The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), founded in 1948, commits as its mission "to control and abate pollution in the Ohio River Basin." The commission is comprised of representation from eight states, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, as well as federal representation.
In 2018 ORSANCO put forth a proposal to do away with the pollution control standards helping to protect the Ohio River. ORSANCO holds stronger standards than either state authorities or the EPA on many of the more than 120 pollutants that it monitors. This original decision, previously set to be made on October 2018, was delayed thanks to an outpouring of support to keep these standards in place. This support came in the form of testimony, letters to the editor, comments, and more by Ohio 1500 activists! If you are interested in signing on to a letter of support, please do so using this ORSANCO Sign On Form.
ORSANCO commissioners will meet and vote on whether to continue its regulatory mission on February 14th at the Embassy Suites in Covington, Kentucky. This meeting will be a vital time to support ORSANCO’s important mission. In preparation for this meeting, and to raise other concerns in the Ohio River Valley, Sierra Club is working with the Ohio Poor People’s Campaign and other allies to participate in a Water Justice Field Hearing on February 2nd at 2 p.m. in the Clifton United Methodist Church at 3416 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati OH 45220.
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is uniting tens of thousands of people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality. Across the United States, toxic water and unaffordable water bills are infringing on the basic human rights of poor people and communities of color. One area that incorporates these issues is the environment around us, including our water quality. Over 5 million people receive their drinking water from the Ohio River. The Water Justice Field Hearing will offer the opportunity to learn about the potential threats of the restructuring of the ORSANCO commision, threats to Indigenous water rights, fracking, injections wells, pipelines many other threats to our water supply which ultimately impacts all of our communities.
For more information on the Water Justice Field Hearing please visit the Facebook Event Page, or email Cheryl Johncox at cheryl.johncox@sierraclub.org