Consistent standards for drinking water quality of 5 million people are under threat. Representatives of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) are giving in to pressure from industry to end the water pollution standards it sets for all the states along the Ohio River.
ORSANCO has been monitoring the water quality of the Ohio River for 80 years. In some cases, ORSANCO’s standards are higher than those required by the Clean Water Act, and we want to help keep it that way. The Ohio River has one coal plant every 38 miles and tops the 'Most Polluted River in the US.' A recent article warns that, "decades of progress toward cleaning up one of America's hardest-working rivers could be slowed"[1] if industry has its way. Everyone deserves clean water, but corporate polluters are trying to strip authority from ORSANCO. Send a message to ORSANCO now! The comment period ends August 20th, but we can still sway ORSANCO after that date.
We need your help to urge Governors to keep ORSANCO monitoring in place. The top priority right now is to get as many Letters-to-the-Editor as possible. Out of the 8 Ohio River states, three states have a chance of flipping the vote, and Ohio is one of them! Please help by submitting a letter! Below is a fact sheet with examples, and other resources to aid you in writing an LTE.
Don't want to write an LTE, but still want to help? Please consider calling Governor Kasich at 614-466-3555 and asking him to support continued water pollution standards set by the Ohio River Sanitation Commission along the entire river. We also are in need of individuals to call bank from home. Please email emily.obringer@sierracluborg if you are interested!
LTE Resources:
Ohio Valley Environmental Commision Talking Points
West Virginia Rivers Talking Points
Once you submit a Letter-to-the-Editor, please send a draft and name of paper submitted to emily.obringer@sierrclub.org.
Please email emily.obringer@sierraclub.org with any questions or for assistance.
[1] James Bruggers, "Industries Try to Strip Power from Ohio River's Water Quality Commission," Inside Climate News. May 2018.