This week, the Ohio Newsroom is joining NPR to tell local stories about climate solutions, as the federal government walks back environmental regulations.
The Ohio River Basin spans more than 200,000 square miles across 15 states, including Pennsylvania, Kentucky and, of course, Ohio. But unlike other major watersheds, it doesn’t have a dedicated EPA office, and the funding that comes with it.
The Ohio River Basin Alliance, a Cincinnati-based cooperative, has spent the past two decades working to change that. And with federal bills introduced in the House and Senate, the tide may finally turn.
Zaria Johnson covers the environment for Ideastream Public Media. She joined the Ohio Newsroom to explain the push to federally fund Ohio River restoration.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
On why the basin doesn’t yet receive a pool of designated funding
“[The Ohio River Basin is] a watershed that was overlooked in the early 2000s and 2010s when other watersheds were getting federal funding and the regional EPA representation that comes with it. And this is what the Ohio River Basin Alliance and other advocates are looking for today. They realized early on that there's an awareness issue that comes with the basin that other watersheds, like the Great Lakes or the Chesapeake Bay, aren't dealing with.
“Alliance Chair Chris Lorentz told me that people know the location of the Ohio River and where they live in relation to that. But when it comes to knowing whether or not they live somewhere in the basin within those 15 states, there's less awareness there. The basin provides drinking water to more than 30 million people, but even so, the alliance had to do some significant legwork early on to spread awareness of the basin and the ecological benefits it provides across those 15 states. So, at this point, the alliance is asking for a federal investment of $350 million annually for the Ohio River Basin to provide that targeted investment throughout the entire basin. And it sounds like a large investment, but Lorentz says it's less costly than taking on remediation work later on.”
On the current piecemeal approach to protecting the basin
“We've seen a fair amount of success stories here in Ohio. We've got the H2Ohio program started by Governor Mike DeWine in 2019, which funds the preservation of Lake Erie, its watershed and large rivers in the state, including the Ohio River and portions of its watershed. But this effort only extends as far as the state's boundary line. The same can be said for local organizations here in Ohio: They're doing good work when it comes to conservation efforts, like river cleanups or even research efforts, but they can only go so far.
“One of these organizations is also based in Cincinnati. They're called Ohio River Way and I spoke with their deputy director, Molly Pope. She told me the organization is all about recreation on the river and inspiring stewardship of it. They have this houseboat that floats with them during their annual Ohio River Challenge that's happening right now, where they're able to look into biodiversity and water quality and take a look at invasive species at some of the Ohio River's islands. But they run into their own handful of shortcomings in that they are just one organization with only so much money. And even though they make some good discoveries during this process, there's only so much they can do with it.”
On the proposed federal legislation
“The $350 million annual federal investment outlined in the legislation would support basin-wide conservation efforts to protect it from long-standing threats like stormwater or agricultural runoff, habitat degradation, and legacy pollutants left over from industrialization, but also from emerging threats including invasive species, forever chemicals called PFAS and microplastics. It would also support monitoring, data collection and research across those 15 states, while still continuing any sort of public engagement and workforce development efforts as well. It would also establish the Ohio River National Program Office. So that would be the dedicated office that would operate out of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide a basin-wide approach to handling the funding, research, conservation work and preservation work at the federal level.”
On whether this legislation is likely to pass
“The alliance is hopeful that it will pass, especially considering the two bills introduced in the House and Senate at this point have already received some bipartisan support. The Senate bill was introduced by U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Todd Young (R-IN), and the House bill is backed by Representative Morgan McGarvey (D-KY).
“The alliance has worked to get the attention of elected officials since its founding in 2009, and they're working on establishing a caucus with those representatives. They're about halfway there so far. Chris Lorentz with the Ohio River Basin Alliance told me that, to do that, they almost had to take the climate piece out of the conversation and focus instead on the lived experiences felt throughout the basin, including things like flooding, drought, and habitat loss. And Lorenz told me that they're already accepting applications for conservation projects in the event that the funding is provided and the legislation passes.”