Take action to protect ORSANCO and support water justice!

Last year a proposal came forward to do away with the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) regulatory mission. KFTC members joined others to speak out about the need for ORSANCO to continue to protect water in the Ohio River valley. As the ORSANCO commissioners prepares to meet to make a final decision, now is the time for folks who care about clean water to act.

ORSANCO, founded in 1948, is an eight-state compact with representation from Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, as well as from the federal government. Its mission from the beginning has been "to control and abate pollution in the Ohio River Basin." Today ORSANCO still holds standards on many of the more than 120 pollutants that it monitors stronger than either the states or EPA.

ORSANCO commissioners will meet and vote on whether to continue its regulatory mission and other proposals on February 14 at the Embassy Suites in Covington.

To help protect ORSANCO’s important mission, and to raise other concerns in the Ohio River Valley, KFTC is working with allies to share the stories of people who are impacted by water. To do this, the Ohio Poor People’s Campaign is leading a Water Justice Field Hearing that we are participating in on February 2 at 2 p.m. in the Clifton United Methodist Church (3416 Clifton Ave, Cincinnait OH 45220). This hearing will include testimonies on ORSANCO, pipeline concerns, coal ash, clean water, its impact on indigenous comunities, and impact on communities of color.

Those who want to help protect the Ohio River and its tributaries, you can help in a variety of ways. They include:

• Attend the water justice field hearing on February 2 in Cincinnati.

• Attend the ORSANCO meeting on February 14 in Covington, KY at 9 a.m.

• Write a letter to the editor about the importance of ORSANCO’s regulatory mission, as well as the greater need to protect clean water for all.

• Contact Kentucky ORSANCO Commissioners, including Lt. Governor Hampton, Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Charles Snavely ([email protected]), and Northern Kentucky Water District President Ron Lovan ([email protected]).