Ohio R Commission About Face: Votes to Keep Setting Water Standards

"The commission was under pressure from industry to drop its standard-setting authority and let each state act on its own. But what happens upstream affects everyone."

"An Ohio River commission that represents eight states lining the waterway and its tributaries voted Thursday to keep its authority to set regional water pollution standards, rather than ceding that power to each individual state.

It was a victory for environmental advocates at a time when the federal government has been rolling back protections on pollution from industries along the industrial corridor.

Last summer, under pressure from industries and power utilities, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) had taken a preliminary vote to abandon its pollution control standards."

James Bruggers reports for InsideClimate News February 14, 2019.

Source: InsideClimate News, 02/15/2019