By Michael Monks • Apr 5, 2019 . This year, it didn’t happen. Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? But some researchers and activists warn that it could also bring a new type of pollution to the Ohio River Valley — nurdles. BarbiAnn Maynard stands on the porch of her home in Huntleyville, Kentucky, (population 188) and points across the two-lane road, where three houses perch on a tree-speckled mountainside. Conservationists get a seat at Ohio River pollution discussions. Their goal is to swim the 450 meters to the Kentucky shore and back again. Like much of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, Martin County has an aging infrastructure problem and little money to fix it. The slurry was an unprecedented disaster – 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill more than a decade earlier. — Area residents will have a chance next month to comment in person on a plan keeping in place pollution control standards for the Ohio River. 0 The other problem occurs when water leaves the plant and heads toward homes. The Commission also noted mercury pollution as an ongoing concern, citing a 500% increase in mercury discharges between 2007 and 2013. The same can’t always be said for the greater Ohio River watershed. After five years of debate, a federal watchdog for the Ohio River has finalized its pollution control standards for its eight member states, including Indiana. It cost ODNR nearly $400,000 to install, and the tower must be refilled with calcium oxide every six to eight weeks at a rate of about $40,000 per year, according to Bowman. First sightings of nurdles. In 2019, one bloom occurred that spanned 300 miles; 2015 saw another across 700 miles. Formed in 1948 by signing of Compact by Governors of 8 states and was approved by the US Congress. In West Virginia, Ziemkiewicz and his team at the West Virginia Water Research Institute are extracting rare earth elements from acid mine drainage. Photo: Kara Lofton . Conservation and environmental groups will now have a formal seat at the table when regulators meet to review water quality issues and standards for the Ohio River – a status … To see more, please visit ohiowatershed.org. But no amount of anger or advocacy can fix the underlying issue plaguing Martin County and others like it: inadequate funds. Pollution Water. © 2021 www.cincinnati.com. i Nutrient pollution-fueled “dead zones” along the U.S. coasts costs our seafood and tourism industries at least $82 million a year. In Ohio, researchers at OU’s Russ College Department of Civil Engineering and experts at the nonprofit Rural Action have launched a pilot program that uses acid mine drainage pollution to create paint pigments. Source: The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Enforcement and Compliance History online database, echo.epa.gov. “With Melissa’s data, a spreadsheet model, some common sense and the willingness of industry to do the right thing, we solved it,” Ziemkiewicz said. “There’s a lot of greed and corruption,” Maynard maintained. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) today approved revisions to the Pollution Control Standards (PCS) for industrial and municipal wastewater discharges into the Ohio River. “That one – dementia. With the abandoned mine land fund and its resulting projects in peril, university research institutes like Bowman’s have been joining environmental nonprofits in entrepreneurial efforts to ensure that remediation continues. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Fish in the Cuyahoga River, which became synonymous with pollution when it caught fire in Cleveland in 1969, are now safe to eat, federal environmental regulators say. Get Your Custom Essay on Ohio River Pollution Just from $13,9/Page. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission reviews the pollution standards for the 981-mile-long river at least every three years. By the time Schulte began monitoring fish species in the 1990s, thanks to environmental and industrial regulations like the Clean Water Act, the Ohio River and its major tributaries, including the Mon, had changed. It shouldn’t have been surprising, said Jerry Schulte, a biologist who managed the source water protection and emergency response team for the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission [ORSANCO] for more than two decades. As part of the review process, workshops and public hearings are held for public input. Over 90 percent of the pollutants are nitrate compounds, these too also being discharged by the AK steel group among others and also due to the use of high levels of pesticides around the river. In Martin County, sludge crept into yards and across roads, creating pools 5 feet deep. After all, the steel companies that dotted the region’s riverbanks were dumping their contaminated water right into the rivers. But the roots of the county’s water issues and the fixes are complicated. %%EOF Nineteen years later, the water in Martin County still comes with warnings. Hewett Fork no longer causes fish kills, and 90 miles of Raccoon Creek, which flows through southeastern Ohio, are now safe for recreation. Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets similar in size to a lentil and produced at petrochemical plants. The Ohio River is infamous for pollution even after strict rules and regulations were passed by government agencies, the river is still being largely neglected when it comes to pollution. Because while coal is a dire problem, it is just one of many problems. At the time, the best way to accomplish this was what’s called lock chamber sampling, or filling a 350-by-56-foot lock with river water, injecting it with cyanide and waiting for the dead fish to float to the top. These tanks, shown here in June 2019, will hold the plastic pellets produced by Shell’s ethane cracker. The easing of fish consumption restrictions on the Cuyahoga was lauded Monday by Republican Gov. “It’s a functioning ecosystem now,” Schulte said. IL, IN, KY, NY, OH, PA, VA, WV, Federal Govt. That, by itself, wouldn’t be such a problem. The easing of fish consumption restrictions on the Cuyahoga River in northeast Ohio was lauded Monday by Republican Gov. Directed by Todd Haynes. This process for remediating acid mine drainage in creeks isn’t a perfect one, said Jen Bowman, the director of environmental programs for Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, which worked with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources [ODNR] on the doser project. There are other, cheaper ways to prevent abandoned coal mines from harming waterways, and in southeastern Ohio – where a loose loop of 11 villages and unincorporated communities is collectively known as the “Little Cities of Black Diamonds” – they’ve tried many of them. Since 1977, the federal Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program has doled out money to states in order to soothe the scars of coal mining. It comes as no surprise that there are chemicals in the Ohio River. the Ohio River will be required to be modified or treated to the extent specified in the standards established as above set forth. (Photo by Reid Frazier/The Allegheny Front) In an email, Shell says it has pledged to prevent accidental loss of plastic pellets from its manufacturing facility into the environment, using industry safety and production measures. ���YtfOlU=z��:�֔o�*M�8���o����6�袴�͞���M��"��-�86���{q�Q1P(i��i�|��A?�.a�j���-f��a�C�Cݬs9=�/���ܸ�����nF6���X�T����Tc���������R�mjjܖ�d�� ��xi���U@���WӂZ|��7���!x��[�z�sSKR�����y)��Y ���/B@��!���,EVw�y��"�X�ѴY��D�1����K�F+������Ɔ�`�h`�`2v���h``� R� � � R�����v44X�9@���T�ѐ����4 5ppd� SG��T ��������&�@����B�������X+�0D5�.fbg��j���Q���C7������m*;�(�ӫ7����Ζ�5��Ó�A�7U�� >[ߒ Remaining problems are more challenging and may be traced to two kinds of pollutants: polluted run off and physical alterations to a stream or river channel. Good River: Stories of the Ohio is a series about the environment, economy, and culture of the Ohio River watershed, produced by seven nonprofit newsrooms. Government and industry argued over responsibility – “Pennsylvania blamed West Virginia, West Virginia blamed Pennsylvania; coal companies blamed oil and gas, oil and gas blamed coal companies,” Ziemkiewicz said. “And they haven’t used common sense.”. But the money for that program is collected from a fee on coal companies that is set to expire in 2021. Maynard drives 45 minutes to a spring at the Mingo-Logan county line in West Virginia to fill containers with fresh water to drink. But even if that cycle can be broken, even if paint pigments and rare earth elements turn a profit and remediation projects are funded in perpetuity, that doesn’t fix the Ohio River drainage basin. The river is extremely diverse and very clean for a body of water with its diversity and size, a fact that belies its appearance most days. 4372 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<28783B1861155545AA624F04A335FEBF><018C5D2628492A42A58D12D054C3CE33>]/Index[4356 28]/Info 4355 0 R/Length 79/Prev 519563/Root 4357 0 R/Size 4384/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream rivers. “And I’m a fighter.”. Together, the grants totaled $4 million. The proposed 2019 Revision maintains ORSANCO's Pollution Control Standards for the Ohio River to protect the uses delineated in ORSANCO's Compact while providing needed flexibility for member states to utilize the Pollution Control Standards or their own rigorously developed and United States Environmental Protection Agency approved water quality criteria for Ohio River discharge permits. Industrial contaminants, including the “forever chemical” perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have been detected on long stretches of the river and toxic algal blooms erupt when conditions are just right. A commission that sets pollution standards for the Ohio River could be making those benchmarks voluntary for states. Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, once one of the dirtiest in the U.S., has seen a resurgence of life—both on the surface and below. In 1969 it was all but dead; now it has 70 species of fish. “It really is an eye-opening thing to take a drive through the Ohio River Valley. This is the great irony of coal: the restoration of abandoned mines hinges on the perpetuation of coal mining. 4356 0 obj <> endobj My dad – dementia,” she said. Days before the race was to commence, ORSANCO received reports of algae in the water, and the Kentucky Department for Public Health issued a harmful algae bloom advisory, effectively shutting down river recreation. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission - also known as ORSANCO - sets pollution limits for the river that are sometimes more stringent than state ones. The Ohio River drainage basin is an interconnected web of small rivers and creeks covering 205,000 square miles of largely rural, Applachian landscape and is home to 25 million people, many of whom are among the country’s poorest. Is the Ohio Valley Protected from Nurdle Pollution? It threatens aquatic life, endangers people taking part in river recreation and – perhaps most critically – creates water unfit for human consumption. COLUMBUS, Ohio — Fish in an Ohio river that became synonymous with pollution when it caught fire in 1969 are now safe to eat, federal environmental regulators say. Get Essay . February 13, 2019. More intense rainfall followed by long, drought-like stretches are just what algae need to thrive. It’s a lesson he tries to impress upon fellow researchers and scientists because he believes if true progress is to be made in the fight for clean water, it will require an abundance of data and a lack of political agenda, especially as burgeoning industries bring about new water challenges. It takes time for the calcium oxide to dissolve, so a section of Hewett Fork near the doser still runs rusty and lifeless before giving way to clean water.And the doser is expensive. There are two types of permits: general and individual. The 2019 PCS Revision was approved after significant consideration and public outreach through three separate public comment periods, four public hearings, and six webinars over the past 18 months. Still, most of the time, the majority of the river’s 981 miles are ripe for recreation and fit for drinking after proper treatment. By Michael Monks • Apr 5, 2019 . But without such treatment to the water, customers could be exposed to harmful bacteria and whatever residual effects of the coal slurry are still present in the waterway. Doing so prevents pollution from entering the water and creates a prime area for camping and water recreation. The Ohio River from Covington Nick Swartsell A commission that sets pollution regulations for the Ohio River won't roll back its standards just yet. INDIANAPOLIS - Water quality along Indiana's southern border could be impacted by a long-awaited vote expected this week. endstream endobj startxref A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution. Those nutrients eventually make their way to the Ohio River, where algae feed on them. But public records only tell part of the story. Events like Riversweep are getting people involved in actually making positive change happen. h�bbd``b`�k�S�`m����h �\bY�V8�D��*@��NH\Ud`b�2���h����� ��' In June 1969, a Time Magazine article garnered national attention when it brought to light the water quality conditions in Ohio: a river had literally caught fire. A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution. Archaic, but effective. That summer, more than 700 square miles of toxic algae grew on the Ohio River in West Virginia and Ohio. Some days, it’s cloudy and smells so strongly of chlorine that it burns the eyes. In Pittsburgh, Penn., pollution control compliance would be made voluntary under a new proposal by the Ohio River Valley Water and Sanitation Commission. Watershed pollution in Appalachia, much of which has been caused by coal mining, is an ongoing environmental hazard that mimics the threat steel once posed to big cities on the Ohio. On Oct. 11, 2000, 300 million gallons of coal slurry broke through a reservoir in Martin County, Kentucky, flooding the abandoned mine shafts below and rushing out into the waters of Wolf Creek and Coldwater Fork. Read time: 10 mins. The standards are for … The easing of fish consumption restrictions on the Cuyahoga was lauded Monday by Republican Gov. In Martin County, the problem is broken pipes. But some researchers and activists warn that it could also bring a new type of pollution to the Ohio River Valley — nurdles. Their findings showed that while the source of total dissolved solids was mine water, the salinity wasn’t actually the mine’s fault. Mike DeWine as an important step toward ultimately delisting the river altogether as an area of … She’d like nothing more than to follow her now-grown daughters out of the county and leave the water issues behind, but her land along the Tug Fork in Huntleyville has been in the family for five generations and she is her ill father’s caretaker. Ohio EPA's update to the Ohio Nonpoint Source (NPS) Management Plan was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in August 2020. So she came up with another option. Ohio River Compact Considers Vote to Eliminate Its Pollution Standards. To see more, please visit ohiowatershed.org. Before 2004, that water washed across a field and the road before dumping into Hewett Fork, turning it tangerine. Share Tweet Email. By Sharon Kelly • Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - 15:12 . ORSANCO is accepting public comment on a plan to revise Ohio River pollution control standards. Related Program: Cincinnati Edition. The first erupted near Huntington, West Virginia, and grew 50 miles long before dissipating, according to Youngstrom. Visit Eye on Ohio for more from the Ohio Center for Investigative Journalism. The standards designate specific uses for the Ohio River, and establish guidelines to ensure that the river is capable of supporting these uses. With Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman. Read time: 10 mins. Even after much clean-up and stricter regulation, the Ohio River still ranks first of the most polluted waterways in the U.S. Not only is this pollution bad for the species in the water, but it also shows an inaccurate representation of the Ohio River as a whole. Tim Reddinger has lived along the Ohio River his entire life, working for most of his career in the steel mills that once lined the riverfront. According to Martin County officials, it will take at least $10 million to address the water issues there. That summer, more than 700 square miles of toxic algae grew on the Ohio River in West Virginia and Ohio. Directed by Todd Haynes. It’s a slow process. The EPA recommended the standard first in 1986, based in part on studies of a sewage-contaminated Ohio River beach near Cincinnati where swimmers … The river again ranked as the most polluted in 2013 and has been the most polluted river since at least 2001, according to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). The blooms are a result of rains that wash fertilizer off farmland and into nearby creeks. After an 11-month investigation, the grand jury returned no charges. But even in areas of the river basin where sensical solutions to water pollution have been developed and instituted, the results are still subject to imminent financial threat. Every few months, she drives across the state line to a Tennessee grocery store to pick up pallets of bottled water, which she then distributes to county residents. The Clean Water Act helped solve many of Ohio's traditional pollution problems. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , ORSANCO held its first hearing on the proposal Monday, April 1 in Green Tree. In 1958, researchers from the University of Louisville and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission gathered at a lock on the Monongahela River for routine collecting, counting and comparing of fish species. The Ohio Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) reported the river has 23 million pounds of toxic discharge. Functioning doesn’t mean perfect, however. Good River: Stories of the Ohio is a series about the environment, economy, and culture of the Ohio River watershed, produced by seven nonprofit newsrooms. While the Ohio River Valley, long home to the coal and steel industries, is no stranger to air pollution, the region’s natural gas boom and burgeoning petrochemical industry threaten to erase the gains of recent decades. Ohio River Pollution Points. The weather was especially dry that season, resulting in low flows. Who is ORSANCO. In November 2019, Congressman Donald McEachin (VA-04) introduced the 100% Clean Economy Act of 2019 with Representatives Deb Haaland (NM-01), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), Paul Tonko (NY-20), and Chellie Pingree (ME-01). It was a major milestone in the river’s recovery—once one of … On March 20, 2019, fish caught in Ohio’s Cuyahoga River were declared safe to eat by federal environmental regulators. Related Program: Cincinnati Edition. With Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman. “It was so polluted, you could see it, smell it and taste it.”. And aren ’ t used common sense. ” to be modified or to. Are just what algae need to be modified or treated to the extent specified in the designate. 2004, that water washed across a field and the New River March 20, 2019 15:12... For perspective, in 2019, will hold the plastic pellets similar in size to a spring the! 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