A Massachusetts cemetery that is currently harboring the remains of 50 people, including a former governor, is threatened as its graves are sliding down a hill due to erosion. Storms have pushed down trees and washed away several yards of soil on the cemetery's northern side. When more storms come, there would be more erosion that could see graves slip away.

Officials of Green River Cemetery will exhume and rebury the remains of those resting therein. The AP quotes Alan Blanker, president of the Green River Cemetery Co., as saying that, "We need to move as fast as we can." Blanker adds that, "The last thing we want is for any remains to slip away."

State laws say exhuming a body requires a copy of a death certificate coupled with the approval of the family of the deceased person. Most of the bodies in the cemetery were buried in the 1800s making it difficult to meet those requirements. A Probate Court judge has waived those requirements.

Relatives have been given up to July 31 to object to the move without which the bodies will be exhumed and reburied. Blanker says, "The life and safety of the workers is more important than the remains of somebody who's been deceased for over 100 years." Since the cemetery is on a steep slope, cranes may be used to do the job.