"Climate advocates worry the move will weaken water standards and keep coal-burning power plants running longer. The river has a coal plant roughly every 38 miles."

"More than two dozen coal-fired power plants that line the Ohio River stand to get a break from regional oversight that has helped to dramatically improve water quality in the river, the drinking water source for 5 million people.

Electric utilities and other industries are pressing a regional commission to end its role in restricting the dumping of toxic wastewater into the river, arguing there's too much bureaucracy already. Instead, they want the commission to stick to research, and leave anything related to regulation to individual states.

At the same time, the Trump administration has put on hold the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's first Clean Water Act rules in a generation to curb toxic wastewater discharges from power plants while the agency reconsiders them."

James Bruggers reports for InsideClimate News May 30, 2018. [2]