PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Pennsylvania drilling company has a lease that would permit it to drill for natural gas beneath some Pittsburgh cemeteries, though no drilling is currently under way, a cemetery official said.

Annabelle McGannon, executive director of the Catholic Cemeteries Association of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, said the group leased more than 1,000 acres of land in 2008 to Huntley & Huntley Inc. of Monroeville. The company has a five-year-option to drill, she said.

McGannon said the company would need just five acres to drill.

“If and when the company would express any interest in drilling, the property owner is in complete control of the location of the drilling activity,’’ McGannon said. “There certainly wouldn’t be any interference with where active burials are occurring.’’

On Tuesday, Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields announced that he would introduce legislation banning Marcellus Shale drilling in Pittsburgh.

Shields’ announcement comes as the number of leases signed by property owners to allow drilling has boomed in recent years. About 7 percent of Allegheny County’s land parcels have been leased for drilling, mostly for Marcellus Shale exploration, according to the University of Pittsburgh.

“You don’t put oil and gas fields in urban areas,’’ Shields said Tuesday. “There’s too much that can go wrong.’’