Read time: 10 mins. The first time Maynard received that warning, she was 24 years old and pregnant with her daughter. 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. Water authorities need to use limited amounts of chemicals to avoid bacteria-causing illness, but too much of those chemicals could put their residents at risk for cancer. ���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 Related Program: Cincinnati Edition. Nutrient loading in the Ohio River leads to harmful algae blooms that threaten drinking water. About the author. Since 1977, the federal Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program has doled out money to states in order to soothe the scars of coal mining. The standards designate specific uses for the Ohio River, and establish guidelines to ensure that the river is capable of supporting these uses. A commission that sets pollution standards for the Ohio River could be making those benchmarks voluntary for states. But public records only tell part of the story. — 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. 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. 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. “It really is an eye-opening thing to take a drive through the Ohio River Valley. Pollution Control Board. The Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] works with authorized state regulatory agencies to implement the NPDES permitting program. Is the Ohio Valley Protected from Nurdle Pollution? In Ohio, Bowman is on a mission to create a 50-foot buffer at the edge of area waterways – basically a barrier of untamed grasses, shrubs and trees that would prevent erosion and provide shade from sunlight. Coming in at second and third most polluted rivers are the Mississippi River and the New River. According to Martin County officials, it will take at least $10 million to address the water issues there. endstream endobj startxref 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 upshot of the doser is a rehabilitated waterway. By Sharon Kelly • Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - 15:12 . Pollution of waterways is often accredited to the industrialization period during. 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. But long periods without rain cause river flow to slow, allowing sediment to drop out of the water and sunlight to come in, creating the perfect conditions for rapid algae growth. 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. Mike DeWine as an important step toward ultimately delisting the river altogether as an area of … It was so laden with acidity that snow plows had to be called in to scrape the resulting iron off the asphalt, and fish kills became a regular occurrence where Hewett Fork flows into Raccoon Creek. There are two types of permits: general and individual. Sharon Kelly | June 5, 2019 . These tanks, shown here in June 2019, will hold the plastic pellets produced by Shell’s ethane cracker. 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. the Ohio River will be required to be modified or treated to the extent specified in the standards established as above set forth. 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. He studies Biological Sciences at Ohio State University. The Ohio River is consistently ranked as the most polluted in the country, with an estimated 30-million pounds of toxic chemicals illegally dumped into its waters each year. This year, it didn’t happen. The Ohio Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) reported the river has 23 million pounds of toxic discharge. Photo: Kara Lofton, West Virginia Public Broadcasting . Don't use plagiarized sources. To many, the Cuyahoga River fire on June 22, 1969 represents a turning point for environmental regulation. 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. Read time: 10 mins. The easing of fish consumption restrictions on the Cuyahoga was lauded Monday by Republican Gov. 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. In West Virginia, Ziemkiewicz and his team at the West Virginia Water Research Institute are extracting rare earth elements from acid mine drainage. Will Ohio River Get Optional Pollution Limits as New Fracking-Reliant Plastics Industry Moves in? However, the funding for all of these projects could be in jeopardy. 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. Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Get Your Custom Essay on Ohio River Pollution Just from $13,9/Page. 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. More intense rainfall followed by long, drought-like stretches are just what algae need to thrive. Events like Riversweep are getting people involved in actually making positive change happen. By Michael Monks • Apr 5, 2019 . 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. Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets similar in size to a lentil and produced at petrochemical plants. Pollution Water. A 1967 photograph, showing old cars used as rip-rap along the banks of the Cuyahoga River to protect it from erosion, is held in front the foliage-filled landscape of the river in 2006. The same can’t always be said for the greater Ohio River watershed. “And they haven’t used common sense.”. 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. Directed by Todd Haynes. In coal country, Maynard said, who knows what gets in. In rural areas, farmers aren’t particularly interested in giving 50 feet of land that could be used for planting. In 1969 it was all but dead; now it has 70 species of fish. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, which wrapped up … In 2019, one bloom occurred that spanned 300 miles; 2015 saw another across 700 miles. After an 11-month investigation, the grand jury returned no charges. Maynard drives 45 minutes to a spring at the Mingo-Logan county line in West Virginia to fill containers with fresh water to drink. The Ohio River is infamous for industrial pollution. 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. 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. For residents in Martin County, turning on the tap is always a surprise. She uses antibacterial hand soap as body wash in the shower and cleans her hands with disinfectant wipes rather than running them under the tap. Experts estimate nearly 70% of drinking water is lost while contaminants in the soil and groundwater are allowed to leach into the system. It’s a slow process. These tanks, shown here in June 2019, will hold the plastic pellets produced by Shell’s ethane cracker. They’re the raw material of the plastics industry, the building blocks of everything from car parts to keyboards to grocery store bags. 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. 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. To keep pace with current issues, ORSANCO strives to review the standards at least every three years. Construction of Shell’s $6 billion ethane cracker along the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, in June 2019. A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution. The standards are for … “A lot of it is just behavioral change,” Bowman said. Mike DeWine as an important step toward ultimately delisting the river altogether as an area of concern. h�bbd``b`�k�S�`m����h �\bY�V8�D��*@��NH\Ud`b�2���h����� ��' 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. With Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman. Nov 14, 2019 'That's vinegar:' The Ohio River's history of contamination and progress made "It's a functioning ecosystem now" April Johnston. In 2018, several members of the county’s water board quit after the state attorney general opened an investigation into mismanagement. A mine near Lake Hope State Park, fewer than 20 miles west of Athens, was sealed off nearly 20 years ago. The standards are for … Photo: Kara Lofton . 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. Cut off drinking water to drink the 981-mile-long River at least every three years of by. Set forth states environmental Protection Agency named the Ohio River is a source of drinking to., wouldn ’ t trust that the most pressing problems will be addressed a through. Pace with current issues, ORSANCO held its first hearing on the proposal Monday, 1! 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