define "not that intrusive"?

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Carlton

12:04 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Not that intrusive in that you really don't notice the well heads.

Here is an example of what the finished well head looks like at St. Clare Church
http://bassenergyco.com/images/StClare-Church.jpg

Bass Energy's website has examples of how they finish the well head.

Now the actual process of hydraulic fracturing is highly intrusive, but one the drilling is done, you don't need a large footprint for housing the well head.

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tom m

1:49 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Anita perhaps you should take your own advice on the fact that YOU need to do research before responding with your childish talking points ....Obamacare is a tax (which is how obamas lawyers even argued it) oh and anita that means everyone has to pay this TAX rich and poor

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Peter Grossetti

2:08 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

So, Carlton ... out of sight, out of mind???

With fracking, it's what happening our of sight underground that is intrusive!

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Carlton

2:42 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Peter, do you have lights in your house? Do you have electric or gas heating in your home? Do you drive a car or use plastic? Well where exactly do you think all these petrochemicals and fuels come from? They come from someone's backyard. In other words, "out of sight out of mind." We've had a NIMBY mind set for 50 years and now we are being priced out of the marginal barrel. Now I'm not advocating hydraulic fracturing in Cleveland Heights, however, if a community wants to develop a field, that's there business. Anyways you slice it the economy runs on access to cheap energy and petrochemical feed stocks. This is an empirical fact.

There is a lot of sensationalized stories about hydraulic fracturing, I'd recommend that your hear both side of this. Some of the anti-fracking theories don't hold water, while others truly are a concern..excess uncontrolled methane release, illegal dumping of fracking fluids, wear and tare on roads and bridges, etc. However, this is a relatively new industry and just like how in the early 1900s they used to just dump oil in pits for storage, the technology will improve and many of these issues can be resolved.

At $2.90 per MM/BTUs I don't understand the argument for drilling in urban areas were it could be conceived as intrusive. However, at $14 MM/BTUs we better drill everywhere we can or there will be a lot more people unemployed.

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I.M. Wright

6:40 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

What in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks does ACA have to do with THIS?

Oh, nothing.

Lisa Regula Meyer

10:45 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Drilling under cemeteries? Ew. If there was any proof needed that we have lost our collective minds, the fact that this is being considered is it.

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AMA

12:02 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Carlton..........http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/06/some_health_care_reform_claims.htm
I'm sorry, I disagree about fracking and drilling in parks,cemeteries,and close to residential areas.
It has been proven to cause,earth quakes, exploisons,l eaks,and ruin the water supply and render some properties worthless......the drilling maybe co will tell you anything just to get your land and tell you you'll get a lot of money.......maybe in the beginning but it is not worth the anguish people go through when your payments dwindle and your well leaks, or anything can happen.

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JC

12:34 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Fracking shouldn't be permitted ANYWHERE. I can't believe all of that is getting the green light, it's completely insane.

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AMA

1:04 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Money talks. People are promised money then the payment dwindles,property value goes down, well has problems....etc.
The drilling companies are like snake oil salesmen.

Tim Torrence

1:24 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

"Follow the money." One of the few true statements made in the comments so far. What side of the issue of fracking you stand on depends on who's flow of money you support. If you support the environmentalist's flow fracking is bad. If you follow the energy company's flow then fracking is viable.
The real statement made here is that drilling in city parks and cemeteries shows a complete lack of common sense and decency.
And like the elected officials in the city of Lowellville your elected officials have a vote. If you don't like their vote you can vote too.

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AMA

3:02 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Tom,not everyone will have a penalty. There are the very poor,people on Medicare, etc. the penalty increases as the years pass or they pay a certain percentage of wages.
You should brush up on your info, and my comments are not childish as you implied, so I suggest you keep your rude comments to yourself. This is an adult conversation.

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tom m

5:15 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

its a tax anita ....no matter how you want to spin it word it or imply it, at the end of the day it is a T-A-X

Valerie Middleton Winter

3:52 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I hate seeing people getting so 'gassed' up. And I wouldn't want to see the dearly departed getting all 'gassed' up...... Can you imagine if there was an explosion and all the buried being unearthed!!!!?? No fracking way!!!!

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I.M. Wright

6:41 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The ACA has nothing to do with this.

Stop hijacking -- and get your own blog.

Michelle Simakis

5:36 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Thanks to those of you who are commenting using your real first and last names per our terms of use: www.clevelandheights.patch.com/terms

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tom m

5:36 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

ANITA FIRST LINE IN YOUR LINK..... The Affordable Care Act’s tax
ANITA THE AMOUNT OF THE TAX .....Then, there is the amount of the tax. In 2014 the initial levy will be just $95. By 2016, it is scheduled to increase to $695 or 2.5 percent of taxable income—up to a maximum of $2,085

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Michelle Simakis

5:37 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

A comment has been deleted because it violates our terms of use, which can be found here: www.clevelandheights.patch.com. For those of you not using your real first and last names, you are also violating the terms. Please correct this by editing your profile. If you have questions about how to do this, email me at Michelle.Simakis@patch.com

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Debbie S.

5:58 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

People are not going to follow terms of service, Michelle, when there is no enforcement. Some posters have been violating TOS for months, commenting regularly, and nothing has been done. Patch needs to drop the requirement if they are not going to enforce it.

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James Murphy

6:09 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

waaaaaaa debbie I would say 60% are not using full/real names there is a lot of family guy,simpsons,pulp fiction names mixed in
but Debbie if that is all you are going to comment about (off topic) why bother even posting anything (nobody cares)

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Debbie S.

7:50 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

James - Patch apparently cares (although not ALL Patch editors, obviously). Also, I have more to say which is relevant to the topic, but I was in the middle of preparing dinner for my family. Obviously YOU don't care, but there are more people in this world than you, sir, so I shall keep raising the issue with Patch (since it's their rule).

AMA

5:43 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

It states both......a tax goes to the IRS, which THIS PENALTY will NOT!
Enough Tom. Read the rest of the article......
OY!

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tom m

11:47 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

no money from anywhere goes TO the IRS all they do is collect the taxes for the government so this will be just another item for the IRS to collect

AMA

6:04 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

http://abcnews.go.com/politics/t/blogEntry?id=16680468

TOM, THERE ARE DIFFERENT VIEWS, one from the White House and what the Supreme Court ruled.
Have a nice evening and let's just agree to disagree.

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joe simonton

11:07 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

thats not what the supreme court ruled, they ruled that if it is not a tax then obamacare is illegal

marty323

9:56 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

regardless how wrong most fracking is a cemetary is still hallowed ground...

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tom m

11:41 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

they move cemeteries all the time in the name of progress why is this different

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Tom Tucker

7:41 am on Wednesday, July 4, 2012

"all the time"?

Recent examples, please.

Dino Ferrante

10:51 pm on Tuesday, July 3, 2012

If we make it illegal, how will the human race reproduce? It should just be done privately though ,not in cemetaries

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Mars

7:07 am on Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Reproduce? The human race will reproduce the same way we have for century after century. The same way other mammals on Earth reproduce. Male and female unite to make a baby. I must have missed the part in biology class where they pointed out fracking was so important for us to reproduce. WWJD... Where would Jesus drill?

Tom Tucker

7:41 am on Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Since there's been an obsession on remaking classic horror films over the last few years, perhaps someone could remake "Poltergeist" (it's 30 years old!!) and make fracking in cemeteries as the storyline! ;)

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