Friday, February 21, 2025, 7:49PM |  27°
MENU
Advertisement
A barge travels along the Ohio River at sunrise.
1
MORE

Gov. Wolf, please help clean up the Ohio River

Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette

Gov. Wolf, please help clean up the Ohio River

Pennsylvania must reaffirm its cooperation agreement with other states to provide protection

On Oct. 4, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf will have an important decision to make: To stand up for clean water for the Ohio River and the 5 million people who depend on it for their drinking water or to side with polluters who want to eliminate a visionary pollution-control arrangement that has been in place for 70 years.

In 1948, the states bordering the river, including Pennsylvania, crafted a visionary regional compact to manage the Ohio River for its multiple uses — as an essential resource for manufacturing, industry and utilities, as well as a source of drinking water, recreation and home for fish and wildlife. The states wisely agreed to collaborate to protect the Ohio River for a simple reason: The actions of upstream communities like Pittsburgh have consequences for downstream communities such as Wheeling and Cincinnati.

That regional arrangement foreshadowed the kind of holistic, ecosystem-based management that is being used today to restore iconic waters across the country — from the Great Lakes to the Chesapeake Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.

Advertisement

Unfortunately, members of the regional body overseeing the Ohio River — known as the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission — are rethinking that visionary pollution-control agreement. There is a faction among the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia that want to scuttle the current oversight. Instead, they want states to manage their individual sections of the river, a piecemeal approach that rejects collaborative oversight and creates duplication, with each state setting its own standards.

A towboat and its load creates a wake on the Ohio River with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background  as it wakes its way toward the West End Bridge before sunrise on Sept. 7, 2018, in Pittsburgh. (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)
the Editorial Board
Protecting our river: Scheme to deregulate protection cannot be justified

Scrapping the regional pollution arrangement would be a huge step backwards for the Ohio River Valley.

First, jettisoning the pollution-control standards would open the door for more pollution. States would have free rein to weaken clean-water protections at a time when communities continue to grapple with cleaning up the Ohio River and its tributaries. Sewage overflows, toxic contamination, polluted farm runoff and acid mine drainage still threaten the river — resulting in lost recreation, fish consumption advisories, lost recreational opportunities and health warnings. We need greater protections — not fewer — for this iconic, 981-mile waterway.

Furthermore, the abolishment of the cooperative agreement would set the stage for inconsistent pollution-control standards. Two states on different sides of the same stretch of river — say, Ohio and Kentucky — could allow different levels of pollution into the same section of the river. This makes no sense for managing the health of the river, protecting the health of people and providing a level playing field for businesses.

Advertisement

Asking states to take on this important role ignores the reality that over-burdened and understaffed state agencies are already scaling back important environmental monitoring and assessment work. Scuttling the regional pollution standards will likely result in state officials taking the path of least resistance — weakening clean water standards.

Pennsylvania has a special role to play. The Ohio River is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at Pittsburgh. In many ways, the Keystone State’s treatment of the river sets a precedent for other states to follow.

Pittsburgh has been a shining example nationally for its transformation over the past 30 years — a transformation that involved both economic investment and a re-thinking of its relationship to the rivers that define it. Economic restoration has gone hand-in-hand with environmental restoration. The results have been economic growth and bustling riverfront activities, including kayaking and boating. Communities downstream the Ohio River can embrace similar redevelopment efforts — but not if the region turns back the clock to an age where we treated our waters as sewers and garbage dumps.

That’s why we urge Mr. Wolf and Pennsylvania’s commissioners on the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission to uphold regional clean-water protections for the Ohio River and to vote Oct. 4 to protect the drinking water, economy and way of life for the millions of people in the Ohio River Valley.

Gail Hesse serves as director of the water program for the National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Regional Center.

First Published: September 23, 2018, 4:00 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Two slices of New York-style pizza and one cut of Sicilian at Etna Slice House in Etna.
1
life
Etna Slice House is 'closed until further notice' following pizzaiolo's departure
Mayor Ed Gainey during  a press conference at the Downtown Public Safety Center on Thursday. He angrily criticized what he believes negative media coverage of his work as mayor.
2
opinion
Brandon McGinley: ‘The wheels are coming off’ the Gainey administration
The Breezewood Interchange is dotted with gas stations, chain restaurants and souvenir shops. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has selected Chicago-based Alfred Benesch and Company to spearhead a major redesign of the notorious roadway.
3
business
So long, Breezewood: Chicago firm selected to redesign infamous Pa. Turnpike interchange
Longtime KDKA-TV host Jon Burnett on May 22, 2019.
4
a&e
Jon Burnett, long a KDKA-TV staple, leaves legacy of ‘putting good out into the world’
Cars drive through snow on Washington Road in Bethel Park Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.
5
news
Pittsburgh will climb out of an Arctic cold snap and into above-average temperatures soon. Will it last?
A barge travels along the Ohio River at sunrise.  (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST opinion
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story